A strong economy and low unemployment contributed to an increase in employers offering health coverage in 2017, finds a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The increase halted a decade-long trend in which some companies dropped their… more »

A recent wellness study confirms something that MedBen has known for a long time: If you want your workplace wellness program to succeed, the "physician first" approach is the way to go. According to BPS Research Digest, researchers tracked multiple… more »

If you get in half-hour cardio workouts five times per week, consider yourself a member of an exclusive group... unfortunately. Because according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than a quarter of U.S. adults get… more »

In designing the MedBen WellLiving program, we focused on the prevention of chronic conditions that impact the quality of employees' lives as well as their cost to employers. A recent survey emphasizes how these conditions can financially impact the… more »

At two recent industry-specific MedBen University (MBU) roundtables, MedBen Vice President of Sales & Marketing Brian Fargus highlighted how the company's claims management solutions are keeping plan costs in check. From 2013 through 2017, the… more »

A new Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) report highlights the wide disparity of health care costs in U.S. states, with average costs ranging from 17% above comparable populations in Colorado to 16% below in Maryland. The report notes… more »

Among the distinctive features of the MedBen reporting package is a series of reports that examine a group's "care gap." The idea behind a care gap measurement is straightforward: Individuals who get recommended exams and follow their doctor’s advice… more »

Hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol are among the chronic conditions responsible for 30% of adverse health nationally, according to a recent report from Moody’s Analytics... conditions that can be better controlled through a focus on preventive… more »

“Just the facts.” It worked for Sgt. Joe Friday, and it works for wellness, too. Unlike traditional wellness programs that require employees to complete imprecise and unreliable health risk assessments, MedBen WellLiving takes a claims-based approach.… more »

According to a recent Mercer survey (as reported by Reuters), over the next five years, between 40 to 50 new specialty drugs will be launched on the market each year. These could increase costs by $25 billion annually. (No, that’s not a typo… $25… more »

MedBen clients were among those getting useful benefits management advice at the 4th Annual Sherrill Morgan Healthcare Innovation Conference on September 11-12, 2017. MedBen itself was also well-represented at the event, both as presenters and on the… more »

By promoting employee wellness, MedBen WellLiving clients are realizing significantly lower health care costs. From 2014 to 2016, employers that integrated WellLiving into their health care package experienced just a 1.6% trend, compared to 8.5% trend… more »

An executive order by the Trump administration has briefly delayed the rollout of the bundled payment model for hip and femur fractures, but will not alter cardiac and orthopedic model launches later this year. Regardless, MedBen Analytics is fully… more »

Hard though it may be to believe, here we are in January 2017... and if you're a self-funded employer plan sponsor, it's time to get serious about preparing your IRS Form 1095s. As you know, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its supporting regulations… more »

Verisk Health, the company that MedBen has partnered with to provide clients with detailed reporting services, recently rebranded to Verscend Technologies (Verscend). But while their name is different, the company's commitment to analytic solutions… more »

Hard though it may be to believe, we've already entered the final quarter of 2016. If you're a self-funded employer, that means it's time to get serious about preparing for a critical health care reform mandate: Providing the IRS with an accurate… more »

"Keep analytics clear, simple, and interactive in order to deliver effective care transformation messages." That was the message Kurt Harden, President and Chief Operating Officer of MedBen Analytics, delivered to hospitals, health systems, and… more »

As in years past, all self-funded employer health plan sponsors are required to file and pay their Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee no later than July 31, 2016. All self-funded plan sponsors are required to pay a fee based on the… more »

As bundled payments and other alternative payment methods become more commonplace, hospital readmission rates and costs are dropping. MedBen Analytics has been working to ensure that hospitals realize the benefits of bundled payments ‒ benefits… more »

A recent Benefits Pro article explores how the use of predictive analytics helps to reduce wasteful health spending. At MedBen, this statistical approach serves as the foundation of our reporting platform — an approach that helps our clients to know in… more »