Opinion – Page 18
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Opinion
Paula Hargaden: Healthcare trusts have key attractions
A trust can be employer-branded and can cover treatment that might be prohibitively expensive to obtain from an insured solution. Alternatively, the healthcare benefit can be packaged to mimic an existing insured solution, for example to ease the transition from insured to trust-based arrangements, so that, from the employee’s perspective, ...
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OpinionNick Bacon: Health cash plans can help support staff in an economic downturn
Workplace schemes to improve health and wellbeing, such as smoking cessation and healthy eating, are good for staff and organisational performance: a genuine win-win.Effective health and wellbeing strategies require managerial commitment to develop and deliver an integrated plan of action to improve health and wellbeing. Action plans should be developed ...
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Opinion
Helena Davies: Employer duties surrounding disability and sickness absence
The claimant in HMRC v Whiteley suffered from asthma and had taken 15 days of sickness absence during a 10-month period, 14 of which were for viral and/or chest infections. The employer’s absence management policy was triggered because, even allowing for three days of absence discounted by the employer, she ...
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Opinion
Colin Boxall: One size PMI does not fit all
Bupa’s market share and influence can, arguably, enable it to mould medical insurance thinking more effectively than other insurers.Its bold approach to managing treatment costs, in turn managing client premiums, has been validated to some degree by the recent Competition Commission findings highlighting that hospital costs in some areas should ...
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Opinion
Andrew Morris: Choice is key to dental benefits
The key to successful and mutually beneficial dental benefits is employee choice.Having access to the most relevant dental treatments at appropriate prices will encourage staff to visit a dentist regularly.This, in turn, will increase their appreciation of good oral health and reduce absenteeism through ill-health.As oral health continues to improve, ...
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Opinion
Kate Nowlan: Health cover is vital for expatriate staff
But when planning for staff to work or travel abroad, too many employers neglect to put in place plans to support the immediate and long-term health and wellbeing of employees who are away from home.Research shows that up to 10% of people exposed to traumatic events, such as those requiring ...
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Opinion
Howard Hughes: Employers see value of dental appointments
In 2012, our annual dental survey found 9% of employees (from a sample size of 11,785) said they were unable to visit their dentist more frequently because they could not get the time off work.Our 2013 research (released in April) showed this figure had fallen to just 4%.It is encouraging ...
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Opinion
Nigel Carter: Employees must see the dentist
The same survey showed 93% of employers do not give staff occupational health information on the importance of maintaining good oral health.We would encourage employers to review their current occupational health and general welfare policies regarding employees taking time off to visit the dentist. In the last five years, the ...
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Opinion
Jane Fenwick: Opinion divided on open-referral PMI
Others are cynical, but accepting.Much of the challenge for us has been in communicating the reasons for its introduction. We invested a lot of time and energy in member communications, even offering personal meetings with a senior clinical director from our insurer for those who felt particularly aggrieved. Member perceptions ...
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Opinion
Sally Hart: International PMI has its challenges
Employers must balance cost and benefits. International health insurance is expensive, and costs can be managed by introducing individual excess amounts or by limiting cover where appropriate.Size matters to providers. Organisations with more than a few expatriates may be able to have medical history disregarded; those with more than 100 ...
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Opinion
Teresa Rogers: Local support is key to health
In recent years, we have heard a lot about the UK’s evolving economic climate. It is no surprise that organisations, large and small, are considering new horizons for their manufacturing as well as their markets. So employers need a wider spectrum of benefits to support their employees overseas.Foreign assignments can ...
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Opinion
Debbie Lovewell: Employers under pressure to reduce costs
Our 14th annual healthcare research reflects the pressures many employers are experiencing because of the current economic climate. As the UK has once again entered into recession, more than half of our respondents say they have come under increased pressure to reduce costs over the past 12 months.To tackle this ...
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Opinion
Health cash plans: Sponsor's comment: Cash plans can bridge the gap
This article was supplied by HSF Health PlanHealth cash plans offer a flexible and cost-effective alternative to private medical insurance, says Lee Andre, marketing manager at HSF Health PlanThe popular desire for private medical insurance (PMI) can hardly be underestimated. Of course, most employees would, if they could, opt into ...
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Opinion
Chris Coyne: Should employers provide healthcare perks for older workers?
A quick look at the facts is interesting. In 1995 there were nine million people in the UK aged over 60; in 2030, just 19 years away, it is estimated there will be 13 million. And the trend continues for women to have children later in life. The abolition of ...