BY BEN CONNER   2021 should be the year of returning to strategic planning and strategic execution. For many businesses, 2020 was rife with crisis responses. Regardless of your political leanings, the chaos of 2020 made it exceptionally difficult to plan, prepare, and execute ideas. Lockdown cycles shifted and changed with little warning both locally […]

BY RYAN SPENCER COVID-19 threw dozens of new challenges at CFOs and HR managers this year. Every day, company leaders faced questions they had never considered before: How do we keep our workers safe? How can we remain efficient while working from home? What are my legal responsibilities during the pandemic? Answering these questions has […]

BY CONNER INSURANCE During a recent media briefing, the Centers for  Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an  update to quarantine guidelines, offering options for  shorter quarantine periods.  The CDC’s updated guidance allows for the following  quarantine periods for those who may have been  exposed to COVID-19 but are without symptoms:  Ten-day quarantine period—An individual  […]

BY CONNER INSURANCE The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield has approved a COVID 19 vaccine distribution plan. The approved interim recommendation first offers vaccine distribution to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities in the initial phase of the vaccination program before offering the vaccine to the […]

BY CONNER INSURANCE Between the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing political  debate over the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health care was a  core element of Joe Biden’s campaign for the U.S. presidency.   It remains to be seen exactly how President-elect Joe Biden  and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will impact the health  care industry. However, employers […]

BY BENEFITS PRO Compared to two years ago, a smaller portion of premiums are going toward prescription drug costs, while a larger portion is going toward in-patient care Understanding health care costs is complicated, to say the least. There’s the amount billed for a service, the negotiated rate ultimately paid, and then how much the service […]

BY BENEFITS PRO (Bloomberg) –Amazon.com Inc. unveiled its biggest push into selling prescription drugs with the launch of a digital pharmacy and discounts for paying U.S. Prime members that sent shock waves through shares of drugstore chains and distributors. The e-commerce giant on Tuesday unveiled Amazon Pharmacy, a section of its retail website and mobile […]

BY BENEFITS PRO A contentious election has resulted in an uncertain future for workplace policy, a new report from the Littler Workplace Policy Institute said. The regulatory arm of the employment law firm prepared the report to explore the 2020 election’s impact on employers and workers—but the ongoing controversy over the election has clouded the forecast somewhat. […]

BY BENEFITS PRO A President Joe Biden health care industry strategy could usher in a new era of medical innovation, expanded health insurance coverage, slower provider consolidation, and a renewed initiative to rein in pharmaceutical costs. But Biden will be up against the same obstacles that often thwarted his mentor, Barack Obama: a divided Congress, […]

BY RYAN SPENCER We recently met with a prospect who was sick of benefits advisors. In the past, he had worked with a litany of advisors who promised incredible results but delivered the same vanilla services and lackluster performance as everyone else. Most years, he felt like his advisor forgot about his existence until he […]