Well, tell that to the 384 firms that have been referred to the Department of Justice for HIPAA violations! Now, putting it into perspective for you; since HIPAA was put into law 4 years ago, there have been 26,406 complaints of which 12,535 have been legitimate. Of those, 384 referred to the DOJ or 3.4%. The number is small but I would hate to be a business owner in that 3%. A new website has been launched to update people on areas of HIPAA. It can be found at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/enforcement. This website provides an better overview of the complaint process, enforcement highlights and examples of complaints. It's actually one of the better websites I have seen which really explains this issue.
It will be interesting to see the penalties assesed. Please take the time to make sure that you have the proper HIPAA compliance in place at your business so you don't wind up in a growing percentages of businesses investigated.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
It's Time To Raise the Bar
Okay, I just got back from lunch with a potential client. One that I have been "talking" to for almost 2 years. His current consultant on the company's plan has been an advisor to the family owners for 20+ years. He set up thier estate planning. Not an employee benefits specialist mind you but a relationship that has been part of the company fabric for 20 years - I really do understand.
About a year ago, the CFO of the company asked me to do a study for him about comparing plans and services that are competitive today. I did that. In the end, he couldn't change the relationship even though I brought new and creative ideas to the table to help him grow his business and reduce his bottom line.
Fast forward to today...CFO is now CEO (congrats!) still with same consultant who does NOTHING for this firm. Shows up once a year and tells him what his rates will be for the next 12 months. I proceed to illustrate to him how my business has changed. It's not about insurance - it's about everything else. In today's market, a consultant worth thier fee does everything from soup to nut; compliance auditing, marketing, renewal planning, communications, HR strategy, workforce planning, business planning, technology integration for administrative simplicity - shall I go on? As companies are squeezed more and more, they rely on business partners for resources. My CEO agreed that he was not getting much anything of value from his current consultant - the consultant of old school. However, since the family was still somewhat involved in the business, he was not sure if he could change the relationship.
So, for all HR Managers and CFO's, etc., here's my question. Are you willing to risk a moment of potential uncomfortableness for an immeasurable positive impact to your company's bottom line? You deserve to work with a consultant of today - a student of the business and a partner with yours. A person that can deliver value added resources and be there when you need them - not just once a year. Does that cost you any more? In most cases - NO. The bar has been raised. You need to know what you are missing and demand it from your current consultant. If they can't comply, then a moment of uncomfortableness is just a moment. Not changing cosultants and missing out can feel like a "lifetime".
About a year ago, the CFO of the company asked me to do a study for him about comparing plans and services that are competitive today. I did that. In the end, he couldn't change the relationship even though I brought new and creative ideas to the table to help him grow his business and reduce his bottom line.
Fast forward to today...CFO is now CEO (congrats!) still with same consultant who does NOTHING for this firm. Shows up once a year and tells him what his rates will be for the next 12 months. I proceed to illustrate to him how my business has changed. It's not about insurance - it's about everything else. In today's market, a consultant worth thier fee does everything from soup to nut; compliance auditing, marketing, renewal planning, communications, HR strategy, workforce planning, business planning, technology integration for administrative simplicity - shall I go on? As companies are squeezed more and more, they rely on business partners for resources. My CEO agreed that he was not getting much anything of value from his current consultant - the consultant of old school. However, since the family was still somewhat involved in the business, he was not sure if he could change the relationship.
So, for all HR Managers and CFO's, etc., here's my question. Are you willing to risk a moment of potential uncomfortableness for an immeasurable positive impact to your company's bottom line? You deserve to work with a consultant of today - a student of the business and a partner with yours. A person that can deliver value added resources and be there when you need them - not just once a year. Does that cost you any more? In most cases - NO. The bar has been raised. You need to know what you are missing and demand it from your current consultant. If they can't comply, then a moment of uncomfortableness is just a moment. Not changing cosultants and missing out can feel like a "lifetime".
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Communications - Tell Your Employees How Wonderful You Really Are!
I spend a lot of my waking hours working with businesses large and small on designing, implementing and managing their compensation/employee benefit programs. Employee benefit costs are the third largest line item for most companies today. Along with employer contributions, money is spent internally on managing and running these programs. It is a big ticket item. The problem is that for most employees, what their employer is actually spending is a secret! You heard me - a secret! All of this work and expense goes into these programs and statistically, only 21% of employees nationally know how much this employer contribution adds to their paycheck.
So, here is how you solve this problem and take this little secret and start tooting your own horn. COMMUNICATE THE VALUE TO EMPLOYEES!!! This can be done in several ways. I like to work on a multi-facet approach which incorporates a complete communication strategy, program branding, total compensation statements, meetings, newsletters, web-enabled enrollment and/or assistance and an employee call center to assist with open enrollment. A good communications strategy should be running simultaneously to the other projects that a consultant is working on for you.
Recruiting and retention is becoming even more difficult. Employees might be looking at opportunities with slightly more take home pay but they might be missing the fact that their current employer has an additional $20,000 of compensation built into a benefits package (incl other forms of compensation; vacation, retirement, social security, etc.) Go ahead, toot your own horn - and work with a professional that can bring those services to the table and include them in their compensation!!
So, here is how you solve this problem and take this little secret and start tooting your own horn. COMMUNICATE THE VALUE TO EMPLOYEES!!! This can be done in several ways. I like to work on a multi-facet approach which incorporates a complete communication strategy, program branding, total compensation statements, meetings, newsletters, web-enabled enrollment and/or assistance and an employee call center to assist with open enrollment. A good communications strategy should be running simultaneously to the other projects that a consultant is working on for you.
Recruiting and retention is becoming even more difficult. Employees might be looking at opportunities with slightly more take home pay but they might be missing the fact that their current employer has an additional $20,000 of compensation built into a benefits package (incl other forms of compensation; vacation, retirement, social security, etc.) Go ahead, toot your own horn - and work with a professional that can bring those services to the table and include them in their compensation!!
Monday, May 7, 2007
AARP Is Very Busy Lately
AARP - American Association of Retired Persons - is one of this nation's largest retiree resource for information, insurance and a plethora of other items. It has also one of the largest lobbying forces in the country. As our population is aging at a rate faster than we have ever seen, AARP will be even more busy in trying to provide products and services to the masses.
Last week, information was made available that AARP had partnered with Aetna and UnitedHealthcare to design and make available a medical program for people ages 50-64 - this would be the pre-retiree population. The arguement was that this group is difficult to get health insurance for (usually individual underwriting makes it difficult for anyone that has ever sneezed to get insurance and most plans aren't covering early retirees or retirees at all and they are too young for medicare). Facing all of those issues, AARP wants to help that portion of the popultion find health insurance programs.
Frankly, there are a lot of people that need to be able to find, be eligible for and pay for health insurance. I find it interesting that the nation's two largest Medicare Supplement plans, Aetna and Secure Horizon's, is offering to do this with AARP. They are doing this for one reason - to find people for thier medicare supp plans early. If they can get them in at 50, then they might stay through the rest of thier years. It is a great business play but I don't think that we should be thinking that they are just doing this out of the goodness of thier heart.
This might create some issues for business as well. Will companies want to carve out this portion of thier population to reduce the impact that this group has on rates? Current laws would prevent that but don't think that this wouldn't change if there was enough pressue on the State and Federal gov't to do this. There are a lot of workplace changes that will be going on over the next 10 years and how we integrate an older employee into our corporate culture will be interesting. (that's Thursday's topic)
Helping people find health coverage at an affordable price will continue to be an issue and frankly, a challenge for years to come. Let's just be cautious and understand the pros and cons before getting on the bandwagon.
Last week, information was made available that AARP had partnered with Aetna and UnitedHealthcare to design and make available a medical program for people ages 50-64 - this would be the pre-retiree population. The arguement was that this group is difficult to get health insurance for (usually individual underwriting makes it difficult for anyone that has ever sneezed to get insurance and most plans aren't covering early retirees or retirees at all and they are too young for medicare). Facing all of those issues, AARP wants to help that portion of the popultion find health insurance programs.
Frankly, there are a lot of people that need to be able to find, be eligible for and pay for health insurance. I find it interesting that the nation's two largest Medicare Supplement plans, Aetna and Secure Horizon's, is offering to do this with AARP. They are doing this for one reason - to find people for thier medicare supp plans early. If they can get them in at 50, then they might stay through the rest of thier years. It is a great business play but I don't think that we should be thinking that they are just doing this out of the goodness of thier heart.
This might create some issues for business as well. Will companies want to carve out this portion of thier population to reduce the impact that this group has on rates? Current laws would prevent that but don't think that this wouldn't change if there was enough pressue on the State and Federal gov't to do this. There are a lot of workplace changes that will be going on over the next 10 years and how we integrate an older employee into our corporate culture will be interesting. (that's Thursday's topic)
Helping people find health coverage at an affordable price will continue to be an issue and frankly, a challenge for years to come. Let's just be cautious and understand the pros and cons before getting on the bandwagon.
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