Hello Heart’s Post

Great new case study on one of our labor groups below!

#Employers might be feeling a crunch as #healthinsurance premiums continue to rise. But, many of them are cautious of passing on these increased costs to workers -- especially in a still-tight labor market. Here's a look at what they're facing. Need help finding the plan that provides the right balance of premium and benefits? Our group team can help.

Great article for the importance and impact of safety in the workplace. Medical costs for injured #workers have surpassed the overall nationwide cost increases. In #Florida, there was a 7% increase in workers' compensation #medical payments. Read the article to learn further insights on this trend.

Given how few people are impacted, the cost savings and ability of small employers to group together and access large group benefits - the administration's effort to quash Ass'n Health Plans seems political or ideological and related to the ACA exchanges (tax dollar costs) more than "protecting workers from bad health benefit arrangements". This will increase costs and risks for smaller employers (like most govt intervention and regs) and any positive impact is not proven. Department of Labor rescinds association health plan rule The Department of Labor has issued a final rule revoking a Trump-era regulation that made it easier for self-employed people and small businesses to purchase less expensive association health plans that skirt certain Affordable Care Act requirements. The rule will take effect 60 days after it was published in the Federal Register today.  Full Story: Bloomberg Law (4/29)  

I wonder how many people use the term "bureaucrat" as a pejorative? I think two kinds of bureaucracy exist, positive bureaucracy and toxic bureaucracy. Positive bureaucracy is essential because it guards against chaos and acts as an administrative lubricant. Toxic bureaucracy introduces friction into administrative systems thus is a root cause of inefficiency. In my opinion Te Whatu Ora is a toxic bureaucracy staffed by toxic bureaucrats and the sooner it is reformed the better. I cannot praise highly enough the clinical workers in our health system: they are wonderful, dedicated people. What a pity I cannot even begin to praise the Te Whatu Ora bureaucrats.

OVERPAID BUREAUCRATS ARE REPLACEABLE, UNDERPAID DOCTORS ARE NOT -Lies, damn lies, and the Te Whatu Ora Executive Are those who are supposedly in highly (most would say overpaid) "leadership roles" at Te Whatu Ora negligent, incompetent, or just naive? You be the judge. When heart Surgeons publicly state that the "Te Whatu Ora executive team has taken us for granted, disrespected us and shown us that they clearly do not value our services," New Zealand has a seriously big problem. "Te Whatu Ora tried to deliberately mislead the public by presenting inaccurate information about our salaries. The figures they quoted represent what it is possible for specialists to earn, if they are at the top of the salary scale, work fulltime and do many after-hours of work. The reality is the vast majority of us do not earn anywhere near those figures."

It’s easy to be cynical of Govt. task forces sometimes being a way to kick headline grabbing budget announcements slightly in to touch - particularly in election years . But in Dame Carol Black we have a real champion of proactive well-being and OH leading this and already are seeing some progress with Govt. WorkWell pilot plans. Sadly it would appear the touted OH tax incentives and alignment between well-being vs medical tax treatment may be missed. This feels an own goal. However, it’s encouraging that the agenda is broadening from not just getting people back into work, but towards a more proactive approach to prevent illness in the first place. Felling encouraged and looking forward to the changes and momentum this may bring from Govt. top down, or inspiring innovation within from businesses and providers. https://lnkd.in/eKkgppsz

Ahead of the start of Labour conference, WPI Strategy and our sister company Future Health Research have produced new research examining public attitudes towards the NHS. Polling by Deltapoll shows that while Labour is significantly more trusted to improve the NHS, nearly a third of voters don’t think either main party are capable of making the health service better. The public has more faith that a Labour government will make improvements to hospital waiting times, NHS staffing numbers and GP appointment times and that they are better placed than the Conservatives to end industrial action. But the majority of people - in every age group, every region of the country and even Labour voters - aren’t willing to pay more in tax to fund improvements to the NHS. This means an incoming Labour government will need to manage expectations, focus on better prevention, use of technology and increased care at home to relieve the pressure on hospitals. The polling is heavily featured in the Telegraph. For a copy of the full report drop me a line. https://lnkd.in/eYBXsQhj