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Employers Change Health Plans By Shifting Costs According to the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), most employers have made modest changes in their health benefits plan and are primarily shifting costs to employees through larger premium contributions or higher out-of-pocket costs to fill a prescription or see a doctor. Consumer-Driven Plans Show Attractive Results Consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) are expected to be an even more attractive model for employers to adopt in coming years, according to Aon Consulting's Spring 2004 Health Care Trend Survey. DOL Issues Final Rules On COBRA Notices Final rules governing health care coverage notices under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) have been issued by the U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL). The rules, which are similar to those the DOL proposed last year, set minimum standards for the timing and contents of the COBRA notices. The rules also provide model notices to be used by group health plans. Under COBRA, many group health plans must give employees and their families the chance to stay in their group health plan after termination of employment, divorce, or death. Ruling Outlines Interaction Among HSAs, FSAs, HRAs The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued guidance under which employees may contribute to a health savings account (HSA) when they are also covered by a flexible spending account (FSA) or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA). When Co-Payments Increase, Use Of Drugs Curtailed As co-payments for pharmacy benefits climb, the use of medications decreases by as much as 45%, according to a four-year study conducted by Dana P. Goldman, Ph.D., and associates and published in the Journal of American Medical Association this past May. Short Vacations Can Prevent Reinvigoration When employees return from vacations seemingly out-of-sorts, the reason could be that they did not take enough time off. A survey by Office Team, the staffing service organization, found that more than four out of ten employees (43%) returning from vacation said they took insufficient time off. Why IBM Is Giving $150 Health Rebates Executives at IBM's Research Triangle Park campus in North Carolina are convinced that employees who exercise regularly are more productive and have lower health care costs. As a result, the company is now paying a $150 one-time "Healthy Living Rebate" to employees who exercise at least three times a week for ten weeks.
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