Emergency room visits rose to an all-time high of 145.6 million in 2016, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the percentage of ER patients who needed regular care fell from 5.5% in 2015 to 4.3% in 2016… more »

When you go in for your twice-yearly dental exam, your dentist isn't just seeing if you've been brushing. Teeth and gums provide a wealth of medical information – and may even alert the dentist to the possibility of multiple diseases. Diabetes.… more »

More men are opting to monitor their low-risk prostate cancer rather than getting surgery... and cancer experts say they're pleased about the trend. According to a new study (as reported by HealthDay News), 42% of men with small, slow-growing tumors… more »

Getting less than six hours of sleep a night doesn't just leave you drowsy during the day – it can be doing some serious damage to your body. A new study finds that insufficient and poor sleep may increase your risk of heart disease. The New York Times… more »

New year, higher drug prices. According to The Wall Street Journal, a representative analysis of major pharmaceutical companies found that the prices of their brand name and generic drugs have risen by an average of 6.3% in 2019 – modest compared to… more »

If you haven’t got a flu shot yet this season, do it soon! The Centers for Disease Control reports that flu activity has been on the rise of late, with 24 states reporting widespread influenza activity and 19 states reporting high levels of… more »

The latest Employee Benefits Survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) revealed that just one in five employers (20.1%) use spousal surcharges or carve-outs for health care coverage when other employer-provided health… more »

They say that eyes are the windows to the soul, but the mouth can reveal quite a lot, too. Your semi-annual dental checkup can reveal symptoms of multiple diseases in their earliest stages. Multiple studies have indicated that a healthy set of teeth… more »

The Department of Health and Human Services recently released updated physical activity guidelines to encourage a healthier country while reducing care costs and mortality rates. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans state that adults need 150… more »

Lowering hypertension risk isn't simply a matter of exercise and diet... it also helps to practice good dental habits, a new study suggests. According to HealthDay, researchers reviewed medical and dental records of more than 3,600 people diagnosed… more »

New research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that 14% of U.S. adults have diabetes… and of that percentage, 4% don't know they have the disease. An aging population factors into the number, but the rise in obesity and… more »

The number of Americans getting screened for cervical, breast, and prostate cancers has declined in recent years, suggests a recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The review of self-reported screenings from 2000 to… more »

Taking a common-sense approach to wellness can dramatically cut your risk for heart disease and cancer, and even add over a decade to your life, a recent study suggests. The analysis of 120,000 participants found that men and women who followed five… more »

"Healthcare costs increasing at unsustainable pace" a recent Modern Healthcare headline reads. In a new study, PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts a 6% medical cost trend in 2019, as expensive new medical services and drugs and market consolidation make it… more »

National figures indicate high chronic condition costs and low wellness compliance. This comes as no surprise to MedBen, knowing that there is a direct connection between untreated (or even undetected) diseases and increased health care costs. But a… more »

Americans with high blood pressure may pay nearly $2,000 more on medical fees this year than those without the condition… a problem that could be alleviated through a focus on preventive care. According to a 12-year study, adults with hypertension can… more »

Sure, work is important and sometimes burning the midnight oil is necessary for getting projects done on time. But making a habit of late nights and less sleep can have long-term health consequences, new research suggests. The study of over 400,000… more »

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other sources paint a grim picture of the growing prevalence of diabetes, as well as its attendant physical effects: More than 29 million Americans are diabetic. Approximately 19… more »

Nowadays, opioid painkillers usually make the headlines because of their addictive properties, rather than their therapeutic advantages. But new research has raised questions as to whether such benefits have been overstated. A year-long study of… more »

In recent years, U.S. health care spending has slowed significantly compared to the double-digit cost spikes we saw a decade ago. But there’s still room for improvement, so MedBen uses multiple containment strategies to keep client claim costs under… more »