When selecting workers’ compensation coverage, employers may choose a fully-insured or self-funded plan, or they may participate in a self-insured group.

Fully-insured workers’ compensation
Under a fully-insured plan, employers pay a premium to an insurance carrier. In exchange, the insurance carrier assumes the financial and legal risks, paying all claim-related expenses. The benefits of this type of arrangement include:

• Less risk because the insurance company handles the claims
• Administrative costs are included in the premium
• Works best for smaller employers that do not have the resources needed to administer their own insurance plan

​Thank you to all who participated and contributed to our 18th Annual Trumps & Tricks Euchre Fundraiser. Because of your generosity, we were able to raise $18,722 for Scott County Family YMCA and Child Abuse Council. Over the years, Trumps and Tricks has raised over $272,000 for local Quad City charities!
 
The success of this annual event would not be possible without the dedication, participation, and generous contributions of the players, our sponsors, and the Molyneaux team.
 
Planning for next year is already underway. If you are not on our mailing list, please contact us at euchre@molyneaux.com so you receive an invitation and can join us in supporting these amazing charities.

Wearable medical devices such as the Fitbit are making increasing inroads into all aspects of life. Corporate wellness programs are embracing them as a way to encourage activity. In some cases, incentives may be provided to employees who meet certain activity and other health targets.
​
Insurance companies are also getting more interested in collecting biometric data from customers via wearable medical devices and other forms of monitoring. For example, John Hancock now offers "interactive" life insurance policies, under which customers can submit to optional fitness and activity tracking via wearable devices and smartphones.

Many employee benefits advisors have been recommending that employees with health savings accounts use them as savings vehicles that can be tapped for future medical care; however, studies show that most people are spending the bulk of the funds.
​
A new study by EBRI found that while more Americans are using Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to save and pay for medical expenses, few are investing the funds, maxing out contributions, or otherwise using it as a retirement savings tool.

While your employees can catch the flu year-round, fall and winter are the peak times for an outbreak. In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 80,000 Americans died from the flu and more than 900,000 ended up in the hospital. 
​
On average, U.S. employees miss more than 17 million workdays from the flu, costing employers $7 billion in sick days and lost productivity. Make sure your organization is prepared to help employees get through flu season.

Advances in technology affect everything and everyone, including workplace safety. The workforce is more tech-savvy than ever before, leading to changes in how we work and the availability of data.
​
With many safety programs out of date, it’s time to put technology to work to improve safety in the workplace.  An article in Safety and Health Magazine suggest four ways technology can respond to today’s safety needs.

Injuries due to slips and falls are one of the most frequently reported workers’ compensation claims. While these accidents can happen anywhere, any time, they typically spike during the winter months. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 20,000 workplace injuries due to falls from snow, sleet, and ice occurred in 2016. Of those, 28 percent resulted in more than a month off of work.
​
Employees and visitors alike are at risk, but with a proactive safety plan, slips and falls can be prevented.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over 42,000 opioid-related deaths in the United States each year. And according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death for Americans under the age of 50. With the popularity of synthetic opioids surging, experts predict the death toll will only increase.

In the most basic terms, the CDC defines opioids as “a class of drugs used to reduce pain.” However, not all opioids are the same. There is a wide range of legal and illegal drugs that are classified as opioids.

Unlike other drug epidemics, the reach of opioids is unique. Although in different ways, this crisis affects all people in all economic classes. People who can afford prescription drugs are just as susceptible to an overdose as those who cannot afford them because of the unprecedented availability of cheap substitutes. This can make it extremely difficult to create a meaningful opioid strategy.

Estimates show the opioid epidemic costs the U.S. economy over $95 billion annually, with employers paying $18 billion of that. And, these figures are only expected to rise.

With more employees falling victim to addiction, employers are faced with lower productivity, higher health care costs and fewer qualified job applicants, which means employers should try to do everything possible to combat the impact opioids have in the workplace.
​
There is no silver bullet for this crisis. However, exploring new initiatives can help in the development of a strategy that best suits the needs of your employees. 

We have all dealt with unprecedented change in the Health Insurance marketplace over the past decade. While that pace of change has slowed, there is no such thing as status quo.

A trend that we are seeing accelerate is insurers attempting to manage their costs by transferring costs to other insurance policies.  Iowa’s two primary health insurers – Wellmark and United Health Care (UHC) (and we are certain many others in Iowa and all states) are part of this trend.

Simply, if you are eligible to be covered under a Workers Compensation policy, UHC and Wellmark have confirmed with us they will not pay medical bills associated with injuries that arise out of and in the course of employment.

Note that this does not say that they won’t pay for injuries that occur if you are actually covered by a Workers Compensation policy.  Their wording and intent is to exclude claims if you are eligible for a Workers Compensation policy, whether you are actually covered or not. The test is if you could have coverage and just about anyone “could have” Workers Compensation coverage.

This change affects two kinds of “employees.”