• Group Application from health insurer
• Check for First Month’s Premium
• Application or waiver for anyone working 25+ hours per week on a permanent basis
• Most recent billing statement from current insurer
• Most recent quarterly unemployment wage and tax statement
  • Compensation can be whited-out

• A reminder to employees not to use their old health insurer ID after the new health insurer begins
• Details on what services may need to be precertified under the new health insurer
• A reminder that the new health insurer will have a different preferred drug list (PDL) or formulary and that they should check to see if their prescription would be covered under the same level of co-payments as the previous insurer
• Information that conveys employees should ensure their provider is in the network of the new health insurer otherwise they would be subjected to out of network claims

Employee Tax Benefits

Premium's that are paid by employees for health, dental and vision care can be set up on Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code through premium reduction plan or "POP" Plan.  In addition, the portion paid by the employer is not subject to payroll taxes nor is it considered income to the employee.

Health Savings Accounts (hsa) enable an employer to fund their employee's account with money that is not considered additional income.  The 2008 limit for fund a health savings account is $2,900 for individuals and $5,800 for families.  Money not used in an hsa is not taxed and rolls over each year without any tax implication or requirement to use the hsa funds.  Over time, an individual who manages their health may end up with a size-able health care nest egg in their hsa.

Flexible Spending Accounts (fsa) enable an employee to set aside their own money on a pre-tax basis.  Employees are not taxed on the amount set aside thus reducing their overall tax liability.  For example, an individual opts to enroll in their employer's fsa and determines that setting aside $3,000 pre-tax will pay for expected medical claims.  The employee would not be taxed on the $3,000 thus reducing their tax burden by their federal tax level, state tax level, FICA and Social Security taxes.  In all, the employee may save $1,000 in taxes for medical expenses that would have occurred anyway.

Look for these and other tax savings vehicles to lower your tax liability while paying for medical expenses.

Caution should be given to going to the Emergency Room for non-emergency procedures.  For example, you feel like you have the flu but your symptoms are not life threatening, this ER visit may not be covered.  If it is covered, perhaps you should have waited to go your family medicine practitioner because the bill came out to be $500.

Only go to the ER if you have life threatening our imminent danger that cannot be treated elsewhere. Do not use the ER as your primary care doctor.  Find a primary doctor.  Emergency Room physicians will treat you for anything that you come in to be treated for but their role is to help patients requiring acute care.

If you do not have a primary care doctor, talk to your family and friends and find out who their primary care doctor is and then develop a relationship. 

Actually, the wellness agenda is surprisingly uncluttered, says Dr. W. Smith Chandler in the newsletter, California Employment Law Answers. We can break it down, he says, by asking a simple question: "Why do people die?"

The answer is not as complex as people think, Chandler maintains. He explains that 40 percent of all Americans die of cardiovascular diseases, primarily heart attack and stroke. And many of those deaths happen at a young age.

The process that leads to all this illness often starts surprisingly early in life. A lot of teenagers already have the beginnings of what will become coronary artery disease, Chandler explains. And that means that it's never too early to become interested in wellness. The workplace is one of those venues along the way.

Wellness Is Mostly About Decreasing Cardiovascular Risk Factors

The good news is, we now know the risk factors that cause cardiovascular disease, and we're better at controlling them. Although there are a lot of risk factors, the major ones that you can do something about in the workplace are smoking, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and lack of physical exercise.

Depending on their severity, each of these factors can increase cardiovascular death by up to 50 percent. That means the reverse is also true: Regular exercise can reduce cardiovascular death And if a person controls all of the risk factors, it's exceedingly unlikely that he or she will die of the diseases that kill almost half of us.

And it gets better. Cardiovascular wellness also helps people to live better, so it increases quality of life, not just quantity of life.

For instance, says Chandler, "starting at about age 35, you get a little bit stupider every year. ('I'm 53, so I can say that,' he quips.) I'm not talking about wisdom, but rather raw intellectual power like the ability to memorize a series of numbers. If a person has an excellent cardiovascular risk profile, there's still a gradual decline in intellectual capacity, but the slope of the decline is cut in half."

You Forget What It Is Like to Feel Good

When you're young, Chandler points out, feeling good is free. You can abuse your body relentlessly, and still feel happy and energetic. As the years pass, this situation changes, but it changes so slowly that most people hardly notice it. They actually forget what it's like to truly feel good. As you age, if you want to continue to feel good, you've got to earn it, he declares. The main risk factor that influences this effect is exercise.

Exercise also has additional benefits: Increasing joint discomfort often starts around age 50. This problem particularly impacts office workers, who move about very little. Exercise, especially yoga, is really good for this problem. In fact, yoga can be as effective as drug therapy for joint discomfort, Chandler says.

Or take depression. Depression is extremely common and is especially relevant to productivity at work. Exercise, again, can be as effective as drug therapy for depression, Chandler says. (He notes, however, that he's not criticizing medications-they are often helpful even when lifestyle is perfect.)

So summing up, there are lots of good reasons to actively pursue wellness in the workplace. In the next issue of the Advisor, we'll take a look at the number two cause of death, and what you can do to help employees prevent it. And we'll introduce you to a popular resource to get your wellness program up and running in no time.

Article originally posted on HR Daily Advisor

"Question 1","Which health insurer is your company insured with today?"
Aetna 9.68%
Anthem 32.26%
Medical Mutual 25.81%
UnitedHealthcare 29.03%
Other3.23%

"Question 3","What is your satisfaction level with the SERVICE of your current insurer?"
 

Very Satisfied 9.68%
Satisfied 70.97%
Not Satisfied or Dissatisfied 16.13%
Dissatisfied 3.23%
 
"Question 4","How many eligible employees does your company have?"
 
1-10  35.48%
11-20 6.45%

21-30 9.68%
31-40 6.45%
41-75 16.13%
75-200 16.13%
200+9.68%
 
"Question 5","What increase in health insurance did you budget for in 2008?"

0-10% 67.74%
11-20% 29.03%
21-30% 3.23%
 
"Question 6","Have you considered a health savings account?"

yes 51.61%
we already offer an HSA 25.81%
no, too complicated 16.13%
I have never had an HSA explained to me 6.45%
 
"Question 7","Have you ever considered a Health Reimbursement Arrangement?"

 yes 32.26%
 no, I know nothing about HRA 35.48%
 no, too complicated 16.13%
 yes, we have one in place now 16.13%
 

"Question 8","Would your company ever consider offering health insurance at a lower cost to non-smokers?"

yes 70.97%
no 29.03%
 

"Question 9","What is your health plan's effective date?"

 January ,9.68%
 February 6.45%
 March 12.90%
 April ,9.68%
 May 3.23%
 June 0.00%
 July 29.03%
 August ,0.00%
 September 6.45%
 October 6.45%
 November 6.45%
 December 9.68%
 

"Question 10","What is your company's employer contribution level for heatlh insurance?"
 
 50-60% of single cost 25.81%
 60-70% of single cost 6.45%
 70-80% of single cost 3.23%
 80-90% of single cost 3.23%
 90-100% of single cost 6.45%
 50-60% of family cost 3.23%
 60-70% of family cost 9.68%
 70-80% of family cost 6.45%
 80-90% of family cost 3.23%
 90-100% of family cost 16.13%
 Other 16.13%