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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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% …
The $1.9 trillion relief bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, was signed by President Biden on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Additional information surrounding Emergency Paid Leave and Health Insurance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is included in the bill and outlined below. Emergency Paid LeaveSigned into law on …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued long-awaited guidance for Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This is the first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals since the beginning of the declared public health emergency. The guidance is designed to address growing demand, as more …
The constant influx of information and everchanging compliance updates surrounding the coronavirus pandemic can be overwhelming, making it strenuous to comprehend how up-to-date guidance and coverage affects one’s organization and employees. In response, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury have issued Frequently Asked …
Soon after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, Merck — one of the largest American based pharmaceutical companies in the world — has committed to assisting in the manufacturing process to speed up production and supply …
On April 28, 2020, the Departments of Labor (DOL) and the Treasury issued deadline relief to help employee benefit plans, plan participants and plan service providers impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Thereafter, on February 26, 2021, DOL Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 clarified the duration of this relief. The deadlines were …
