USERRA Obligates Reemployment, Benefits Continuation for Employees Called to Military Service
In recent years, large numbers of individuals have left active employment for temporary stints of military service. Since September 11, 2001, more than half a million members of the National Guard and Reserve have been mobilized. This reality makes it imperative that employers become familiar with—and assure that they are in compliance with—the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
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Prescription Drugs Are Largest Slice of Out-of-Pocket Spending Pie
For the average person with medical expenses, nearly half of their out-of-pocket costs go towards paying for prescription drugs, according to an analysis of health care spending by the Kaiser Family Foundation. This is true for people with both very high and very low overall health care spending, and even for spending levels in-between. For the average non-elderly person with private health insurance (as compared to all health care spenders), prescription drugs account for 35% of total out-of-pocket spending.
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Cost-Containment Strategies Needed for the Few Employees with the Highest Health Care Spending
Conventional wisdom has it that 20% of health plan participants run up 80% of health plan costs. Now, an analysis of health plan expenditures paints an even starker picture, concluding that 4% of participants account for nearly half of health plan costs.
The analysis of health plan expenditures from Watson Wyatt Worldwide found—
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Employees Who Smoke Add to Their Employer's Cost of Doing Business
Though the percentage of the U.S. population who smokes cigarettes has declined substantially since the early 1960s, about one-quarter of American adults continue to smoke. According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2002, just over 22 percent of U.S. adults age 18 and older smoked cigarettes.
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