How To Encourage Your Employees To Get Fit, Give More & Live Well

Managing healthcare expenses for employees has become top-of-mind for employers today especially due to the Affordable Care Act. The utilization of these three innovative, yet simple tools is a helpful way to make it easier for employers to support their employees and to encourage employee wellness.

Charity Miles
Charity Miles is a free mobile app that combines healthy living with charitable donations. Its GPS-enabled platform tracks the number of miles walked, run, or biked, then calculates a dollar amount to be donated to one of nine participating charities. Earn $.25 for every mile run or walked and $.10 for every mile biked!

Registered users can launch the app on any Android or iPhone, choose the charity that will receive their donation, and turn their fitness routine into a way to help the community. Charity Miles is funding the first $1 million donated, then anticipating continued corporate sponsorship as the app’s popularity grows.

Sonic Boom
Sonic Boom’s approach to employee wellness is based on the simple idea that healthy habits practiced on a daily basis are key to increased employee productivity and lower healthcare expenses for employers. Through motivation via friendly competition, this all-inclusive service focuses on gamifying and incentivizing fitness. The company asserts that up-front program costs to the employer are continually offset by healthcare coverage savings and real ROI. Try utilizing this fun, interactive approach with your employees.

WellnessProposals.com
WellnessProposals.com is one of the largest resource bases of free wellness programs available to employers. In addition to a library containing over 15,000 free resources like handouts, brochures, and policy recommendations, the website provides specialized tools for addressing important concerns that range from heart-health and smoking cessation, to safety and stress-management. Browse the full library to learn more about how your business can get started today.

The Affordable Care Act has brought an immense amount of change in this arena, so taking proactive steps and utilizing free services is extremely helpful. Employees, and people in general, have more of a responsibility to manage their healthcare and healthcare budget. Creating and optimizing employee wellness programs is one step in helping employees to effectively manage their health.

These three resources are a great step in improving and encouraging employee wellness in your workplace. There is a plethora of information on employee wellness on each of these resources. It’s beneficial for all involved as it can help save employers cost on medical expenses and it can help employees better manage their health. Although these three were featured, there are many more ways to improve your employee wellness programs! Get started today.

You Have The Freedom To Take Control Of Your Health®

Independence Day is right around the corner!  Freedom means a lot of things, but we’d like you to recognize the invaluable freedom you have to take control of your health.

Taking control of your health means realizing and being confident with what happens on the inside and outside of your body. Many times symptoms can be blown off or go unnoticed, but maintaining and monitoring your health is vital for your personal well-being.

July 4th is a day of celebration, but it’s still possible to stay healthy and happy! Just check out this article by Time Magazine to learn how.

Also, did you know that applying your sunscreen a couple of days in advance means you can improve your skin’s protection from harmful rays? You can learn more tips here!

As you celebrate America’s independence, think about how you can encourage your loved ones to take control of their health as well.

Get To Know The Facts About PSA Testing

What do you know about Prostate Specific Antigen, PSA testing? Many argue over the necessity of the test. However, one thing is non-debatable: your health is important.

First, it is important to understand and become aware of what exactly PSA testing is. PSA, prostate specific antigen, is produced by a man’s prostate gland. When the test is conducted, it measures the level of PSA in his blood. If the levels are elevated, it is potentially a sign of prostate cancer.

In addition to prostate cancer, a large number of noncancerous conditions such as an enlarged prostate can be found by an elevated PSA blood level. Who should have a PSA test completed?

“Men over the age of 50 should talk to their doctor about their personal risk of developing prostate cancer and the benefits and risks of having a PSA test.”

Proactive blood testing can help you monitor your levels and possible detect and treat disease before it’s too late.  You might also want to consider a PSA test before the age of 50 to establish a baseline for future testing.

How The Affordable Care Act Affects Workplace Wellness

As health care reform continues to be explored, it’s interesting to evaluate how it affects the workplace. Workplace wellness programs have become more of a trend due to the Affordable Care Act. The workplace wellness provisions have sparked research into the effectiveness of programs as well as added concern of shifts in health care costs due to the state of employee health.

“In a 2013 report, “Workplace Wellness Programs Study,” sponsored by HHS and conducted by Rand Corporation, researchers found that uptake remains limited, with fewer than half of employees undergoing clinical screenings or completing a health risk assessment. However, the report found “meaningful improvements” in exercise rates, smoking and weight control, though not in cholesterol levels.”

In addition, many employers expressed the reduction of medical costs due to wellness programs. The goal in creating and implementing these programs are to improve the health of employees and to control healthcare spending. By creating wellness programs and encouraging employees to participate in those programs, these facts can continue to improve.

Are you incorporating a new or improved wellness program in your workplace? There’s no better time than now to re-evaluate your wellness programs!

For more information visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca.

Coverage Options For Your Kids With The Affordable Care Act

As families continue to grow and as the Affordable Care Act becomes more prominent in people’s daily lives, it’s important as fathers and as the head of the household to remember how that affects your family.

Pre Affordable Care Act, insurance companies had the right to remove enrolled children at the age of 19, or occasionally older for full-time students. Now that the ACA is in effect, the majority of plans cover children/young adults up to the age of 26. There is a lot of wiggle room of the standards for your kids to remain on your plan until they hit 26. They can remain on your plan even if they are married, are not living with you, are full-time students, are not financially dependent on you, or are eligible to enroll in their employer’s plan. For a full list of Q&A’s when talking with your children about their enrollment process visit here.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca

Men, Learn How To Manage Your Health

As mentioned prior, men’s heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than half of deaths in heart disease in 2009 consisted of male victims. Detailed information and other statistics about men’s heart health are provided on the CDC’s website.

In addition to that, Men’s Health Magazine compiled an extremely intriguing perspective on the various and multiple reasons as to why American men die young. Everything from prostate cancer, to medical errors, to infectious disease, to diabetes and more is addressed.

Bringing up serious health issues in men is for a reason. In order to prevent these diseases controlling the lives of men, it’s important to be proactive in managing your health and to be aware. By completing routine tests, routine physicians visits and truly maintaining your health, you are taking a step towards taking control of your health. As the Affordable Care Act continues to evolve, it’s important to know how to move forward with taking control of your health. For example, knowing costs of treatments, lab tests and/or procedures upfront can help you make your healthcare as affordable as possible.

To learn more visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca.

What Everybody Ought To Know About HSA Funds

Have you asked yourself, “What exactly can my health savings account be used for?” The term “qualified expenses” can be vague, but is defined by the IRS to include medical care, prescription drugs, and payment for long term care. Let’s break it down.

HSA Resources explains in detail exactly what counts as a qualified expense in this extensive list. Some expenses to point out include:

  • Ambulance

  • Annual Physical

  • Blood Tests

  • Diabetic Supplies

  • Diagnostic Devices

  • Doctor’s Fees not covered by insurance

  • Laboratory Fees

  • Physical Examination

Utilizing your HSA funds is a resource that many people forget about. It helps you manage you and your family’s healthcare budget while taking control of your health.

Visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca to learn more!

Budget For Your Family’s Health

The way you managed your family’s healthcare budget has changed now that the Affordable Care Act is in action. It’s always a difficult task managing your family’s health, not to mention the cost that goes along with that. Maintaining your health savings account will help you to do just that.

Health savings accounts are funds set up by employers, but completely owned by you. You can deposit pre-tax money to pay for medical expenses that are considered qualified by the IRS. (See Publication 502 for specifics). The money is available as needed and is available on a HSA debit card or through reimbursements. You must have a High Deductible Health Plan and you cannot be covered by any other insurance plans to allow for contributions.

Your family benefits in multiple ways:

  • HSAs can be saved for future healthcare needs and if not used, can be passed on to heirs.

  • The unused money in the account earns tax-free interest.

  • Money deposited into your HSA reduces your taxable income.

HSAs give your family options when dealing with medical expenses. Lab tests are covered with HSAs and we accept HSA debit cards. Due to our upfront pricing, you can manage your lab testing budget easily. Visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca to learn more.

Manage Your Health Savings Account (HSA)

Now that the Affordable Care Act has gone into effect, managing your health savings account (HSA) is important to pay attention to.

Healthcare.gov defines Health Savings Accounts as such: “A medical savings account available to taxpayers who are enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan. The funds contributed to the account aren’t subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Funds must be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. Unlike a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), funds roll over year to year if you don’t spend them.”

You are able to use your HSA for any family member listed as a dependent on your taxes. A “qualified medical expense” can mean various things. This includes medical and dental expenses which can consist of the costs of diagnoses (lab tests), cure, mitigation or reduction of pain and costs for treatments.

To learn more, the IRS Publication 502 explains in greater detail. These things can add up if not properly managed. Knowing costs upfront is vital to managing your healthcare budget along with your HSA. We help to fill one of those holes due to our wide selection of lab tests with upfront pricing. You know exactly how much your test is before you get it done. This saves you many headaches and helps you to manage your HSA in its entirety.

Visit www.anylabtestnow.com/aca to learn more.

Deadline Is Here: Are You Enrolled?

Here’s a friendly reminder that the deadline for Open Enrollment for coverage in 2014 is here. Today is the last day to enroll, which means you may miss your window of opportunity for health insurance coverage this year if you haven’t signed up on the exchange by the end of the day. The next Open Enrollment period is November 15, 2014 for coverage to begin January 1, 2015.

If you have chosen not to have health coverage in 2014, you may face a penalty, but not if you enroll by today, March 31.  For other important dates and details about 2015 Open Enrollment, see here.