Tag: health coverage

Personalize your benefits

Is anyone really surprised by Businessolver’s findings that 85% of employees are confused about their benefits? Benefit confusion is an ongoing issue in the healthcare industry. Yet employees are not shying away from benefits, with mental health and wellness on the forefront of many minds coming out of the pandemic. Employees want help and access to benefits from their employment. More than help, employees are seeking freedom and a sense of choice from both an employment standpoint as well as from a benefit perspective. In today’s society you can have everything personalized to your needs from the milk in your coffee to the style in which you work best (WFH or IO). Especially considering how personal health decisions are, purchasing benefits based on your personal needs should be the baseline, not the exception.

So as an employee how can you personalize and better understand your healthcare experience? For one, many companies have programs that go under utilized due to lack of recognition so seeking out the exact benefits your company offers is a great first step. 

If you A) are underwhelmed by the benefits being offered to you or B) do not have benefits offered through your employer or are your own employer you can still experience personalized benefits. With confusion running rampant in the marketplace we recommend speaking with a support team that is local and not sales oriented. Your health is just that yours and your benefits should truly be yours too. Healthy Business Group knows employees are confused and want more from their benefits. Our Support team is truly a free resource created to help you better understand the options available to you. When you browse our one-stop-shop gethealthee.com you can personalize your benefits purchasing experience. You can pick and choose the kind of coverage and level of coverage that works best for you. You also get to choose your length of coverage with no open enrollment periods, you pay monthly and can decide when to purchase. 

With open eligibility and free access to our support team for everyone in the US it’s never been easier or more personalized to get benefits. 

Sources

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/04/26/personalization-is-the-future-of-employee-benefits/?sh=174c84495335

Sun out, lotion out

It’s no secret that being outside can positively affect your health. Between the mental aspects like reducing stress and improving mood to the physical attributes like soaking up vitamin D and the inevitable incentivisation to be active whether that be by walking or some other physical activity we can all agree that the nice weather is good for our health. However, one has to be careful especially as the sun begins to shine brighter and longer. Long exposure to ultraviolet light or UV can cause skin cancer. While protecting your skin from UV rays is important all year long it is essential in the warmer months. 

The CDC recommends utilizing any opportunity for shade, whether that be with an umbrella, hat or tree. The CDC also advocates for daily sunscreen application and reapplication if you are in the sun for more than 2 hours. 

If you don’t want to take my word for it you may heed actor Hugh Jackman’s warnings. Jackman recently took to instagram to share his experience with having two biopsies done for skin cancer on his nose following a checkup. While luckily his was basal cell carcinoma what he described as “the least dangerous of them all” and Skin Cancer Foundation backs up his claims as basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer he followed by saying “ it is just not worth it. No matter how much you want a tan, trust me trust me trust me”. This was not the actors first run in with skin cancer, as with the disease lesions can be recurring and must be removed. At the end of the day he said he recommends everyone “put some sunscreen on. You will still have an incredible time out.” In Jackmans case his recent biopsies are for damage that occurred many years prior. 

The moral of the story is young, old and everyone in between needs to wear broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF of 15 or (preferably) higher.

 

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic_info/sun-safety.htmhttps://www.healthline.com/health-news/hugh-jackman-skin-cancer-scarehttps://www.nfcr.org/blog/5-ways-spending-more-time-outside-benefits-our-health/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8-OhBhB5EiwADyoY1Tplqo68jRS6ocHdsgEbMGfThY0bE8_36yLYkgVB_ugSUqbL3uGxHxoCRJ4QAvD_BwE

Is it allergies or a cold?

Winter is finally in the rearview mirror, the sun is shining, and we all plan to be outside. The only negative to this cabin fever we all share is the runny nose, scratchy throats, and cloudy feeling that can be attested to one of two phenomena: allergies or a cold. Unfortunately, with allergies being so unpredictable, changing in symptoms and severity yearly, it can be difficult to deduce whether the discomfort you are feeling is, in fact, allergies or a common cold. 

Treating colds and allergies are two different methods of action; choosing the wrong treatment can be the difference between relief and continuous discomfort. It is essential to know the difference to treat yourself effectively and efficiently. According to the CDC, nearly a quarter of US adults have seasonal allergies, and the typical adult battles two or three colds a year, mainly between winter and spring. In a discussion about colds Dr. Yu, a pediatric allergist-immunologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told the New York Times a definite red flag in cataloging your symptoms is a fever as they do not occur with common allergies. Another flag pointing toward a cold is body aches if you’re feeling run down. It’s more likely a cold or another viral infection like Covid-19. On the flip side, a telltale sign you have allergies is a runny nose ft. clear mucus. Another clear allergy indicator is itchiness around your eyes, nose, and ears. 

Now for every “clear sign” and “red flag,” so to speak, there are gray areas in symptoms. For instance, sneezing could indicate either a cold or allergies. But on the other hand, coughing and soreness in your throat can also come from colds and allergies. Thus it is important to consider symptoms outside sneezing, sore throats, and coughing when deducing colds vs. allergies.

So you have considered your ailments and have decided it’s most likely allergies you are feeling. The Mayo clinic advises antihistamines such as cetirizine (Zyrtec Allergy), fexofenadine (Allegra Allergy), and loratadine (Claritin, Alavert). The Mayo Clinic also mentions using nasal sprays and rinsing your sinuses with saline solution to flush out all the congestion. If the usual suspects like Allegra and sinus cleansing aren’t doing the job, you may want to consider speaking with your doctor to develop a different action plan.

The Mayo Clinic recommends remaining hydrated, resting, and even gargling salt water for your common cold. Other common treatments at home include utilizing sore throat remedies like lozenges, ice chips, sipping hold liquids, and an under-the-weather home classic: honey. 

Knowing your symptoms gives you the power to squash them in the bud and start enjoying the change in climate quicker. 

 

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/article/cold-allergy-symptoms.htmlhttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/in-depth/cold-remedies/art-20046403https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hay-fever/in-depth/seasonal-allergies/art-20048343#:~:text=Antihistamines%20can%20help%20relieve%20sneezing,These%20medications%20improve%20nasal%20symptoms.

Why you should take this opportunity to offer your part time employees benefits!

Since the re-acclimation of society following the Covid-19 pandemic, the workforce’s trend of playing hot potato with their jobs has become even more prevalent. Seemingly gone are the days of long tenure and climbing the corporate ladder as the primary goal of employees. For many, the ideology has shifted to prioritizing mental health and personal life over career advancement. Gold stars, promises of promotions, and free bagels don’t cut it anymore. If retention is essential to your company, you must offer tangible incentives that improve employee life authentically. Especially for the employees entrusted with being the human touch point between the brand and the customer, your sales associates, servers, desk attendants, and the traditionally part-time workers need to feel appreciated and motivated to put the company’s best foot forward. 

What do absolute and tangible retention techniques look like? They look like they are providing securities like access to benefits. Providing part-time employees with low-cost and flexible benefits can actively endorse retention while improving productivity as employees will be less stressed.

Rightway and HBG Expand Partnership to Increase Health Coverage and Care Navigation Access

Rightway’s care navigation solution will be available to anyone who purchases health benefits through the HealthEE by HBG stores.

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Rightway, the healthcare company reinventing care navigation and pharmacy benefits, today announced an expansion to its strategic partnership with Healthy Business Group (HBG). This partnership combines the health plans available on the HealthEE by HBG store with Rightway to give everyone access to comprehensive benefits coverage and an effective, modern care navigation solution.

HBG is a workforce health solutions company that assists small to midsize companies in enhancing their offerings for full and part-time employees. Over the last year, HBG has grown their platform to include HealthEE, an online store that makes benefits accessible to association and union members, part-time and gig workers, freelancers, and more. These individuals can purchase many different coverage options, all in one location, directly from the HealthEE by HBG store.

By teaming up with brokers, associations, and employers, HBG and Rightway can solve one of the biggest challenges that part-time and hourly workers face, which is finding and navigating their health benefits. The HealthEE by HBG store makes it easy for these individuals to purchase affordable benefits traditionally offered by organizations. When members buy a health plan through the HealthEE by HBG store, they will also receive access to Rightway.

Rightway is a clinician-driven care navigation solution that improves healthcare outcomes by pairing members with a live, personalized health guide who can help them find affordable, high-quality care. Having access to a care navigation solution is an especially important benefit for members that have nowhere to turn for healthcare support due to a lack of medical coverage through their employer. Rightway’s goal is to democratize concierge navigation and give healthcare support to individuals who previously didn’t have access to one-to-one clinical experts.

“When people get benefits outside of their employers, they’re even more confused about how to seek the best care,” said Christian Stearns, Managing Director of Innovation and Growth, HealthEE by HBG. “Rightway health guides will become a lifeline to members who buy benefits through our store. Guiding them to highly rated providers and facilities, informing on what they can expect to pay for the services, and more. This partnership will improve health literacy and equity for people that haven’t traditionally been eligible for benefits in today’s healthcare ecosystem.”

“Through an expanded partnership with HBG on their benefits store, we’re able to tap into an important and growing market of part-time workers in need of health insurance,” described Kara Kubarych, VP of Partnerships, Rightway. “Medical coverage is just the first step for this population. By offering Rightway in tandem with HealthEE by HBG plans, individuals are better equipped to navigate the healthcare system to get the most value from their coverage, leading to better health outcomes overall.”

By embedding Rightway in HBG’s medical coverage choices, employees can receive the best health benefits and support to get the care they need–displaying the partnership’s commitment to making healthcare more attainable for everyone, everywhere.

For more information on the Rightway and HBG, please email partnerships@rightwayhealthcare.com or info@hbgnow.com.

Retention is the name of the game

Job seekers have never had such power regarding what they desire from employers. Global employment company Monster has recently published its inaugural Work Watch report, showing that more than half of workers believe their well-being is more important than a salary increase. However, the same workers disagree with the employer’s opinion that employees have unrealistic salary expectations. What is classified as a realistic salary increase can be controversial, but can we all agree on the value-added benefits? Monster’s career expert Vicki Salemi spoke with Employer Benefits News about the importance of keeping workers engaged and happy and offering benefits. Salemi told Employer Benefits News, “Employee salary expectations may be higher than what the market will bear right now, so consider well-being in terms of mental health benefits offerings and more flexibility. That can help create the whole picture for the right job fit.” 

While we can’t necessarily provide you with a way to allow your employees to work flexible hours, we can offer a different kind of flexibility through benefits. When you use HealthEE by HBG to offer your employees benefits, you are essentially giving them the tool kit they need to finish the job in the best way for them as an individual. Having a one-stop shop for benefits allows for maximum flexibility, from choosing the type of coverage your employees desire to when they want to register HealthEE by HBG gives employees all the power.  

 

 From an employer’s perspective, this power can be freely shared with no cost to the employer and no administrative headaches. If employees have questions, they can direct them to our HealthEE support team, and after purchasing Rightway, the dedicated health guides can also offer support.