No matter how hard you try to avoid them, the unexpected is inevitable. In fact, more than 80 million individuals in the United States seek medical treatment for injuries each year and 43 million go directly to the emergency room. Whether it is a sports injury, a car accident, or …
Music Can Boost Employee Productivity, Mood & Focus
With approximately 25% of the U.S. population fully vaccinated, employees may be preparing for or adjusting to their return to common workplaces. However, the number of employees suffering from burnout continues to climb due to added workloads, increased responsibilities and less breaks. There are several remedies that employees struggling with …
We Made The Philadelphia Inquirer 2021 Top Workplace List
Creative Benefits, Inc. has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2021 honor by The Philadelphia Inquirer Top Workplaces! The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to …
Truck Drivers Benefits Improve with On-Demand Virtual Options
Over the course of the year, we have seen increased demand for telemedicine from healthcare consumers. For several employees, the opportunity to engage in traditional healthcare, especially when frequently on the road, has dwindled due to the risk of infection, limited space, and reallocation of resources. Consequently, individuals across the …
DOL & IRS ARPA FAQs Released
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law. It provides a 100% subsidy of applicable COBRA premiums for eligible beneficiaries and their dependents, for the time period beginning April 1, 2021 and ending no later than September 30, 2021. COBRA …
FDA & CDC Guidelines for Vaccinated Americans
If you plan on being vaccinated, have received a COVID-19 vaccine already, or have just become vaccine eligible, we have outlined a series of guidelines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recently released. Your COVID-19 Vaccine Card If you …
Philly’s 25th Annual Race Against Hunger is Here
The Race Against Hunger Virtual 5K Run/Walk, formerly known as the Walk Against Hunger, has arrived! Now in its 25th year, the race has become a beloved event in the Philadelphia region, continuing to inspire and bring together community members for an important cause — to end hunger one step …
Geisinger to Expand Behavioral Health Services
Throughout the pandemic we have seen a rise in those struggling with acute symptoms of mental health disorders. A recent 2020 report from Mental Health America estimated that 47 million Americans now struggle with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — an increase of 4 million …
UHC Addresses Hearing Loss with New Virtual Care Benefit
As in-person appointments have been replaced with video conferences and other virtual mediums, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has launched Right2You, a virtual care benefit that aims to assist the approximate 48 million people in the U.S. living with hearing loss. The initiative builds on the home-delivered hearing healthcare model developed by UnitedHealthcare …
ACA Special Enrollment Period Extended to August
On March 23, 2021, President Joe Biden and his administration reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is extending the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) — which was originally available through May 15, 2021 —for an additional three months, allowing eligible individuals to enroll in …
Women Could Boost Global Economic Growth $20 Trillion by 2050
Throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge of women in the United States have left the workforce due to multiple service-industry setbacks and childcare needs following school and daycare facility closures. A Census Bureau report indicated that approximately 1.4 million mothers remained out of the workforce in January, …
CVS Expands Access to Mental Health Resources
According to a survey by virtual mental health platform, Ginger, 70% of workers say this period, that is the COVID-19 pandemic, is “the most stressful time in their entire professional career.” On top of that, approximately 88% reported experiencing moderate to extreme stress in 2020. Remote work has accelerated the …
Your COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment: What to Expect
If you or your employees plan on being vaccinated and have become eligible to receive one of the available COVID-19 vaccines, this guide will help your team understand what to expect when vaccinated, what information your provider will give you, and the resources you can use to monitor your health …
IRS Extends HSA 2020 Contribution Deadline
On March 29, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2021-21, which extends tax deadlines to May 17, 2021 for individuals filing Form 1040 series returns and making 2020 IRA and HSA contributions. This decision follows a previous announcement from the IRS declaring that the federal income tax filing …
Pfizer & Moderna Vaccines 90% Effective in Real-World Conditions
According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines provide highly effective protection against the COVID-19 virus. Specifically, the study found both vaccines to be 90% effective at preventing infections two weeks after an individual’s second vaccine dose; and 80% …