Why the Office of Personnel Management Needs Access to Government Employee Health Plan Claims Data
Without knowledge of the exact amount providers billed and middlemen charged in fees, OPM can’t fix payment discrepancies.
Without knowledge of the exact amount providers billed and middlemen charged in fees, OPM can’t fix payment discrepancies.
When workers feel stuck in place, with limited opportunities to advance or deepen their skills, disengagement tends to follow. In allied health roles, where burnout is already high and many touch the patient experience, it is a risk healthcare employers cannot afford to ignore.
Alternative health plan designs represent much more than a passing trend. They are actively testing long-standing assumptions about how benefits should be structured, delivered, and experienced.
AI documentation tools are genuinely useful. But they are treating a symptom, not the disease. The disease is that physicians have lost control over how they work.
Financial wellness cannot depend solely on education. It requires addressing the real obstacles that prevent employees from achieving financial stability. Medical debt is one of those obstacles.
Benefits leaders have become increasingly sophisticated in managing pharmacy spend and high-cost claims. MSK deserves similar strategic attention – not only because it is expensive, but because it is largely preventable.
This is forcing brokers to rethink how they serve clients and how their businesses continue to grow without sacrificing service.
This is not a debate about care models or physician preferences. It is a contest over who will control the referral pathways and the revenue streams that originate at the front door of healthcare.
More brokers are introducing medical gap insurance, more employers are adopting it, and more employees are benefiting from the added protection. The next step is making sure awareness keeps pace with need.
Concierge and direct primary care models have proven their value as retention tools. Those who view these programs as measurable business assets, not ancillary benefits, will lead the next wave of workforce health innovation.
What many organizations haven't yet connected is how security decisions ripple through their entire financial picture, from recruitment to retention to operational efficiency.
With staffing shortages, historic burnout, and rising costs, concierge medicine — and direct primary care (DPC) — have moved from the margins into the middle of the retention conversation.
Here are five guidelines to help employers balance health outcomes and financial responsibility to ensure that GLP-1 coverage is effective, affordable, and aligned with improved health and workforce well-being for employees and their families.
Health plan sponsors have more flexibility and opportunities than before to improve healthcare access and steer their workforce toward high-quality, high-value care.
Even if you don't have all the answers, communication plays a critical role in reducing stress levels and fostering feelings of stability, confidence, and psychological well-being.