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More employees filed long-term disability claims for cancer than for any other illness in 2005, according to an annual report on disability trends released by insurance provider UnumProvident. Cancer was the leading cause of long-term absences from work for the fifth year in a row, the report said, with breast cancer making up nearly a quarter of all cancer claims. Congress Holds Hearings On Health Care Costs Two congressional committees held hearings related to the rising cost of health care in March. The Senate Finance Committee invited testimony on issues surrounding federal health care tax policy, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health considered proposals on improving health care price transparency. Small Business Health Plans Bill Passes Senate Committee In a move that could mark the end of a long-running stalemate, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted on March 15 to allow business and trade associations to join together across state lines to offer affordable health insurance to their employees. States Weigh Measures Forcing Employers To Provide Health Benefits State legislatures across the country are considering measures that would require employers over a certain size to provide health care benefits to workers or pay a tax or assessment in lieu of offering benefits. Retail chain Wal-Mart, which employs large numbers of low-paid workers receiving public health care assistance, is at the center of many of these initiatives. |
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