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    	<title>Fickewirth Benefit Advisors</title>
		<link>http://www.fickewirth.com/</link>
		<description>Fickewirth Benefit Advisors</description>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 21:09:43 -0700</pubDate>
		<language>en-us</language>

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			<title>The Expansion of HSA Eligibility in 2026</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?The-Expansion-of-HSA-Eligibility-in-2026-264</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Effective January 1, 2026, new provisions included in last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) have expanded Health Savings Account (HSA) eligibility. The HSA is not just an effective plan to help manage healthcare costs; it is also a vehicle for tax-free savings and an investment opportunity.
The OBBBA authorized the following new features for Health Savings Accounts.
1. Bronze and Catastrophic Plans Treated as HDHPs
In the past, people could contribute to an HSA only if they were concurrently enrolled in a high-deductible healthcare plan (HDHP). The OBBBA expanded HSA-eligible health plans to include Catastrophic plans and Bronze plans available via the Health Insurance Marketplace exchanges or the individual market.

Bronze plans tend to have the lowest monthly premiums but higher out-of-pocket expenses for services beyond preventive care, with or without a deductible.
Catastrophic plans feature low monthly premiums and cover a limited number of  primary care visits per year. However, they feature a high deductible and are primarily designed to cover an expensive catastrophic event, such a major accident or serious illness. A catastrophic plan is generally considered “emergency insurance.” Being HSA-eligible now enables members to set aside pre-tax money to pay for the high deductible (or grow long term if not used).

 These plans are available only for people under age 30, or over 30 if they qualify for a hardship or affordability exemption. Interestingly, people who do not qualify for a premium tax credit due to higher income are automatically qualified for a hardship exemption to enroll in a catastrophic plan (where available).
2. Direct Primary Care Service Arrangements
Also starting this year, those who pay for a Direct Primary Care (DPC) service arrangement may contribute to an HSA. DPC is a healthcare model in which the enrollee pays a flat monthly subscription fee to a specific physician practice. That fee covers unlimited access to most primary care services and the doctor does not bill insurance.
However, to qualify for HSA eligibility, the DPC’s monthly fee must be $150 or less for an individual or up to $300 for a family, as well as meet other requirements. DPC fees are also eligible expenses for HSA payments.
One strategy is to pair a low-cost DPC with a high-deductible or catastrophic health plan. This way the patient pays a set fee for unlimited primary care services but also has insurance coverage for a major event.
3. Telehealth and Remote Care Services
As a way of encouraging affordable and convenient virtual healthcare, the OBBBA made permanent the ability to receive telehealth and other remote care services prior to meeting an HDHP’s deductible – and remain HSA eligible. The provision is retroactive to the 2025 plan year.
HSA Overview
The HSA enables workers to contribute income to a savings account designated to pay for qualified healthcare expenses. HSA funds may be used to pay for eligible, out-of-pocket expenses such as a health plan deductible, copayments, coinsurance, mental health, dental, vision, prescription and over-the-counter medications, alternative therapies (e.g., chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy), rehab, and substance use treatment programs.
In 2026, the annual HSA contribution limit was increased to $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage. The catch-up contribution for account holders age 55 and older remains $1,000 a year.
One of the key benefits of an HSA is that funds saved through these accounts enjoy a triple tax advantage:

Contributions are not subject to federal income or state taxes (except in CA and NJ) or – when deferred through employer payroll deductions – Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes. This means that a worker’s taxable income is reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount he contributes to an HSA.
Withdrawals used to pay for qualified health expenses are not taxed.
Contributions may be invested for growth opportunity via an investment account in which withdrawals and earnings are not taxed (unless used for non-qualified expenses).

HSA Investment Option
A health savings account is not affiliated with a health insurance plan. They are offered by banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions. Moreover, the custodial bank does not manage HSA investments but may refer members to an allied partner that offers a variety of investment options. There is generally a requirement that the account owner retain a minimum balance (i.e., $1,000 to $2,500) in the HSA in order to transfer assets to an investment account.
Note that investment options may be changed and funds can be transferred between the investment account and the health savings account at will. HSA investors should understand that investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Even though the bank is the custodian of the savings account, any assets placed in investment options are not FDIC-insured or guaranteed by the bank that administers the health savings account.
The purpose of the investment account is to give HSA assets the opportunity to compound earnings tax-free. When the account is held for a long period of time, assets may grow into a substantial nest egg – particularly if the worker continues to make contributions and transfer them to the investment account, and limits withdrawals. Once the account owner enrolls in Medicare, he can no longer make contributions to the health savings account. However, he may continue to use the money accumulated to pay for qualified healthcare expenses.
Once the account owner turns age 65, she is allowed to use HSA funds for non-healthcare expenses, but will need to include those amounts as taxable income for that year. However, she will no longer be subject to the 20 percent penalty associated with early withdrawals for a non-qualified expense.
Yours To Keep
One of the key features of the HSA is that all monies contributed and investment earnings belong to the account owner. It is not a “use it or lose it” account, and the worker retains the account even if he leaves the company that sponsors his HSA-eligible health plan.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 10:50:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Update For Employer Health Plans: Fertility Coverage in CA</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Update-For-Employer-Health-Plans-Fertility-Coverage-in-CA-263</link>
			<description><![CDATA[About 12 percent of couples experience infertility in the United States. While increased demand has made infertility and fertility preservation coverage more prevalent in company benefit packages, affordable access to treatment is generally dictated by state and employer plan design – rather than medical need.
Against this backdrop, state legislatures have taken a growing interest in mandating fertility coverage in employer-sponsored health plans. Presently, 21 states require insurers to cover some form of fertility care, but only 15 states have specific provisions regarding coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Throughout the country, laws vary considerably in terms of eligibility, covered services, and cost-sharing requirements.
SB 729
California SB 729 fertility treatment and services legislation went into effect at the beginning of 2026. However, changes will generally be applied at each health plan’s annual renewal. The law requires certain employer-sponsored health plans to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment, including IVF. It also broadens eligibility for same-sex couples and single individuals.
California has long required insurers to offer infertility treatment coverage, but until recently, IVF was explicitly excluded. Employers have always had the option to include it, but this limited access to comprehensive fertility benefits. California SB 729 has fundamentally changed that framework by making coverage mandatory for the following health plans:

Fully insured, large-group employer health plans (generally those covering more than 100 workers)
CalPERS plans covering California state employees

Exempted Plans
SB 729 is widely regarded as one of the most inclusive fertility mandates in the country, particularly in how it defines infertility and who qualifies for coverage. However, it does not apply to all types of health plans; the following are excluded from the mandate:

Self-insured employer plans regulated under federal ERISA law
Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program)
Individual and Affordable Care Act marketplace plans
Most small-group plans
Religious employer plans (as defined by statute)
Excepted benefit plans, such as dental-only, vision-only, and accident-only coverage

Note that the majority of large employers in California sponsor self-insured plans, which means workers at these companies will not benefit from the mandated IVF coverage law.
Coverage Requirements
For fully insured large-group plans subject to SB 729, the law imposes detailed coverage requirements designed to place fertility care on equal footing with other medical conditions. Eligible plans must cover the following benefits:

Infertility diagnosis and evaluation
Infertility treatment, including IVF
A maximum of three completed oocyte (egg) retrievals per individual
Unlimited embryo transfers, conducted in accordance with clinical guidelines
Fertility medications, monitoring, laboratory services, and related procedures
Medically necessary fertility preservation services, such as egg or sperm freezing prior to chemotherapy or radiation

Be aware that "covered" does not typically mean 100 percent coverage. It simply means the insurer will pay for a portion of the service based on the health plan’s specific rules. However, also note that plans may not impose more restrictive limitations, higher cost-sharing, or different medical management rules on fertility services than applied to other covered medical conditions.
Clinical Standards and Embryo Transfer Guidelines
While the law mandates coverage, it also emphasizes evidence-based medical practice. IVF services must follow professional guidelines issued by organizations such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). These guidelines include recommendations for single-embryo transfer (SET) rather than multiple transfers, when medically appropriate. This procedure helps minimize the higher risk associated with multiple pregnancies involving two or more fetuses.
By anchoring coverage to established clinical standards, SB 729 seeks to balance expanded access with quality and cost control.
An Expanded Definition of Infertility
Traditionally, infertility coverage has been limited to individuals who fail to conceive after a defined period of unprotected heterosexual intercourse. One of SB 729’s most consequential features is its broadened definition of infertility, which includes:

An individual unable to reproduce without medical intervention, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation (e.g., singles and same-sex couples)
A patient for whom a physician has made a clinical determination of infertility based on medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, physical findings, diagnostic testing, or any combination of those factors
A person who has been unable to achieve or carry a pregnancy to live birth after specified timeframes, with age-based criterion

Fertility Preservation and Iatrogenic Infertility
SB 729 also reinforces coverage for fertility preservation when medical treatment is likely to impair reproductive abilities. Known as iatrogenic infertility, this includes infertility caused by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or similar interventions.
For eligible plans, standard fertility preservation provisions are considered basic healthcare services when medically necessary. This provision is particularly significant for individuals facing cancer treatment or other serious illnesses, enabling them to preserve reproductive options before undergoing life-altering care.
Small-Group Plans: Limited Expansion
Small-group fully insured plans (generally those covering 100 or fewer workers) are treated differently under SB 729. While not required to cover infertility treatment or IVF, these employers must offer infertility coverage options. This means the employer can choose whether to include infertility options as part of its health plan offerings or make separate coverage available for purchase on a volunteer basis.
Compliance and Enforcement Considerations
Because violations of SB 729’s requirements are subject to regulatory consequences, compliance is a critical concern for insurers and employers sponsoring affected plans. The law prohibits discriminatory coverage limitations and requires parity with other medical benefits, including cost-sharing structures. Employers with fully-insured plans should work closely with carriers and benefits advisors to understand how to integrate and communicate fertility benefits to workers.
Strategic Implications for Employers
As more people delay parenthood (often to focus on career), they seek nontraditional paths to building families, including fertility preservation. Hence, fertility benefits are increasingly viewed as a component of competitive, inclusive benefits packages, particularly for organizations focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Even employers not directly subject to the mandate may feel market pressure to evaluate their fertility offerings in light of California’s policy direction and worker expectations.
California’s SB 729 is one of the most significant fertility coverage expansions in the US. It reflects a growing recognition that fertility care is a legitimate medical need rather than an elective or niche benefit. While the law does not reach every worker in the state, it establishes a new benchmark for comprehensive fertility coverage and signals potential future developments in other jurisdictions.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:14:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Tightened Medicaid Eligibility on the Horizon</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Tightened-Medicaid-Eligibility-on-the-Horizon-261</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Medicaid is a combined federal and state program that provides health coverage to low-income populations. Eligibility has historically been based on income and other factors, such as disability status. Starting in 2027, new legislation mandates that for certain Medicaid-eligible recipients to qualify for benefits, they must meet federally mandated work requirements. The eight states that did not expand Medicaid (Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming) are exempt from the new federal work rules.
The new requirements target people aged 19 to 64 who are enrolled in state programs under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. This includes more than 20 million adult beneficiaries who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (e.g., $22,025 a year for a single person). To maintain Medicaid eligibility, these individuals must engage in at least 80 hours per month of one or more of the following activities:

Employment
Participation in a work program, such as job training
Enrollment in an educational program (at least half time)
Community service activities
A combination of these activities

Compliance Rules
One of the quirks of the new engagement rules is the “look-back” review. When a person applies for Medicaid benefits, eligibility is reliant on the state verifying that she has met the community engagement criteria for at least one to three months (at the discretion of the state) prior to enrollment. Once enrolled, states have the option to require recipients to submit verification every month or for a longer period up to every six months.
To verify eligibility status, states must use payroll and/or encounter data (e.g., doctor visits, hospitalization) to verify compliance with the new engagement rules. Medicaid applicants may require additional employer assistance to help track and report eligibility data via:

Employer payroll data (e.g., pay stubs, timecards)
Tax forms
Digital time-tracking tools (e.g., clock in/out mobile apps)
HR Information Systems (HRIS) to verify worker start dates (tenure) and current status (full-time, part-time)
Spouse/partner income – income eligibility includes total household Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)

Ongoing Tracking and Reporting
It is important to recognize the level of ongoing documentation required to remain eligible for Medicaid benefits. Even recipients who meet the required work or volunteer hours could lose coverage due to the administrative reporting mandate. In fact, even those exempt from the Medicaid engagement rules must periodically verify their exemption status to their state administrator.
If an enrollee fails to submit timely verification documents, the state Medicaid program must issue a notice of non-compliance via the mail and at least one other means of contact. Once that notice is issued, the Medicaid recipient has 30 more days to verify compliance or he is automatically disenrolled.
Projections from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities indicate that a large percentage of Medicaid recipients will lose coverage – not because they do not meet the work requirements – but because they do not meet the regular verification mandates. Employers should try to be highly responsive to worker requests for assistance; perhaps developing a system to make timely records easily accessible to help Medicaid-eligible workers meet the administrative requirement. In this day and age of automatic paycheck deposits, workers may be remiss in retaining the necessary records for the new eligibility rules.
Make it easy on both workers and HR staff by establishing a seamless way for workers to access the data they need for verification.
New Provider Tax Rule Likely To Handcuff States
The federal government pays for more than half the money for Medicaid benefits, with states funding the remainder. States use a variety of funding strategies, including taxes on institutional providers such as hospitals, nursing facilities, and managed care programs. Every state except Alaska taxes providers to help fund their Medicaid program.
The new Medicaid rules also place new limits on how much states can tax providers. Some of the new provisions took effect immediately (July 2025), while others were given intermittent deadlines up until 2028. The effect of the new provider tax regulations essentially:

Prohibits new provider taxes or increases to existing ones
Reduces the limit to how much can be charged in states that adopted Medicaid expansion
Requires the provider tax be imposed on all providers within a specified category (i.e., not exclusive to providers with Medicaid patients)

These new restrictions on provider taxes are expected to substantially cut state funding for Medicaid. This, in turn, will reduce provider reimbursement rates, reduce covered services, lead to more restrictive eligibility, and may even lead to the shutdown of public hospitals and clinics that provide a health safety net for state residents.
It is worth noting that when emergency funding ended for the COVID-19 pandemic, states lost enhanced federal Medicaid funding. Since then, federal funding has increased by only .2% while state funding increased 16%. In other words, states already have been forced to escalate their spending to keep Medicaid fully funded, so diminished provider taxes moving forward will worsen an already challenging situation.
Federal Savings
Legislators cite a couple of goals for the new Medicaid eligibility rules. First, they believe the new work requirements will cut down on fraudulent benefits for able-bodied people who can but choose not to work. Second, the annual cost savings generated by the new rules will help reduce the annual deficit.
According to KFF, the new eligibility rules and provider tax restrictions are estimated to reduce federal Medicaid spending by 14% and yield over $911 billion in savings over a decade. States that implemented the Medicaid expansion offered through the ACA will experience the highest cuts, but all states will be impacted to some degree.
 Federal Savings (in $ billions)



Medicaid Expansion States
All States


$326B – new work requirements
$149B – limits on state-directed payments


$102B – provider taxes
$122B – eligibility rule


$63B – eligibility redeterminations
$89B – provider taxes


$36B – other
$25B – other 



Interestingly, KFF purports that only a quarter of the expected savings will occur over the first five years of implementation. That’s because the $50 billion Rural Health Fund designed to offset losses incurred by 1,800 hospitals in rural areas will also offset the Medicaid savings. That fund provides $10 billion per year from 2026 through 2030.
Beginning in 2027, the tightening of Medicaid eligibility rules is expected to significantly increase the number of uninsured people nationwide. Reducing the number of people with access to healthcare services creates additional challenges for employer‑sponsored health benefits. Heading into this year’s open enrollment period, employers may want to consider new plan designs, cost‑sharing structures, and more company-sponsored resources and programs in response to this shift in healthcare coverage responsibility.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:53:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Future Changes to Medicaid Relating to Employee Benefits</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Future-Changes-to-Medicaid-Relating-to-Employee-Benefits-260</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Medicaid provides health and long‑term care benefits to approximately one in five low‑income Americans. Starting in 2027, Medicaid policy changes embedded in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) are expected to significantly increase the number of uninsured people nationwide. 
The new “community engagement requirement” mandates that the majority of Medicaid recipients complete at least 80 hours per month of work, volunteering, or educational activities in order to maintain Medicaid health coverage. Perhaps even more critical, they must submit verification of compliance on a regular basis.
Not only will new applicants who do not meet the work requirement be denied benefits, but Medicaid will end for currently working beneficiaries who fail to document monthly compliance. However, the law does provide exemptions for certain circumstances, including:

Caregivers of dependent children under age 13
Disabled (including veterans) and pregnant individuals
People participating in a substance use disorder program
Fostered and formerly fostered youth under age 26
Incarcerated prisoners or those released from incarceration within 90 days
Hospitalized and nursing facility inpatients
Residents in areas experiencing high unemployment or a recent disaster (subject to federal criteria)

Be aware that even those exempt from the Medicaid engagement rules must continually verify their exemption status to their state administrator. Note, too, that Medicaid applicants who lose or are denied benefits due to the new work requirements will also be ineligible for premium subsidies to help purchase Marketplace health plan coverage – even if they qualify due to low income. For example:

A couple with three children will pay approximately $2,600 – $3,400 per month for an unsubsidized ACA plan
A 60-year old couple will pay an average of $2,666 per month for an unsubsidized ACA plan

Employers also should be aware that starting in 2026, some lawfully present immigrants (e.g., refugees, asylees, and those with temporary protected status) are no longer allowed to receive ACA Marketplace subsidies, so even if their income is below 100 percent FPL, they are paying significantly more for coverage this year.
Trickle‑Down Impact to Employers
The new Medicaid reforms will have a significant impact on employers, particularly those that rely on part‑time, low‑wage, or gig labor. Some workers who lose Medicaid coverage due to higher work eligibility requirements may seek jobs that offer employer‑sponsored health insurance. This dynamic can destabilize industries that depend on hourly workers whose labor is essential but often undervalued, such as food and beverage service, retail, gas stations, personal care services, seasonal work, day labor, contract work, and similar roles. Small businesses that are not required to offer health insurance are especially vulnerable to losing workers to larger employers with benefit offerings.
Furthermore, workers with dependents (e.g., children, spouses) who lose Medicaid coverage may add them to their employer‑sponsored plan. This shift would both reduce take-home income for workers and raise overall plan costs for employers.
Even large employers may feel the heat. That’s because they employ many workers who currently rely on Medicaid health coverage due to low wages and/or insufficient hours worked. This means that thousands of workers employed by some of the nation’s largest employers, including Amazon, FedEx, Walmart, McDonalds, Burger King, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, may lose healthcare coverage altogether.
This dilemma puts a spotlight on the perception that people on Medicaid do not work. In fact, according to KFF 2023 analysis:

44% worked full time (at least 35 cumulative hours/week at one or more jobs)
20% worked part-time
12% did not work due to caregiving responsibilities
10% did not work due to illness or disability
7% did not work due to school attendance
8% of Medicaid adults reported that they were retired, unable to find work, or were not working for another reason

Caregivers Quit
Medicaid is the largest payer of long‑term services and supports for seniors, children, and adults with disabilities. Since the new cuts to Medicaid threaten access to home‑ and community‑based services, some working family members may have to reduce work hours or leave the workforce altogether to provide unpaid care. At very least, the situation can increase the emotional and financial strain on workers already managing complex care responsibilities.
Higher Healthcare Expenses
The loss of Medicaid coverage will likely cause higher levels of uncompensated care. Historically, providers (e.g., hospitals, physician practices) have mitigated losses by increasing rates for those with private insurance, including employer‑sponsored health plans. Therefore, plan sponsors may have to increase plan premiums, deductibles, and copayments for workers. Worse yet, some may be forced to reduce benefits, jobs, hours, or drop coverage altogether to offset escalating healthcare expenses.
Mental Health Care Coverage
Medicaid is the country’s largest single payer of services to treat mental health and substance use disorders. Without access to this valuable resource, millions of people will stop receiving therapy and prescribed medications. This places a larger burden on employers to supplement health plan coverage and programs for new hires who are former Medicaid recipients seeking employer-sponsored coverage.
Smaller Provider Networks
The OBBB also restricts states’ ability to use provider taxes to finance Medicaid, which may cause many programs to reduce provider payments. Diminished reimbursements may lead more physicians to stop accepting, limiting, or continuing to see Medicaid patients. Some may decide to relocate to greener pastures. This not only affects Medicaid enrollees, but people with employer‑sponsored insurance as well, leading to narrower in-network access to primary and specialty care.
Reduced Obstetric Care
In 2027, given the financial strain due to higher uncompensated care and reduced Medicaid reimbursements, more facilities may have to scale back or eliminate critical services. We have already seen that obstetric care is particularly vulnerable: Becker’s Hospital Review reports that in 2025, there were 29 maternity service facility closures. In 2026, three more have already closed. Particularly in rural areas, facilities that close labor and delivery units force pregnant individuals to travel farther for care – or receive no care at all. This increases the risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery, further contributing to the nation’s already high rates of maternal and infant mortality.
Reduced Safety Net Facilities
Safety‑net providers, such as community health centers and public hospitals, serve as essential access points for uninsured and low‑income populations. As Medicaid cuts increase the number of uninsured patients, 109 safety-net hospitals across the country may be impacted, according to new research from the Harvard’s School of Public Health. Note that among safety-net providers, 15 percent are rural and 85 percent are urban. While the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program is designed to help offset cuts, the money is expected to cover less than a third of funding needed in rural communities – and urban facilities will not benefit at all.
The closing of public safety-net facilities pushes more patients to other providers, making it more difficult (and more expensive) for insured Americans to receive timely and high-quality medical care.
Which States Will Be Most Affected?
The new law disproportionately affects people enrolled in states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility. Even so, the restrictions on provider taxes to finance Medicaid will also impact non‑expansion states. Although the law allows states to request waivers for counties with very high unemployment or disaster‑declared areas, only a small fraction of counties consistently meet these criteria, and the waivers require frequent renewal. Thus, increased administrative burdens will impact all state Medicaid programs.
Unfortunately, there is a large body of evidence that indicates Medicaid work requirements do not increase employment. Instead, they are associated with higher medical debt, delayed care, and reduced medication adherence among those who lose coverage. Seeing how today’s Medicaid recipients will represent a higher percentage of the future labor pool, they may enter the work force with poorer health and strained finances.
The fallout of the new Medicaid requirements creates a more challenging environment for employer‑sponsored health benefits. Companies should be prepared to reevaluate plan designs, cost‑sharing structures, and incorporate more company-sponsored resources and programs in response to rising costs and this shift in coverage responsibilities.
 
 
 
 
 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:18:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>HR Trends for 2026</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?HR-Trends-for-2026-259</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Artificial intelligence continues to dominate the conversation with regard to company operations, but how can Human Resource departments benefit from AI over the coming year? After all, in terms of transforming company culture, AI presents concerns about eliminating jobs. The challenge for HR is to advise company leaders on the best ways to integrate AI into current operations while reassuring new recruits and existing workers that their jobs are secure. Admittedly, that task is easier said than done.
 AI
Having overcome much of the unfamiliarity and uncertainty of artificial intelligence, companies are now grappling with the day-to-day hidden costs and pitfalls in practical use situations. Perhaps one day it will measure up to the hype, but for now AI is yet another innovation that must be tamed and substantiated. While challenges remain, a recent SHRM poll found that 89 percent of CEOs expect AI to transform how their organizations engineer value in 2026. Some of the applied HR uses trending this year include:

Customizing worker upskilling programs for continuous learning experiences
Deploying data-driven performance reviews with less reliance on subjective assessments
Recruitment screening and assessments for AI fluency
A new job category: AI Manager/AI Automation Engineer for AI-savvy, entry-level recruits responsible for ensuring accuracy and efficiency of AI tasks previously relegated to entry-level jobholders
Helping workers integrate AI into their daily workflow; discovering ways for AI to enhance productivity as opposed to replacing workers

FOBO
Employers walk a fine line between investing in AI for more efficient and cost-effective automation, and countering workers’ “Fear of Becoming Obsolete” (FOBO). In particular, mid-career and older workers concerned about losing their jobs may seek employment with less forward-moving competitors – taking all their industry knowledge and experience with them.
Leaders should proactively address this fear (and reality) through frank communications about strategic AI plans for company operations and offer access to relevant training so workers can stay current with AI skillsets.
Incumbent-Based Lateral Moves and Promotions
Develop a database of incumbent workers’ existing and continuous learning skillsets, using machine learning to identify workers well suited for a new position or one HR is having trouble filling.
Mandatory Skills Training for Leaders
Today’s quickly evolving tech environment can no longer tolerate mid-level or even executive suite dinosaurs. People in leadership positions must possess a foundation of ongoing skills development so that they are not obsolete in 10 years. Fast-track leaders in the near future will be dominated by much younger adults who have developed tech and personal skills honed by their inherent familiarity with technology and empathy for mental health/burnout concerns.
An HR trend in 2026 is to no longer position advanced skills and ongoing leadership training as optional. To stay relevant and optimize management career paths, employers must set an expectation of continuous professional development as a strategic priority.
Decentralization: RTO vs EVP
Company mandates for post-pandemic return-to-office (RTO) policies are perceived by workers as a lack of trust, which can undermine productivity and morale. In fact, Korn Ferry’s 2025 Workforce survey discovered that while 59 percent of participants worked onsite full-time, 40 percent were not happy about it and 25 percent said they would prefer to work full-time remote – which many have already proven they can do.
This disconnect continues to present challenges in both recruitment and retention, with employers needing to take a hard look at their employee value proposition (EVP). Moving forward, employers who want to attract and retain top talent may need to integrate more flexibility, setting up a showdown between RTO vs. EVP, particularly in competitive fields.
Decentralized Workforce
One of the outcomes of the pandemic was the dismantling of older talent models. Freelancers, micro-teams, and AI agents have transformed the workforce into project-driven and results-oriented decentralization. Performance is less about process and more about productivity, with projects delivered on time without the need for close supervision. HR leaders can help promote organizational agility by tapping outsourced talent to contain costs and react more quickly to industry trends and innovation.
Keeping Tabs on the Economy
The current economic environment remains fluid. Fluctuations in global tariffs, geopolitical disputes, the job market, and consumer inflation are expected to persist in 2026. According to Korn Ferry’s recent CEO &amp; Board Survey, 60 percent of respondents say they expect economic uncertainty to have the most significant impact on their businesses this year. In preparation, many companies are flattening their management hierarchy by eliminating middle managers and replacing entry-level work with AI. Eight out of 10 board members and chief executives say they expect to condense their workforces by 20 percent over the next three years.
According to a 2025 Dataiku/Harris poll, 74 percent of America’s CEOs believe they will be out of a job if they cannot deliver measurable business results using AI. Adding to the complexity is today’s unpredictable economic environment as well as worker and consumer expectations.
As we move into 2026, it may be helpful to consider implementing AI strategies similar to how  companies have introduced new processes and policies in the past. It is simply another resource designed to optimize operations, streamline administration, and make workers’ jobs easier.
Technology, a decentralized workforce, and online skills training create fewer touchpoints for human interaction among workers, managers, and leadership. It is up to HR to find ways to close these gaps via communication, outreach training, and internal promotion opportunities. Deploying AI solutions can actually help secure a better-prepared and more skilled pipeline for managers and C-suite executives.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2026 14:13:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>Tailor Benefits Using Employee Feedback</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Tailor-Benefits-Using-Employee-Feedback-258</link>
			<description><![CDATA[When employees feel that their opinions are valued, they are more likely to be engaged in their work. Using worker feedback to enhance benefits not only increases utilization, but can also lead to higher levels of productivity. When employees are satisfied with their benefits and feel heard and appreciated, they are less likely to leave their employer.
The following are three steps to tailoring benefits using employee feedback.
1.     Help Employees Understand Current Offerings
First, help workers understand the benefits currently offered. According to a 2025 MetLife study, more than half (57 percent) of today’s workers say they do not fully understand their benefits. One reason is likely due to so many options. To determine which plan(s) would work best for them, workers must learn how each one works. Consider the scope of this task for healthcare, retirement, and insurance options:

Healthcare: HMO, PPO, POS, EPO, HDHP, HSA, HRA, FSA
Retirement: 401(k), Roth 401(k), Defined Benefit Pension Plan, ESOP, stock options, emergency savings account; investment options (e.g., stocks, bonds, cash instruments, mutual funds, EFTs, annuity)
Insurance: Life, short-term disability, long-term disability, accident, long term care, dental, vision, critical illness, cancer, hospital indemnity, catastrophic, legal, pet

Particularly among younger adults with less experience choosing benefits, the necessity to learn this alphabet soup of offerings is an onerous expectation. One solution is to ask employees what they think about the scope of education offered during open enrollment. It may be helpful to tailor learning opportunities based on employee feedback.
2.     Assess Workforce Needs
Second, to improve the benefits themselves based on feedback, companies should use canvassing techniques to learn what offerings would be most useful to their specific employee base. Industries, sectors, and/or regions feature diverse worker pools, many of which may be dominated by staff of a particular age, gender or ethnicity. When the majority of workers fall within a similar demographic, they tend to share many of the same needs.
For example, say most of the worker pool of ABC technology company is comprised of young adults with at least some college education earning a modest income. Many of today’s workers in this demographic do not yet have the assets or inclination to buy a house or start a family. They may be more interested in paying off student debt and buying a reliable car rather than fertility benefits. It is important to tap into these commonalities to offer greater depth rather than a wider expanse of cookie-cutter benefits.
Fortunately, there are more ways to survey workers today, and that data can be accumulated and assessed much quicker thanks to filtering and artificial intelligence summaries. Today’s level of database mining merged with electronic automation makes it easier to solicit preferences via multiple formats, such as:

Email surveys (linked to a questionnaire)
Text surveys
Paper surveys
Focus groups – constructive feedback sessions enable employees to feel ‘heard’ and provide influencing opportunities as well as bonding experiences with leaders and decision-makers.
AI chatbots – new technology facilitates conversational-style interviews between workers and an AI bot that can provide information, customize answers, and compile reports based on accumulated data.

Encouraging workers to take their time responding to surveys also sends the message that the employer is not just going through the motions but is truly interested in individual viewpoints. Moreover, longer form surveys give workers the ability to consider the relevance and usefulness of granular benefits, from free access to an EAP lawyer to GLP-1 drug coverage. While multiple choice questionnaires may be easier to synthesize, don’t shy away from open-ended questions. Fortunately, today’s artificial intelligence tools can help detect patterns, assimilate answers and suggestions, and record meaningful verbatim responses.
In addition to asking open-ended questions about the types of benefits workers would like to see, ask which ones they are never likely to use. Inquire about the types of problems workers face in their everyday lives that impede their work performance. Employees may not know of a potential solution in terms of benefits, but they are familiar with the issues that complicate their work-life balance. Given the frankness of today’s ‘Tik-Tok’ generation, young adults may provide more comprehensive feedback than their more restrained elders.
Pay special attention to verbatim comments to identify trends among past successes and failures. The goal is to offer benefits that get the most ‘bang for their buck’ in both utilization and satisfaction. The better employers get to know their workers, the better they can tailor relevant benefits.
3.     Communication: Focus on Needs, Match With Benefits
The next step is to effectively communicate how specific benefits solve problems. Provide hypothetical profiles to show how benefits can be utilized by workers, particularly young adults with less real-life experience.
For example, caregiving benefits may be perceived as strictly for childcare. This means a young adult may not realize that those benefits and resources could be used for senior daycare for an aging grandmother they live with, or that extended PTO can be taken to help a parent with a serious illness.
Bear in mind that Generation Z workers grew up in an environment of quick, informational sound bites. Their minds, through no fault of their own, are trained differently than previous generations, so the communication of benefits should adapt to their version of normal. Demographic segmenting using AI tools can help by matching benefits to needs. According to MetLife’s research, more than half of workers would prefer more personalized benefits, so consider using employee demographic data to help stratify benefit recommendations.
While open enrollment materials may offer a brief explanation of certain terms (e.g., HMO, PPO, HSA, FSA), it also can be helpful to develop an automated tool that uses a questionnaire to develop benefit recommendations. For example, younger, healthier workers with no attachment to a particular physician may be directed to healthcare plans that feature low-cost access to urgent care centers and pharmacy minute-clinics for routine ailments. Older workers or those managing chronic conditions may be better served through a health plan that features value-based care, value choice providers, or an accountable care organization.
Also recognize that we live in an age of influencers. Even older generations are prone to reading product or service reviews before buying something on Amazon or choosing a medical provider. Use information from fellow employee surveys to help guide workers on benefit selections. For example:

Show the most popular plans selected

                  -   “52% of your co-workers chose this health plan last year”
                  -   “44% of your co-workers have selected this plan for at least three years running”

Use verbatim worker reviews (anonymous or with permission) to share peer-based recommendations in written or video format

                  -   “I like not having to get a referral for a specialist”
                  -   “This plan has no copay for local urgent care centers”
The combination of today’s technology and multiple communication channels can help deliver a higher level of customization. Employers should provide standardized benefit packages in both print and electronic forms, as well as additional resources designed to meet individual preferences.
Despite their propensity for online interactions, many young adults value the efficiency of a face-to-face conversation. It enables them to ask confidential questions with follow-up queries and is often considered faster and more productive than chatting with a bot.  Assign HR personnel who closely match specific demographics (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity) to respond to individual questions via corresponding video, text, emails, or phone calls. These tailored communication tactics help workers engage with personnel who inherently understand their needs.
Also consider making detailed benefits information available through recruiting portals. Recognize that job candidates often seek out this type of information before even deciding to apply for a job. Moreover, the ability to deep dive into benefits detail (without having to make private inquiries, such as “do you provide IVF coverage?”) can be the make-or-break decision over which job offer to accept.
Employee surveying is not a one-off strategy. The combination of curating personal observations and analyzing utilization trends can help employers better understand the unique benefit needs of their workforce.
 
 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:03:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>Health Plan Designs to Help Manage Obesity </title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Health-Plan-Designs-to-Help-Manage-Obesity-257</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In the United States, 40 percent of adults are clinically obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Obesity is one of leading contributors to chronic health conditions and is a major factor in rising healthcare costs.
Employer-sponsored health insurance should be particularly attentive to the growing issue of obesity for the simple reason that it represents the majority of Americans:

Employment-based insurance coverage - 53%
Medicare - 18%
Medicaid - 18%
Individual market - 10%
TRICARE (Military) - 2%

The most common metric for determining obesity is a body mass index (BMI) calculation above 30. A secondary factor is waist circumference. Men with a waist circumference higher than 40 inches and women at 35 inches or greater are considered obese.
Coverage Options
The core offerings by insurers and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) tend to include medical and surgical benefits, as well as an optional obesity-oriented rider available for purchase at an additional premium.
Key features of weight-control benefits include:

A dedicated wellness coach matched to member preference for gender, specific background, and language
Weight counseling – coaching support to develop individual goals and a tailored action plan
Access to a support group with common goals
Therapy options for behavioral modification
Coverage for a fixed number of counseling phone/video calls
Nutrition and meal preparation plan
Physical exercise plan with discounted resources
The integration of online and offline tools and resources (e.g., calculators, trackers, articles, smart scales) to promote awareness, education, and engagement
Onsite access to biometric screenings
Team and individual rewards programs
Long-term maintenance plan
Access to GLP-1 or other weight-loss medications
Health plan coverage for bariatric surgery

GLPs
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) is a class of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obese patients. Nearly 12 percent of Americans – approximately 40 million people – have used a GLP-1 specifically to help them lose weight. The key advantages of GLP-1s are that they are highly effective and have  fewer side effects compared to other weight-loss medications.
However, GLP-1s are also very expensive, with a list price of around $1,000 or more per month.
As part of its Make America Fit Again initiative, in November 2025 the Trump administration announced that it had negotiated lower prices with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk for GLP-1 medications bought on a new direct-to-consumer platform. The website, branded TrumpRx, is projected to launch in early 2026 (purchases will still require a prescription from a health professional). The White House stated that the price of Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound GLP-1 injectables would drop to $350 a month and, pending FDA approval, a pill version of Wegovy may become available for just $150 at TrumpRx.
Plan sponsors offering coverage for GLP-1s can help keep their costs down by implementing standard plan design tools such as:

Prior authorization
Quantity limits
A deductible specific to the category of weight-loss prescription drugs
BMI requirements for coverage
Step therapy (i.e., fail-first program) for weight loss
Restricting GLP-1s available in the plan formulary
Limiting coverage to pharmacy compounded GLP-1s

Bariatric Surgery
Bariatric surgery is an operation intended to restrict stomach size to diminish obesity by reducing the absorption of nutrients. The three different types of bariatric surgical procedures are: a gastric bypass, an adjustable gastric band, and a sleeve gastrectomy. These techniques have yielded an average loss of 55 percent of excess weight and offer a positive impact on other chronic conditions.
Considerations
Employers interested in developing weight-conscious health plan designs should include coverage for a variety of obesity-related products and services. Consider health intervention programs and how to make these benefits sustainable over time. After all, weight control is not an acute condition; it requires long-term behavioral changes.
Plan sponsors should also assess the potential return on investment for a comprehensive obesity plan, relative to its cost. Remember though, ROI is characterized not only by a reduction in expenditures, but also by plan utilization, effectiveness, and perceived value by the workforce.
Recognize that a plan design specifically branded as obesity-specific could set up unrealistic expectations among participants. Many people want to lose weight for cosmetic reasons, while the purpose of the program is to foster improved health. As such, workers who are overweight but not clinically obese may sign up with the expectation of losing far more than the five percent to 10 percent weight reduction necessary to reduce health risk. Furthermore, they may not qualify for program features designed for the obese.
There should be an education and stratifying component in the plan design that matches the appropriate benefits to participants in order to manage expectations. This can help mitigate any disappointment and discouragement, for example, of someone moderately overweight who does not qualify for GPL-1s or bariatric surgery. For participants who meet the standard for obesity, it should also be clear that there is a structured multi-step program that must be followed to avoid signing on for immediate access to expensive drugs or surgery.
In fact, it is important for plan sponsors to design obesity benefits tailored to the organization’s specific needs, budget, and company culture. It should by no means be marketed as an easy fix to being overweight, but rather as a structured benefit plan designed to address the health impacts of being severely overweight – including the commitments required of participants.
Because most Americans receive health insurance through an employer-sponsored plan, developing plan designs with an obesity component has the potential to be both popular and effective.
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			<pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 13:02:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>How to Stem the Rise of High-Cost Medical Claims</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?How-to-Stem-the-Rise-of-High-Cost-Medical-Claims-256</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Studies routinely show that, while not everyone is a regular user of the healthcare system, a small subset of the population represents prolific, high-volume users. This means that the largest amount of expenses is generated by the smallest number of people. They are referred to as high-cost claimants. The majority of high-cost claimants suffer from chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and blood-borne illnesses. A smaller subset experience serious acute conditions, such as complex childbirths.
In recent years, high-cost claims have been on the rise. In the past, a $50,000 claim was considered extraordinarily high. Today, many claims start at $100,000, and multimillion-dollar claims covering congenital disorders, organ transplants, and gene therapy are not uncommon. Past surveys of self-insured employers reveal that 20% to 31% incurred more than $1 million in claims per year. In 2026, healthcare expenses are projected to increase by another nine percent.
What Is Driving High-Cost Claims?
There are factors driving up costs that are not directly attributed to medical care. For example, health systems have been consolidating and private equity firms are acquiring medical groups and surgery centers. While mergers may yield some cost savings for behemoth corporations, they do not appear to be reducing the cost of healthcare for consumers, health plans and, in particular, self-insured groups. 
Among our aging population, a single acute illness often triggers a series of complex, chronic conditions that require expensive lifelong care. Examples are cancer, cardiovascular disease, sepsis, neurological and blood disorders. However, high-cost claims are not exclusive to older generations. Today’s younger adults are increasingly using fertility services, prenatal, delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stays, and postpartum services. Furthermore, specialized, ongoing care supporting genetic disorders, neurodivergent conditions, and the growing mental health crisis are featured among all demographics, from children up to the elderly.
To help mitigate the rise of high-cost medical claims, the following are claim-reduction strategies that organizations can deploy.
Data Analytics
Analyzing today’s claims data can go a long way to helping manage high-claim medical care and generate predictive analytics to reduce costs in the near future. While claims data may describe current primary conditions, examining comorbidities (e.g., excess weight, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, joint issues, osteoporosis, poor mental health) are  key predictors of higher-cost trends.
Employers identifying high-cost claims can develop strategies to help moderate health conditions that generate high-cost care. For example, early intervention programs (e.g., weight management, smoking cessation) and early detection of health conditions (e.g., preventive care, health fairs, onsite screenings), followed by timely treatment can greatly reduce healthcare expenses.
Claims data and predictive analytics can yield insights into:

Stratify high-spend claims, such as:

By service - inpatient, pharmacy, mental vs physical health
By cost - $50K, $100K, $500K and $1M+ claims
Network vs out-of-network claims


Flag rising-risk members for outreach support, screenings, and interventions
Gauge the impact of comorbidities and social factors on outcomes and costs
Categorize preventable versus non-preventable, lifestyle-related conditions
Assess claim durations (e.g., acute, long term, or recurring)

Plan Design Adjustments
Data analytic insights can help strengthen health insurance plans. For example, if high-cost claims represent a large number of chronic conditions among the workforce, it may be worth the investment to incorporate a robust case management program into health plans.
Assigned case managers offer higher-touch services, including ongoing encouragement and assistance to help plan members adhere to a personalized treatment plan. This can be particularly productive to optimize high-cost therapies.
For example, say a plan member has transportation issues that prevent him from attending regular provider appointments. Or cannot afford a prescribed diet plan or medication. Or suffers from depression – making it more difficult to keep up with a daily exercise regime or workplace responsibilities. A case manager can provide support via reminders for taking medication, exercise, attending appointments, exploring telehealth options, and researching local community resources to help meet the logistical needs of plan members.
Case management is also helpful for plan members who undergo a hospital stay. An assigned case manager can help coordinate patient care among multiple providers both in and out of the hospital, assist with logistics specific to discharge planning, and help the patient comply with a personalized treatment plan to avoid readmittance. By reducing the number of emergency room visits and readmissions, high-cost medical claims can be substantially reduced.
Other plan design adjustments may include:

Expanding telehealth and virtual care options
Considering onsite/near-site clinic access and coverage
Expanding and promoting mental health support via employee assistance programs (EAP), centers of excellence, expanded network access and coverage
Facilitating collaboration across providers and partners
Adopting care models that focus on patient experience and outcomes
Using behavioral economics to guide members to high-quality, cost-effective care best suited for their individual needs (e.g., number of dependents, income, location, etc.)
Streamlining claims analysis (e.g., high-expense coding, demographic location, tenure, income band, job role)
Tiering medications based on usage/cost/value assessment (e.g., specialty meds, GLP-1s, biosimilars)
Modifying prior authorization rubrics and vendor contracts

Early Intervention Tactics
The most effective way to reduce healthcare intervention costs is to maintain good health. For starters, plan sponsors should offer incentivized wellness programs to address preventable, lifestyle-related behaviors. Early intervention wellness programs may include:

Mental health and stress management resources such as counseling, stress management seminars, resilience training, and mindfulness programs
Discounted gym memberships, fitness classes (e.g., Pilates, dance classes), mind-body exercise (e.g., yoga, tai chi)
Company intermural sports teams or sponsor community leagues
Personalized nutrition advice
Weight-loss programs, apps, and other resources
Smoking cessation counseling and resources
Substance abuse counseling and resources
Chronic condition-specific programs (e.g., diabetes, heart health, obesity)
Discounts/resources for alternative pain management techniques (e.g., chiropractor, acupuncture, transcranial magnetic stimulation)

Incentives may include monetary rewards such as cash bonuses, HSA employer contributions, or reduced health insurance premiums for participation and reaching established benchmark health goals. Also consider time-off rewards such as extra PTO, or tangible rewards such as gift cards, fitness trackers, or gym gear. In some corporate cultures, health incentives may be promoted via structured team-based competitions with shared prizes and inclusive events.
One of the key trends in this high-cost medical claims era is that plan sponsors are seeking more clinical-driven strategies.  Member and claims data can offer direct insight into high-cost areas so that the solutions deployed lead to more clinical effectiveness, multi-provider collaboration, and identifiable accountability for both cost and patient outcomes. Today’s efforts to stem the rise of high-cost medical claims require a broad commitment to long-term cost control while offering competitive benefits that meet the needs and expectations of today’s workforce.
 
 
 
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			<pubDate>Fri, 31 Oct 2025 10:53:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>The Value of Supplemental Health Insurance</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?The-Value-of-Supplemental-Health-Insurance-255</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Supplemental health insurance refers to policies purchased in addition to basic health insurance. They can be a valuable addition for people who are at high risk for certain conditions, such as a family history of cancer or heart disease. They also can be helpful if their basic health insurance features high out-of-pocket costs such as a deductible, co-pays and co-insurance amounts.
Be aware that while basic health insurance is no longer subject to extensive medical underwriting, supplemental policies may require applicants to answer medical history questions. Premiums can be based on past medical claims and lifestyle risk factors, like smoking. Supplemental policies may even decline coverage to those with certain pre-existing medical conditions.
Some policies may impose upper age limits, generally between 60 and 70 years old. For people interested in applying for supplemental insurance, premiums tend to be lower at younger ages. Also, women tend to pay more than men for comparable coverage.
Applicants may be able to select the level of coverage they want, with higher coverage yielding higher premiums. Policies do not all pay out the same way; some pay a fixed amount while others cover a percentage of incurred medical expenses.
Many policies cover only specific services or conditions, while others offer payouts specifically designed to eliminate financial hardship while undergoing serious medical treatment. In this scenario, a lump sum is paid directly to the patient and can be used at his discretion to pay for medical treatments, household expenses, or anything else.
 Accident Insurance
This policy is payable in the case of an accident. The money can be used to pay any expenses the recipient sees fit (e.g., insurance deductible or copays, hospital bill, childcare, rental car). It generally offers a lump sum payout irrespective of how much the patient has received from any other insurance policies. Typical premiums range from $6 to $50 per month. Accident insurance plans may be appropriate for people who tend to frequent the emergency room, are not very proficient drivers, or may have accident prone children.
Hospital Indemnity Insurance
Also known as hospital insurance, this policy specifically pays out to help cover the costs of hospitalization. The distribution is generally made as a direct lump sum upon admission, then as a per-day amount to reduce the total cost of a hospital visit. Typical premiums are $10 to $50 per month. The target demographic for this type of insurance includes people with chronic health conditions or a family history of heart disease, cancer, or another serious illness.
Critical Illness insurance
In the case of a diagnosed critical illness, this policy typically offers a lump sum payment for specific conditions listed in the policy contract. Also known as specific disease insurance, most policies offer the option to choose the benefit amount, generally ranging from $5,000 to $75,000 or more. The beneficiary can use the money however he pleases. Typically, premiums range from $10 to $130 per month, with the ability to add various riders for additional benefits.
Cancer insurance
A cancer policy usually distributes multiple payments directly to the patient after a cancer diagnosis, which he can use for treatment-related expenses such as screenings, hospitalization, surgery, therapies, accommodations and home care. Premiums are typically $10 to $50 per month, and the policy may appeal to people with a family history of cancer, who’ve tested positive for a cancer gene, or who have had significant exposure to a cancer-causing agent (e.g., smoking, radon gas, asbestos, certain pesticides).
Individual Disability Insurance
While many employers offer disability insurance, the payout is generally a percentage of salary over a limited period of time. Coverage kicks in when the insured becomes disabled and cannot work due to injury or illness. Premiums for an independent policy generally cost 1 to 4 percent of the insured’s annual income, paid in monthly installments. The policy generally pays out between 50 and 100 percent of the policyowner’s income for a set period, which may continue up to several years. The target demographic for an individual disability policy are workers who need more coverage than their employer offers, or who are self-employed/independent contractors who have no other coverage.
Policy Considerations
Workers can often purchase a supplemental health insurance plan through their employer. However, if not offered, they may be able to purchase supplemental policies directly from insurance companies. Applicants should consider factors such as their health (as well as family members), their financial circumstances, their age and the cost of premiums.
They should also consider whether they want long or short-term coverage. Longer coverage periods generally mean higher premiums. When assessing a policy, consider factors such as the waiting period (also known as elimination period) – which is the length of time required before benefits begin after the triggering incident. Longer wait periods generally reduce premiums.
Note that some people present higher risks, and therefore the applicant may be charged higher rates or denied coverage. People with higher-risk jobs include construction workers, miners, law enforcement officers, pilots and flight crew. Also, people with high-risk hobbies may be deemed uninsurable for accident insurance, such as skydivers, extreme sports participants, or mountain climbers.
Compatibility with HSA
As a general rule, people are able to contribute to a health savings account (HSA) when they are enrolled in an HSA-qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP) and do not have any other major medical coverage – which may include supplemental health insurance. However, some supplemental policies do not disqualify HSA contributions, such as specific-disease insurance, accident insurance, and hospital-indemnity coverage.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:13:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Trends in Financial Wellness Benefits</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Trends-in-Financial-Wellness-Benefits-253</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here is the cost of some common US household expenses in 2025:

The national median mortgage payment is $2,211/month
The average car payment for new cars is $745/month; $521 for used cars
The average cost of full-coverage auto insurance is around $223/month
The average student loan payment is $200 to $300/month
The average credit card payment is $181/month
The average cost of childcare is $1,039/month 

It’s no wonder, given the rise in today’s grocery, auto and housing costs alone, that most Americans are struggling financially. In fact, a recent study found that two out of three workers admit to being distracted at work by worry over their financial situation.
For this reason, many employers are proactively offering a range of financial wellness benefits to help workers better manage their money. The objective is to provide tools, services, and means to become more financially literate and make informed choices regarding their long-term security and peace of mind.
A financial wellness program should have beginner, intermediate, and advanced tracks in order to serve workers at the level they need. Resources that address debt management, credit building, short-term savings, and investment planning are some of the most popular trends among today’s employer benefits.
Financial Counseling
A good place to start is with financial counseling so that workers don’t feel like they have to figure it all out on their own. Some may prefer online research resources, but many (including young adults) would welcome the opportunity to speak with an experienced financial and investment advisor. Whether just starting out (choosing 401k options, short-term savings, student loan options), mid-career (managing debt, buying a home, college planning), or later in career (portfolio management, tax planning, retirement planning) – free and regular access to a financial advisor can benefit every demographic.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Many employers offer an EAP but they tend to be underutilized. Promoting the free services of an EAP financial advisor is an excellent gateway to increasing engagement in all of the services an EAP provides. These may include child and elder care resources, legal services for adoption, divorce planning, or drafting a will, and stress management and resilience resources for mental health and/or substance abuse treatment. All of these types of services can contribute to workforce financial wellbeing and overall wellness.
Technology-Based Tools
For workers who prefer to do their own research, consider offering financial coaching via an AI-powered platform that may provide:

Personalized advice
Interactive courses
Calculators
Investment education
Goal/investment tracking
Portfolio dashboard
Direct access to savings and investment vehicles

Seek a user-friendly platform that is smartphone-optimized, integrates with your existing HR or payroll systems, and scales for all levels of financial literacy.
Emergency Savings Accounts
One thing everyone needs is an emergency fund. Encourage and enable workers to build and maintain a liquid savings account through a payroll deduction program, and partner with a bank or credit union that offers a competitive savings rate. Consider making after-tax matching or fixed contributions up to a certain threshold. For workers who choose a high-deductible healthcare plan (HDHP), consider contributing to their health savings account. An HSA can function as a tax-free, liquid emergency fund when workers pay for HSA-eligible expenses out-of-pocket and keep/track their receipts.
College Funding Assistance
Many workers are saddled with college debt, both in entry-level positions and mid-career professionals paying off their advanced degree loans or their children’s tuition. Employer assistance may include:

Making direct employer contributions toward student loans
Offering student loan refinancing resources
Hosting college planning seminars
Offering employer-sponsored 529 college savings plans, including direct deposit, matching contributions and automatic payroll deduction

Earned Wage Access
Employers are increasingly offering on-demand pay programs so workers can access earned wages ahead of their usual pay cycle. This helps workers from amassing credit card debt, incurring overdraft fees if they become overextended, or using exorbitant-interest payday loans.
Housing Assistance
Home-buying continues to be unattainable for many young adults, and even older workers find themselves overwhelmed with high-interest mortgage payments. In response, many employers have started offering benefits such as funding assistance for a down payment, access to low-interest rate mortgage loans, and group rates for home warranty and homeowner insurance policies.
Family Protection
Most employers offer life insurance for full-time workers. As an alternative, supplementary or voluntary benefit, consider offering a hybrid life insurance policy. These contracts provide the flexibility to meet multiple objectives, including retirement income, paying for long-term care assistance if needed, and/or a death benefit for heirs.
Dependent Care Assistance
The cost of having children generally means either a parent stays home or pays for outside care. The same applies for workers who have a disabled or elderly family member who cannot function on their own. Family financial benefits start with paid family leave, adoption assistance and/or fertility benefits, and continue on through dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and child/elder care resources (local daycare network, onsite daycare, vetted back-up care resources). Even workers who do not have traditional progeny would greatly appreciate parity resources and subsidies for their “children”, such as pet insurance, pet daycare, dog-walking, and pet boarding.
Lifestyle Spending Accounts
Another new trend in financial benefits is offering a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) to each worker. Individual LSAs are exclusively funded by employers as a post-tax reimbursement account used to pay for “lifestyle” expenses of each worker’s choosing. Options may include gym membership, athletic gear, insurance policies, mental and behavioral health support, etc. Subsidies are typically $800 to $2,000 per year, per worker. The employer can set up multiple benefit-specific accounts (e.g., fitness/wellness, entertainment, work-from-home expenses) and set specific guidelines (e.g., eligible population, dollar amount, spending timeframe).
Financial Windfalls
There are ways for employers to help out during particularly difficult times, either for the entire workforce or on an individual basis. For example, economists are predicting even higher inflation on prices for groceries and other household items over the near-term due to global tariffs. Consider issuing an “inflation bonus” to your workforce in the form of a cash bonus or gift cards for specific goods such as groceries and gas. This income or cash-equivalent must be reported as wages on W-2 forms. During volatile economic times, a one-time or occasional windfall can really help out workers when they most need it.
Then there are phases when a single worker faces hard times and needs extra cash (e.g., car repair, expensive medication). This is when it’s useful to have a PTO conversion program in place. Remind workers that they may convert accrued paid time off, such as one week of vacation, into a cash payout for immediate needs.
Financial wellness is a major component of wellness in general. When workers are concerned about a new emergency expense or their long-term money problems, they can be consumed with stress and worry. Offering a robust financial wellness program with a wide range of resources can go a long way to improve not just a worker’s situation, but the company’s bottom line as well.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2025 11:30:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Approachability Is the Key to Healthcare Literacy</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Approachability-Is-the-Key-to-Healthcare-Literacy-252</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Making decisions about healthcare insurance is complicated, even under the best of circumstances. During open enrollment, workers are bombarded with loads of information on a variety of topics, time is short, and the stakes are high – these decisions last for a year. This is not the best of circumstances for understanding complex insurance concepts.
Personal healthcare literacy is the ability to understand and utilize information and services to inform health-related decisions. This task requires basic skills such reading, writing, calculating numbers, using technology and, ultimately, communicating with healthcare professionals. Also, it is further compounded by industry jargon, multiple options, and a variety of moving parts (e.g., drug tiers, provider networks, cost-sharing requirements).
It is estimated that 90 percent of US adults have trouble understanding their healthcare benefits, according to the Center for Health Care Strategies. While navigating the healthcare system is challenging for the average American, it is all the more difficult for people who:

Are aged 65 and older
Have a low socioeconomic status, income or education level
Identify as Latino, Black, or American Indian/Alaska Native
Are non-native English speakers or have limited English proficiency
Are uninsured or covered by Medicaid or Medicare

Employers may not realize the degree to which their workers are confused by healthcare enrollment materials. This is because few people are willing to raise their hand to a supervisor or HR personnel and declare that they basically do not have the comprehension skills to grasp the full spectrum of healthcare benefits. In fact, that admission by its very nature can be self-sabotaging, and most adults are aware of how it is perceived.
Foster Approachability
In an effort to improve healthcare literacy, employers should keep one goal in mind: Do not let workers feel stupid or incompetent when it comes to healthcare decisions. That is the bottom line. The onus is on employers and their benefits team to make healthcare enrollment options easy to understand and HR resources approachable and user-friendly. Otherwise, the significant investment in healthcare benefits that plan sponsors make will yield diminished returns.
The lack of employee healthcare literacy reduces utilization, negatively impacts population health, and adds to rising costs. Consider the pitfalls of limited healthcare literacy:

Reduced use of preventive care services
Difficulty understanding and following care plans
Challenges managing the complexities of chronic conditions
Longer hospital stays, more hospital readmissions, and increased emergency department use
Confusion about appropriate responses to public health emergencies
Medication errors
Higher mortality

Approachability in healthcare requires employers to be more purposeful in developing communications. It is important to recognize and address the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce, personalize benefits education, and streamline offerings so that the spectrum of benefits is not overwhelming.
Tailor Messages and Mediums
Communications can be broken down into two simple components: content and medium. In recent years, advancements in technology allow for better customization of communications, including variances in demographics, language barriers, and preferences for receiving information. Nearly all communications can be reconfigured for different mediums, such as printed materials, emails, website platforms, mobile apps, and text messaging.
It is now possible to adapt each of these mediums in different languages and even different cadences to appeal to different audiences – from Generation Z (e.g., short clips on social media, shorter-form content like videos or podcasts) to seniors (e.g., printed materials such as a benefits guide and newsletters), and everyone in between. Content can be adapted for gender, age, and claims data, from women in childbearing years to people who struggle with obesity, substance abuse, or chronic conditions. Customizing communication methods to appeal to various demographics has been found to be far more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Furthermore, a linguistically diverse workforce requires translating materials into multiple languages. Trying to understand complicated benefits in English is difficult enough, but it is a far greater challenge for those whom English is a second language. Consider that some adults who struggle with English as their second language (and immigrated from countries with universal healthcare) take their benefits materials home to their more-adapted children. Now you have people as young as grade-school level trying to help their parent’s understand healthcare benefits. Keep this image in mind as you write and review materials.
Jargon Does Not Help
Healthcare benefits can and should be described in simple, everyday language, given that the majority of Americans digest news at a high school level. We keep thinking we can “educate” consumers on healthcare jargon and literacy. However, consider taking the other route – describe healthcare options in the vernacular in which consumers are already fluent.
The fact is, the healthcare system has a language all its own, so that even highly educated people have trouble understanding everything from choosing a healthcare plan to deciphering advice from their doctor. Instead of educating the workforce on common healthcare industry jargon (e.g., “decision support tools”), simply explain things in plain language. This may be a time-consuming endeavor, but it can pay back in spades in terms of utilization, health outcomes, and good will.
Visuals Can Help
Employers should leverage tools to paint a picture of how individual workers might utilize benefits instead of guessing what benefits mean. Visual tools include side-by-side plan comparisons, cost calculators, short how-to videos, quizzes, and interactive AI chatbots to answer frequently asked questions and help guide workers to options best suited for their needs.
Consider story-telling tactics by creating unique profiles to show how a worker would use each plan option to navigate specific benefits, and the subsequent cost. Choose images that reflect the cultural mix of your workforce and their families. Bear in mind, too, that materials should be designed to promote readability (e.g., large font size in black against a white background), which is particularly helpful for an aging workforce.
Also consider the following tips:

Test-drive materials among a select task force group representing your labor pool to get advice and feedback before launching them during open enrollment.
Use language, examples, and a tone that is culturally relevant and appropriate for different factions of your workforce.
Provide professional translation/interpreter services for people with limited English proficiency.
Offer nutrition and lifestyle benefits that align with workers’ cultural, dietary, and religious values.
Design websites and digital materials for accessibility by people who use assistive technology.

Promote Human Interaction
The trend of workers returning to the office has generated a greater demand for in-person events such as wellness fairs and open enrollment meetings. These events offer a more immersive experience and enable workers to ask questions. Furthermore, onsite proceedings allow more people to witness events and discuss benefits among themselves. Consider that some workers may not want to speak up and ask questions during an event, but they may ask coworkers for clarification or their take on specific topics discussed. This provides a greater pool of people who can help others make good choices for their unique situation, which they may want to share with only a colleague or friend.
Make it easy to ask confidential follow-up questions. If two or three workers discussing a certain option find that none of them fully understands it, they are more apt to ask follow-up questions. When people are siloed, they may not ask questions because they feel as if they are the only ones who do not understand.
And finally, use commonly asked questions as a guide on how to improve communications moving forward.
Simplify Options
A recent employee benefits survey revealed that US employers increased the number of benefits offered last year by 23 percent. While a wider breadth of options is likely to appeal to a diverse worker pool, the flip side of this strategy is that too many choices can breed indecision and underutilization.
This year, use surveys and/or focus groups to help determine which benefits are most valued and identify areas in which further clarification is needed. If you receive feedback that the multitude of offerings was confusing and overwhelming, consider paring down benefits and focus on utilization over the next year.
A recent survey found a correlation that workers who understand their benefits are more satisfied with their job. Given the ample investment employers make in offering healthcare benefits, increasing and focusing efforts on approachable healthcare literacy is likely to yield a higher ROI in utilization, morale, and satisfaction.
 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jul 2025 14:38:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>The Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Medicare Prescription Coverage</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?The-Impact-of-the-Inflation-Reduction-Act-on-Medicare-Prescription-Coverage-251</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law in 2022. Among its provisions, the IRA made significant changes to Medicare drug plans with the goal of reducing the cost of prescription medications for beneficiaries. Although the drug coverage savings are expected to have a graduated impact, it is estimated that more than 14 million Americans saved an average of $800 in 2023. The following is an overview of the legislation’s provisions related to Medicare prescription coverage.
Out-of-Pocket Spending Capped
For many years Medicare featured a “donut hole” coverage gap for prescription drugs. The IRA simplified that system to the following:

Beneficiaries pay 100% of prescription drug costs until they reach their annual plan deductible (maximum $590 in 2025).
Once they reach their deductible, beneficiaries pay 25% of prescription drug costs until they reach a total out-of-pocket spending cap of $2,000 (2025) for the year.
After that, 100% of prescription drug costs is covered.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the spending cap would increase federal spending by $30 billion over 10 years. On the flip side, the $2,000 cap generates savings for the average enrollee and is especially beneficial for people with exceptionally high drug costs. To prevent Medicare drug plans from increasing premiums exponentially to compensate for higher drug coverage, the IRA also placed a limit on annual premium increases to no more than 6 percent over the prior year (through 2029).
Drug Price Negotiations
Medicare Part D drug plans were established by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and first went into effect in 2006. However, a controversial provision in the bill prevented the Medicare agency from interfering in drug price negotiations between manufacturers, plan sponsors, and pharmacies. Thanks to the IRA, that ban has now been lifted.
As the largest public payer for prescription drugs in the US, Medicare can now negotiate prices for certain high-cost prescription drugs, enabling the savings to be passed on to its beneficiaries. Only a select number of drugs (10 per year gradually increasing to 20 per year in 2029 and beyond) may be negotiated, and the ones selected are based on the highest total Medicare drug spend (e.g., drugs used to treat common conditions like diabetes, Crohn’s disease, arthritis, blood clots). Some drugs are excluded from the negotiation process, such as those with an available generic or biosimilar, or drugs still within a certain market exclusivity period.
The CBO estimates that this negotiation process will yield more than $98 billion in Medicare savings over 10 years.
Rebates for Inflation
While Medicare has no authority to limit annual price increases for the drugs it covers, the IRA requires drug manufacturers to pay rebates to the government if prices for certain drugs increase faster than the rate of inflation. In its first year (2023), dozens of pharmaceutical companies were required to pay rebates to the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) trust fund.
The CBO estimated that drug inflation rebates would reduce the federal deficit by more than  $63 billion over 10 years and yield $71.8 billion in savings to Medicare.
Insulin Price Cap
Starting in 2023, the IRA capped the cost of insulin at $35/month for Medicare drug plan  beneficiaries. As a result, the CBO estimated higher additional federal spending of $5.1 billion over 10 years. However, it is estimated that 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries saved an average of $500 in 2023.
Expanded Low-Income Subsidy
Medicare offers a Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) Program to help beneficiaries with Part D drug cost sharing based on low income and asset levels. The IRA increased the subsidy program for beneficiaries with incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty line in 2024 (from the initial starting level of 135 percent). This expanded coverage for an estimated 400,000 Medicare beneficiaries, reducing their out-of-pocket drug costs by about $300 a year. The CBO estimated the additional coverage would increase federal spending by $2.2 billion over 10 years.
Vaccine Coverage
The IRA mandated the same vaccine coverage for Part D as Part B (Medicare Advantage plans), which means 100 percent coverage with no cost sharing for all vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The CBO estimated this provision woud increase federal spending by $4.4 billion for Medicare, while seniors with Part D plans saved an average of $70 on vaccines in 2023.
 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 11:01:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Wellness Programs: A Tool for Recruitment, Performance, and ROI </title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Wellness-Programs-A-Tool-for-Recruitment-Performance-and-ROI-250</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As of 2019, more than eight out of 10 large employers and about half of all small employers offered a wellness program at work. This lifestyle wellbeing benefit, first introduced in the 1970s, began to proliferate in the 2000s when healthcare expenses started rising exponentially.
The typical employer-sponsored wellness program offers a range of benefits to engage workers with different needs, including smoking cessation, weight loss resources, fitness options, personal health assessments and biometric screenings and, particularly in recent years, stress management and mental health options.
The philosophy behind the investment in wellness programs is that healthier workers become more engaged and productive workers. A 2010 study concluded that every dollar spent on wellness programs yielded a return on investment (ROI) of more than $3.00 in the early years of implementation. However, aggregate analyses of studies conducted since then have found that these programs tend to generate more goodwill than healthcare savings.
Goodwill, in and of itself, is no small return on investment. First of all, it sends a message: We care about you, your health, and your overall wellbeing. Second, high health-related savings would come from the prevention of serious medical conditions over the long term. And yet, this variable is difficult to gauge when the average worker’s tenure hovers around four years.
Still, by focusing on the following factors, a workplace wellness program (WWP) can help get the most from workers regardless of how long each individual stays on the job.

Specific goals (e.g., disease management, quit smoking, lose weight)
Improved productivity by satisfying daily wellness concerns
Reduced absenteeism and presenteeism
Enhanced employee morale
Employer appreciation and loyalty

And, let’s face it, if one employee in 100 loses enough weight to reduce his risk of diabetes or  heart disease…or if one in 100 stops smoking and avoids lung disease or cancer…or if that one worker gets mental health support, gains confidence, and becomes a top performer – then ROI is achieved whether it can be measured in hard dollars or not.
Wellness programs have morphed through the years to include a wide variety of offerings. The key is to get to know your workforce, the type of health and lifestyle challenges they face, and offer a breadth of wellbeing benefits that will be utilized and generate individual triumphs that help sustain goodwill and retention.
The following are some high-value wellness program benefits offered by today’s employers.
Preventative Care Health Screening Kiosk
This benefit delivers several conveniences. An onsite, self-service, automated machine enables workers to measure key health metrics (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, body mass index) at any time during the workday and as often as they like. This perk eliminates the need to schedule a doctor’s appointment to monitor their vitals and empowers them with the ability to learn when they need healthcare intervention. This level of engagement is not only emboldening, but also time-saving and can lead to higher productivity due to less worry and less time-off for routine health checks.
Specific Disease Management Programs
Disease management programs (DMPs) are typically offered by health insurance plans or healthcare systems, but they also can be provided ad hoc by employers. Each program provides structured treatment plans for people suffering from a chronic condition. The objective is to offer ongoing and personalized care in order to relieve symptoms, reduce complications, and improve collaboration among providers. A DMP may include medication management, education courses, regular check-ups, and electronic documentation of progress.
Each DMP is specific to a target chronic condition, such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or depression. Fortunately, most condition-specific DMPs do have well-documented studies that demonstrate ROI. For example, one study found that a cardiovascular disease DMP yielded an overall annual cost-savings of $1,224 per person – or nearly a $5.00 ROI for every dollar spent.
Mental Health and Stress Management
Mental health is on everyone’s radar this year. Workers are worried about high inflation, investment market volatility, politics, global wars, and the ever-increasing threat of natural disasters – and that doesn’t even include any stressors directly related to work. Many employers sponsor resources such as counselling and therapy via employee assistance programs (EAPs), stress management workshops, and mindfulness sessions to help reduce burnout and improve job performance and satisfaction.
In today’s stressful environment, sponsoring mental health benefits isn’t so much about achieving ROI as it is risking the consequences of not offering this valuable benefit.
Physical Activity and Fitness Incentives
One of the cornerstones of a WWP is the opportunity to engage in regular physical activity. Many workers lack both the time and discretionary income to pay for a fitness facility, so offering resources and incentives are generally highly appreciated. Benefits may include gym memberships, organized fitness challenges, or even worksite initiatives such walking clubs, yoga or aerobics classes. In recent years, fitness technology has begun to play a role in WWPs, in which employers make mobile health apps, wearables, and digital health tools and platforms available to help participants set goals and track their progress.
Social Support and Community Building
When an employer wellness program includes group activities, such as fitness classes, wellness challenges, and support groups, workers are more apt to increase workplace friendships. Not only does this create opportunities for social interaction and camaraderie, but it makes their current employment more desirable. When people are happy where they work, and feel a sense of community and social support, they are less likely to seek employment elsewhere.
Participation ROI
While health savings ROI may be difficult to quantify, there are valuable metrics that employers should track via workplace wellness programs. For example:

Utilization rates
A decrease in absenteeism rates
An increase in performance/productivity reviews
Participation levels in specific programs, to track which are most popular
Feedback surveys in order to tweak offerings each year
Specifically, survey non-participants to find out why they do not utilize specific benefits

If a large share of an organization’s labor pool is engaged in its wellness program, there is an inherent goodwill return on that investment, regardless of healthcare savings.
Hybrid Work Models
For businesses with remote workers, it is important to offer WWP resources that can be utilized by all. Some companies have opted to provide workers with wellness benefits they can use at home, such ergonomic equipment and virtual fitness classes. The remote or hybrid staffing model itself is a form of wellness benefit, as it empowers workers to manage their own work-life balance, in turn reducing stress and improving work-life balance issues.
Recruitment: Natural Selection
Employer-sponsored wellness benefits combined with health insurance offer a multifaceted approach to healthcare. While employers can work to target non-participants via monetary and rewards incentives, it’s important to recognize perhaps the greatest advantage of offering wellbeing benefits: fit workers are attracted to them.
In recent years, research has found that employees who participate in WWPs tend to already have lower medical expenses and be on the healthier end of the healthy scale. Therefore,  offering a robust wellness program is an attractive benefit for fitness-minded job candidates. When top recruits become top WWP users, the return on investment may include reduced healthcare expenses and lower absenteeism in combination with higher levels of productivity and performance.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 10:56:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>The Impact of Flexible Work Arrangements on Employee Satisfaction</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?The-Impact-of-Flexible-Work-Arrangements-on-Employee-Satisfaction-249</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Why are flexible work arrangements so popular among today’s workforce? They give workers a sense of control. The main factor that deteriorates work-life balance is the feeling of being pulled in multiple directions at once but having no ability to change those circumstances.
However, the COVID pandemic did change those circumstances. Not only were parents spending more time at home with their children, but they no longer had to commute to their job and deal with day-to-day workplace challenges. Some adapted well, others did not. But what became evident was that circumstances can change, people can adapt, and that in itself gave workers a stronger sense of control over their lives.
If one of the biggest contributors to employee satisfaction is work-life balance, then control is the key. Not all workers want to work from home; some enjoy the camaraderie of the workplace. Others feel more productive working from home, while many prefer a hybrid schedule in which they benefit from both scenarios.
Flexible Schedules
There are various components to flexible work arrangements. One is related to time – when and how much time they dedicate to the job. Flexible scheduling offers various formats, such as:

Flextime – A flextime policy enables workers to choose from a variety of different options. For example, 7:00 to 3:00 p.m., 9:00 to 5:00 p.m., or 10:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Four-day workweek – Compressed workweeks generally mean longer workdays, but they also can provide a three-day weekend. As either a company-wide policy or a standalone option, this flexibility offers both parents and single workers more time to spend with family, travel, or indulge in hobbies.
Job sharing – This work arrangement enables two or more workers to share a workload. They may choose from a variety of options, such as splitting the normal workday, workweek, or even work every other week. It’s a good alternative for people who prefer to work part-time, but also a practical arrangement for workers winding down or returning to work (e.g., new parents, phasing out retirees, time-strapped caregivers, or even to help assuage potential burnout). Better yet, a shared job doesn’t have to be a permanent situation; it offers an alternative to help workers who might otherwise have to quit their job entirely.

Components of Job Satisfaction
Whether offering flextime time or remote/hybrid work arrangements, there are an abundance of benefits that lead to employee satisfaction.
The ability to start work earlier or later, or the ability to work from home, can help reduce the stress and time requirement of a long commute to work. For onsite workers, as-needed flexibility can help when workers need to pick up a sick child at school or be home for a repairman’s “service window”.
Both flextime and working from home (WFH) give people the opportunity to schedule their work around regular fitness classes, instead of the other way around. Moreover, workers have the freedom to schedule ad-hoc appointments with physical and mental health providers, who are generally unavailable on weekends. These flexible options give workers the power to engage in self-care activities and prioritize their own well-being. Not only does this lead to greater work satisfaction, but it can also reduce absenteeism, increase energy levels, improve overall health and reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions.
Working from home solves for a lot of work-related problems for many people. These issues may include being home when children return from school (eliminating the expense of after-school care), the ability to customize a more comfortable and quiet workspace, and even limiting in-office antagonism and conflicts among coworkers. From a performance perspective, the distance gives some workers a better opportunity to be evaluated based on the quality of their work rather than the quantity of time spent in the office.
One of the misnomers that was proven untrue is that unsupervised workers slack off when they work from home. In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review study found that teams with greater autonomy yielded a 25 percent increase in performance, with more than 70 percent reporting they feel more engaged when they have the ability to structure their workday and work processes.
When workers are happy with their job, they tend to stay with their employer. A FlexJobs survey revealed that eight out of 10 workers prefer jobs with schedule flexibility, and three out of 10 say that flexible work arrangements directly influence their satisfaction with the job. A Gallup report found that more than half (54 percent) of workers would be willing to leave their current position for one with more flexible opportunities. And finally, a Workplace Trends survey discovered that companies with flexible work policies have a 35 percent lower employee turnover rate.
The ability to work from home expands the pool of talent available to employers. For example, there are people who want to work but often cannot, due to a disability that keeps them homebound or even mothers of school children who cannot manage the schedule of picking up children from daycare or after-school care due to the long, traffic-challenged commute home. When people who want to work find an employer that is accommodative to their personal needs, this not only nurtures job satisfaction but also brings more workers into the fold for a wider range of skills, experience, and knowledge.
Address Challenges – Do Not Avoid or Dismiss Them
Flexible work arrangements definitely present challenges for employers. While much of the technology aspects were worked out pretty quickly during the COVID years, many problems remain. Still, they are solvable for employers willing to face them head on.
For example, one study found that nearly a third of remote workers struggle with isolation. Not only do they miss out on office friendships and impromptu gatherings, they also have fewer  opportunities to learn from coworkers, less access to resources, supplies and equipment, difficulty “unplugging” from work at nights and weekends, and getting less onsite exposure that could help with promotion opportunities. While “separation anxiety” can make workers feel disengaged and less satisfied with their job, employers can deploy more personal and frequent communication strategies and employee engagement practices to develop a cohesive company culture that includes flextime and remote workers.
While flexible work policies alone tend to yield high job satisfaction, employers should be willing to implement additional measures to help nurture and maintain that sentiment. To foster an inclusive culture, employers also should focus on positive mental health, and using technology to enhance collaboration regardless of various schedules and locations.
Flexibility should not just be a benefit; it should be core to an organization’s culture and a hallmark of its success.
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			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2025 10:23:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Comprehensive Benefits Maximize Employee Engagement </title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Comprehensive-Benefits-Maximize-Employee-Engagement-248</link>
			<description><![CDATA[During the rise of the industrial revolution in the early 20th century, employers began to offer benefits such as housing, medical care, and schooling as a way of attracting and retaining workers. One hundred years later, this practice is still in force, with expanded benefits meant to make the professional and personal lives of the workforce easier and more rewarding.
In addition to a competitive salary and, in some cases, flexible work hours and locations, employer benefits range from health insurance to a retirement plan to student loan assistance and gym memberships. But do these benefits really help workers become more engaged in their specific job or in the company as a whole?
According to research conducted by Morgan Stanley at Work, 89 percent of employees say they would be more inclined to remain with their current employer if offered financial benefits that meet their specific needs. Coincidentally, Morgan Stanely reports that 94 percent of US employers are thinking about revamping their financial benefits packages in 2025. 
Perhaps it’s useful to break down today’s spectrum of benefits by their potential to incentivize worker engagement. In other words, while employers attempt to enhance productivity and the company’s bottom line, how do benefits benefit individual workers?
I can focus on my job.
If you’ve ever been preoccupied by financial troubles, or the health or someone you love, or wondering if your child is safe at daycare, then you know how distracting those thoughts can be. Especially at work. It is difficult to concentrate in a meeting or on a specific task if you are worried about a situation in your personal life. By offering a broad range of benefits, employers can help alleviate some of the common worries that plague employees.
For example, a generous healthcare plan gives them the confidence of knowing that they don’t have to spend a lot of money or time battling with their insurer for coverage to treat an ill spouse or child. Receiving monetary assistance each month to pay for college or a student loan can help lessen the worry of making ends meet. And providing vetted child and eldercare resources can help relieve a worker’s mind that while they are away at work, their charges are being well taken care of. With this peace of mind, workers are more likely to stay engaged and feel a high degree of loyalty and appreciation toward their employer.
I feel like my employer cares about my needs.
A comprehensive package of benefits does more than just provide, it sends a message. When workers are able to pick and choose from an array of benefits that suit their specific needs, they feel as though they are being well cared for. Employers may have a number of business reasons for offering benefits, but perhaps none is more important than fostering a feeling of belonging and appreciation. When workers believe an employer truly cares about them, they  frequently feel motivated to reciprocate by being more engaged and productive in their work.
I want to do more.
In fact, a robust package of customized benefits can motivate workers to do more and perform at a higher level. That is why it’s important for companies to offer higher learning opportunities. By pursuing a higher education or extra training and certifications, subsidized instruction allows workers to feel like they have a future at the company. Offering advanced learning opportunities helps them envision a more productive and lucrative future by remaining with and growing professionally through the ranks of the organization. 
I have a plan for my future.
Employer-sponsored benefits help workers envision a better future and engage in tangible steps to achieve their goals. For instance, a generous employer match for a 401(k) plan helps workers create a reliable plan for their retirement, save for college, and provide for their family. These types of benefits provide a powerful incentive to remain with their current employer and stay engaged in their job and their career path.
While employers work to create attractive compensation and benefit packages to recruit highly qualified candidates, it’s important to remember that these same benefits also reward incumbent workers for remaining loyal and help retain them. Instead of feeling like they may be missing out on opportunities elsewhere, when they receive the same scope of benefits offered to new workers – including higher wages and more flexible schedules – it is as if they got a new job themselves.
And just as attentiveness and a hard work ethic tend to be high when an employee first joins a new company, employers can benefit from that same level of engagement from their current workforce by offering a comprehensive benefit package each year across the enterprise.
 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:17:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Common Mistakes with Retirement Plan Management</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Common-Mistakes-with-Retirement-Plan-Management-247</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Retirement plan sponsors are required to navigate a complex web of rules and regulations that govern employer benefits. Inevitably, this leads to errors. Mistakes can run the gamut from not updating the plan to reflect legislative changes to not complying with 401(k) nondiscrimination tests. The following are common errors associated with retirement plan management.
Contribution Errors
Eligibility – To retain qualified plan status under IRS rules and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a 401(k) plan must meet deferral and contribution percentage tests that compare plan participation rates among lower and higher compensated employees (HCEs). These rules mandate minimum vesting and allocation requirements in plans where the majority of assets are owned by higher-paid/key employees, to ensure that lower-paid workers receive at least a minimum benefit.
Compensation Calculation – While an employer’s annual matching or profit-sharing contributions are typically based on each worker’s compensation, careful attention must be paid to how the retirement plan defines compensation. In other words, a miscalculation may include ineligible bonuses or other supplementary income that is not allowed by the plan. If an employer fails to correct this imbalance, the plan can be disqualified.
Roth Option – In plans that offer a Roth IRA option, employers sometimes fail to separate the contribution and treat it as a pre-tax deferral. To fix this mistake, the employer must transfer those assets, adjusted for earnings, from the pre-tax account to the Roth account. The adjustment must be reported on a corrected W-2 form and the worker must file an amended Form 1040 for the year of the incorrect deferral. Alternatively, the employer may opt to include the pre-tax contribution as part of the worker’s income in the year it is deferred. For the latter option, the employer may elect to compensate the worker for the additional taxes owed due to the mistake (which also must be reported as taxable income).
Timeliness – Employers often make the following timing mistakes:

Not depositing participant or employer contributions in a timely manner
Not distributing employer-matching contributions according to the plan’s vesting schedule
Not distributing excess contributions in the calendar year, which could result in additional taxes and penalties for both the participant and employer.

Distribution Errors
Participant Loans – Retirement plans that allow loans must meet both plan document and the following IRC Section 72(p) requirements:

Participants may borrow up to 50% of their vested account balance, not to exceed $50,000, via a nontaxable loan
Participants may borrow up to $10,000 in excess of half the account balance if the additional amount is secured by collateral
The participant has up to five years to repay the loan with interest, which is also credited to the retirement account

Loans that do not meet these criteria may be treated as a taxable distribution to the participant. When non-compliance is due to employer error (e.g., failure to withhold payroll for repayment of the loan), the employer may be required to pay a portion of the repayment to correct the defaulted loan.
Hardship Withdrawals – Hardship withdrawals must follow plan rules such as be used to pay for medical or educational expenses, or to purchase a principal residence, or to avoid eviction or foreclosure. The withdrawal is limited to the amount necessary to meet the particular hardship. These distributions are subject to income taxes in the year withdrawn, as well as a 10 percent penalty if withdrawn before age 59½. Workers cannot repay the amount back to the plan.
Plan Administration
Fiduciary Duty – Plan sponsors should periodically conduct a competitive review of their benefits administrator to compare service levels and fair pricing. Even if the plan sponsor decides to retain the current provider, this exercise complies with their fiduciary duty.
Compliance – Plan sponsors are responsible for ensuring the retirement plan complies with all regulatory requirements. Noncompliance can lead to personal liability, tax penalties, or loss of the plan’s tax-deferred status. Remember that most 401(k) plans must file an annual return (Form 5500) with the IRS.
Problem-Solving Resources
Fortunately, the IRS has developed some resources to help employers fix retirement plan errors. The IRS Employer Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) offers three options:

Self-Correction Program (SCP) – plan sponsor may self-correct mistakes without notifying the IRS or paying fees.
Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) – plan sponsor may pay a fee and secure IRS approval to fix retirement plan errors at any time prior to an audit
Audit Closing Agreement Program (Audit CAP) – plan sponsor may pay a fine and correct mistakes during a plan audit

For more information visit the EPCRS webpage.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 Feb 2025 10:00:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>HR Trends for 2025</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?HR-Trends-for-2025-246</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ We may be past COVID threats, but Bird Flu is peeking over the hedge. Some companies are well-adapted to remote and hybrid work models, but others have ordered employees back to work even after negotiating more fluid contracts. Both scenarios create potential headaches for HR personnel. From the increasing need for mental health resources, more compassionate management skills, and the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) taking over jobs, the following are trends HR will be facing throughout 2025.
Resilience
If there is a buzzword to characterize HR in 2025, it is “resilience.” According to a recent report by the McKinsey Health Institute, worker and management resilience is the key to adaptability and engagement in the coming years of growth and innovation. After all, growth and innovation inevitably lead to change, and many people do not respond well to change – even top performers.
However, McKinsey’s research reveals that workers with high levels of resilience are healthier, more engaged, and generate more innovative ideas than less-resilient peers. Taking cues from the past, Darwin’s theory of evolution may prove to be consistent with today’s work environment. In other words, soft skills such as adaptability may become more valuable than education and experience. Only time will tell, but in the meantime the best plan of action may be to strengthen resilience across the entire workforce, so that no one gets left behind.
Developing resilience immediately brings mental health resources to mind, but perhaps not the usual slate of therapy and medication. Mental health tactics for resiliency may include:

Cultivating mindfulness through meditation, positive thinking patterns, and self-care
Building strong social connections both at home and at work to help weather bad times and enjoy good times
Embracing new ways of thinking and working to encourage creativity and innovation
Fostering a resilient culture in which all workers feel valued, respected, and empowered
Developing personal compassion, tolerance, and forgiveness (everyone makes mistakes)

Bear in mind that using resilience as a barometer of performance does not excuse a toxic work environment. The goal isn’t to make workers tough enough “to take it” when dealing with abuse, harassment, prejudice, or other systemic issues in the work environment. Those problems need to be dealt with head on, not adapted to.
Resilience is an important skill to endure all that life throws at us – illness, financial setbacks, people who let us down, and disappointments at home and at work. It is the ability to perceive uncertainty or change as an opportunity, not a setback, and to think flexibly and creatively when approaching new situations.
Skills-Based Hiring
The confluence of a number of factors has led to a new demographic of resilient workers – Generation Z as well as disillusioned mid-career professionals. The rise of the internet platform for both commerce and influence, the increasingly high costs of attending college, and the disruption of educations due to COVID created a sense of resiliency and innovation in what kind of jobs people want and how they want to live.
In turn, this means that worker skills and capabilities are becoming more valued than  educational background or work history. This has placed a new focus on what workers can do, rather than where they do it or how they learned those skills. The timing for this trend couldn’t be better, as it has expanded the talent pool of skills that have been in short supply. In fact, a recent survey found that the share of employers who focus on skills-based hiring swelled in 2024: 81 percent compared to only 56 percent in 2022.
Personnel Management
While rank and file workers may be skills-based, management roles are changing as well. Resilient teams will need to adapt quickly to rapidly changing technologies, processes, industries, and customer expectations. Team leaders will need to know how to foster this adaptability by building emotional connections, trust, and communication skills to facilitate collaboration even more than individual task management. Much of this new training can be acquired through people analytics that synthesize worker skills, performance, engagement, learning acumen, and adaptability.
Some companies are fostering a more positive management environment by instituting simple changes to accommodate more workers, such as:

No more 8 a.m. meetings; meeting-free mornings; or meeting-free Fridays
Acceptance of individual workstyles and preferences
Encourage and listen to ideas, no matter where they come from
More flexible leave options and the ability to work remotely as needed (even in non-remote work environments)
Offer both managers and workers training to support the development of soft skills like self-awareness and regulating emotions
Organizational support such as clear, streamlined processes and abundant resources
More focus on ways to engage task-oriented workers (e.g., shelf stockers, cashiers, factory floor workers)
Fewer executive management ranks and more people managers over process managers

Hybrid Work Tempered, But Not Vanishing
Some companies have issued ultimatums for workers to return onsite full-time; others have adapted to a fully or partially remote staffing model. Moving forward, new start-ups that feature intellectual capital will at least consider the value and cost-savings of fully or partially remote staffing, so the model is here to stay and may grow even more in the future.
Data collected during the remote-work years points to a higher work-life balance without sacrificing productivity. However, these advantages are often offset by massive investments in commercial real estate and onsite technology that few large employers are willing to sacrifice. There is also the challenge of keeping a remote workforce engaged in company initiatives and in the pipeline for promotions. Balancing these issues will continue to challenge HR departments in 2025 and beyond.
AI In HR
While artificial intelligence is slowly replacing workers in jobs ranging from customer service and manufacturing to accounting and graphic design, the one area that would seem impervious to AI is HR. But that isn’t the case. AI is rapidly transforming HR functions such as recruitment, performance management, employee engagement, and talent development.
Fortunately, this is an area where AI is useful for handling rote tasks, such as administrative duties, predictive analytics, and feedback analysis. This allows HR professionals to spend more time on high-touch, high-value activities, such as personal interactions, mediating conflicts, investigating complaints, and training. Given the recent political movement to stamp out diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, HR departments may be further burdened by the repercussions.
All in all, human resources challenges promise to continue in 2025.
 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jan 2025 13:15:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>Data Driven Benefits for Retention</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Data-Driven-Benefits-for-Retention-245</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) is the tactic of using relevant data to help make business decisions. In the past, particularly with regard to human resource functions (in contrast to financial, operational, or technological matters), many decisions were made based on intuition, experience, and qualitative assessments.
While these factors serve an important role, they do not offer the level of objectivity or accuracy that data can provide. The advent of today’s data-driven analytics can empower HR professionals to make evidence-based decisions for a stronger impact on business goals. In fact, a recent PwC survey of more than 1,000 senior executives concluded that data-driven companies have improved business decisions by more than threefold over companies that have not adopted data-driven analytics.
Collecting and analyzing data serves several purposes. First, it establishes a benchmark of present circumstances. In a sense, it conveys a story about your organization with an objective, unbiased look at the status quo. Next, the data may suggest changes to alter or improve a current situation that may substantiate, or dissuade, gut instincts and traditional norms.
 Employee Benefits Decisions
HR professionals can take advantage of data-driven analytics to transform ways to attract, develop, and retain employees – ranging from upper management to key talent to rank-and-file workers. For example, deploying data collection and predictive analytics can identify those who are at risk of leaving, which gives HR the opportunity to address their concerns and improve retention.
Collected data also can help determine what benefits to offer. Not only does a strong benefits package make employees feel supported, but it also creates a disincentive to leave the company. Recognition that the range of benefits enjoyed by a worker and her family may not be offered elsewhere can eclipse the lure of a higher paycheck.
To help determine which benefits have the most impact on retention, consider gathering data specific to:

Employee demographics (age, gender, education, experience, tenure)
Performance data (metrics related to productivity, quality/quantity of work)
Real-time feedback (employee engagement surveys, pulse surveys, focus groups)
Recruitment metrics (time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, candidate sources, recruitment process efficiency)
Retention data (turnover rates - by department, location, manager; reasons for leaving; exit interview feedback; turnover costs, both collectively and by position)

Engagement Surveys: Open-Ended Questions
It is easier to offer multiple-choice questions to synthesize data, but gathering data shouldn’t be about providing predetermined answers from which to choose. Instead, by asking open-ended questions, ensuring anonymity, and offering substantial time and space to respond, an employer sends the message that it really wants to know what workers think. While it may not be as easy to compile data via pre-set answers, it is easy to detect patterns of common opinions.
In your questionnaires, ask tough questions that make it clear that the company understands what is at stake. For example, ask what types of benefits would make a worker think twice before changing jobs, and what workers believe are standard benefits they can get anywhere. Ask open-ended questions about the types of benefits they would like to see added, and what types they’ll never likely use. In addition to asking about specific benefits, consider asking the types of problems workers have in their everyday lives so that your HR department can brainstorm on what types of benefits would help alleviate those issues.
It is important to link benefits directly to retention in order to establish which ones have a real impact on their decision to stay or seek a position elsewhere. You can even ask if they are considering leaving the company and what is their timeframe for making a change. Ask if they would consider a lateral move within the company over seeking a new employer.
Surveys and focus groups can help establish patterns of contentment or dissatisfaction, and can even pinpoint specific departments, locations, or other areas of the organization that excel or perform poorly for retention.
Data Analysis
There are many types of advanced analytics tools and software available to help HR professionals interpret the data collected. For example:

Human Capital Management (HCM) Systems (integrated platforms that provide analytics capabilities and manage HR functions)
People Analytics Software (designed to analyze HR data and offer actionable insights)
Business Intelligence (BI) Tools (platforms that offer data visualization, reporting and dashboard capabilities)
Descriptive Analytics (compares current and historical data to identify trends and relationships)
Diagnostic Analytics (examines data to determine the causes of trends and correlations between variables)
Predictive Analytics (forecasts future trends and outcomes based on historical data)
Prescriptive Analytics (recommends actions for desired outcomes based on predictive models)

Follow-Through
Analyzing collated data can help HR identify trends in order to improve the scope of benefits offered and consider new ones. However, one of the most difficult tasks of accumulating data is: What now? Even when problems appear to be universal and glaring, solutions are not always as obvious. The key is to do something, even if it requires incremental changes. In this scenario, it can be helpful to publish a roll-out plan and then solicit feedback as to how the incremental changes are working and being accepted by employees.
A data-driven approach also helps improve employee engagement. When employees feel that their opinions and feedback are valued, they are more likely to be engaged in their work. Using data to understand employee engagement levels and make improvements can lead to better engagement and increased productivity. When employees are satisfied with their jobs and feel engaged in their work, they are less likely to leave.
Measure Efforts
While you continue to get subjective feedback on changes made to benefits offered, it is also important to accumulate hard data, such as how many workers increase their utilization of incumbent benefits, how many are trying out new ones, and how many people have left the company since embarking on this effort. Not only should you compare these internal numbers year-to-year, also compare them to common industry benchmarks.
Look for Patterns
A big part of the data analysis process is being able to visualize the collection effort to create a tangible story. It can be challenging for decision makers to make sense of a spreadsheet full of numbers. Create meaningful charts and graphs to help others visualize the results, as well as add subsequent data over time in order to identify trends, successes, and failed efforts.
Retention Benefit Strategies
With accurate and relevant data in hand, HR can intervene with targeted retention strategies, such as address workplace issues or provide tailored benefits. For example, some workers may consider leaving if they feel they have advanced as far as they can with their current employer. By identifying high-risk employees, HR can proactively offer additional career training and development opportunities, mentorship programs, clear career paths and opportunities for advancement.
Other employees may be frustrated by an inability to balance their workload with their personal life obligations. Retention benefits can include more flexible work arrangements, such as a flexible schedule as needed, reduced hours or job sharing, or the ability to work remotely to eliminate a long commute.
Recognize that not all employees have the same appreciation of all benefits. Some may value physical/mental wellness and financial planning, others may prioritize development and advancement opportunities, while still others may insist on flexible work arrangements. It can be useful to use benefits data to segment your workforce by preferences and tailor offerings accordingly. This can help HR design segmented benefits packages to help reduce turnover.
Retention ROI
Employees today want more than just a paycheck. They seek work that is meaningful and an employer that provides for their family and lifestyle. These goals are supported by less traditional benefits, such as flexibility, wellness, and personal advancement.
Much of today’s data analytics is applied in areas such as finance and marketing. In fact, a recent Mercer report found that 80 percent of HR departments still gather and analyze data via spreadsheets. The lack of strategic, evidence-based benefits planning in HR offers a competitive opportunity for employers willing to invest in data accumulation and analytics.
Is it worth the cost? That depends on how important your employees are to your organization. Industries that thrive on human capital can save substantial time and money by retaining talented workers rather than continually recruiting and replacing them. Even those whose operations are driven by low-skilled workers can reduce turnover, training costs, and improve productivity by tracking and analyzing the impact of their benefits package.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:00:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>Revamp Company Culture: A Wise Investment</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Revamp-Company-Culture-A-Wise-Investment-244</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here’s a topline view of US staff transitions over the past five years:

2020: Panicked layoffs
2021: Frantic hiring
2022: The Great Resignation
2023: Post-pandemic layoffs
2024: Continued mix of aggressive hiring and layoffs

The outcome of such volatile changeovers inevitably leads to workforce insecurity in desperate search of security – for both workers and employers. And make no mistake, no matter what your company culture was like before the pandemic, it’s been through a rough patch. Now is a good time to get it back on track or rebuild from scratch.
As we enter 2025 – a quarter century into the new Millenium – it’s safe to say that the workplace has changed exponentially during this timeframe. It all started out with fears of
Y2K, the potential for a computer glitch triggering the failure of banks, electrical grids, and nuclear power stations, to name but a few. It was not a great way to enter a new century, but fortunately our fears were assuaged and global technological calamity was avoided.
However, Y2K did bring the focus on technology (and security) to the forefront, launching advances in smartphones, apps, Bluetooth, social media/influencing, 24/7 news and disinformation, video conferencing, online dating, and travel (Uber, Airbnb) in ways previously unimaginable. Moreover, today nearly a quarter of the workforce (23.8%, according to US labor statistics as of October 2024) works remotely to some degree. Sixteen percent of companies operate fully remote without a physical office.
These changes, largely considered advancements, do however present certain challenges – particularly with regard to a carefully nurtured and sustainable corporate culture. Perhaps it’s time to examine why employee culture is so important and how to shape a resilient one.
Value of Human Life
First and foremost, workers have a genuine and justified fear of being replaced by technology. We’ve seen rampant advancements in recent years in the areas of automation, robotics, and generative artificial intelligence (e.g., chatbots, ChatGPT). The more sophisticated these technologies become, the less need for human resources. And while culture might be easier to manage in a company full of robots and apps, the humans left to oversee them may feel alienated and devalued. Therefore, no matter the size of the organization in terms of headcount, it is vital that employers stay connected to their workforce and foster engagement, trust, respect, and loyalty.
Cost of Turnover
Studies show that the rate of turnover in the US is as high as 20 percent a year (approximately six percent involuntary; 13 percent voluntary). When workers are unhappy, they tend to leave – especially the competent ones who can always find new employment. The cost of turnover has both hard and soft impacts. For instance, the cost of replacing a worker equals about six to nine months of his salary in recruiting and training expenses alone.
But that doesn’t reflect the trailing costs, like a loss of productivity while the position remains open and a new hire gets up to speed. When incumbent workers have to pick up the slack, this can generate feelings of resentment, disengagement, and even envy – which can lead to more workers seeking other employment. Turnover can have a snowball effect if not buttressed by a competitive package of compensation and benefits, responsive human resources, appreciation, and goodwill.
How To Sabotage Work Culture
Perhaps the first step to building a supportive environment is identifying what destroys it. For example, 37 percent of remote workers say their employer monitors their online activity, and that’s on top of the onsite workers who can be easily surveilled while conferring with coworkers or even tucked away at their workstation. Understandably, these tactics convey a lack of privacy and trust in the workforce.
A company that uses monitoring software should be transparent about it, and detail what types of behaviors or patterns of behaviors are important to the employer versus what is considered irrelevant and trivial. After all, recognize that there is no point in making workers feel paranoid; let them know exactly the parameters appropriate for workplace behavior and productivity so they understand your motives and know where the boundaries are set. Do not underestimate the value of trust: Studies by Gallup have found that companies in which trust is predominant among workers outperform their untrustworthy peers by 186%.
Another important component of employee morale and engagement is a respectful workplace culture. Workers and their managers should be held accountable for toxic activities such as gossip and spreading rumors, backstabbing, brownnosing, stealing credit, unfair promotions, and unequal pay. These are just some of the issues that poison workplace culture.
Furthermore, reorganizations can be very damaging. When top management views people as interchangeable parts, without regard to their experience, education, needs, interests, and talents, it sends the message that the whole is more important than the sum of its parts. That may be effective at cutting costs, but at the expense of worker loyalty and turnover.
How To Craft a Viable Work Culture
The following are some of the building blocks for creating a foundation of security and trust.
Management Training
A recent study found that more than half (57%) of workers left their jobs because of their direct manager or company leadership. Poor management facilitates a dysfunctional work environment via withheld communication, favoritism/prejudice, lack of recognition, and micromanagement. To build a trustworthy employee culture, managers should be trained in soft skills, such as listening, emotional intelligence, fairness, and empathy.
Upskilling/Reskilling
If reorganization or a company redirection is necessary, workforce needs should be considered a priority. If workers don’t have the skill sets to support the new vision, consider training, educating, upskilling or reskilling opportunities as part of the restructure. Communicate the new direction and find out which workers are willing to undergo transition and which ones would rather seek another employer. Work with what you have before seeking outsiders. After all, there are some situations in which upskilling incumbents can be more effective and less costly than hiring someone from the outside and getting them up to speed with company processes.
Integration/Platforming
Also recognize that new hires can have a dramatic influence on corporate culture, particularly in higher ranks. If they are warm and receptive, willing to learn the ropes and get to know people while making incremental changes, they are more likely to be accepted. However, change-agent henchmen are often more focused on their assigned objectives than on people’s feelings and past contributions. Employers should craft a new-hire orientation program designed to emphasize the importance of treating coworkers with respect and building trust while accomplishing goals. 
Also, consider pairing each new hire with a willing incumbent to help them adapt to their new job and have a go-to resource for questions ranging from the complex to the simplest (e.g., who do I call if I’m running late?). This tactic can be particularly helpful for remote workers to foster friendship, connection, and belonging. But perhaps more importantly, make sure you take care of incumbent mentors by not adding to their workload and by compensating them in meaningful ways (e.g., extra time off when needed).
Internal Mobility
A new report by iCIMS found that 60% of employees were expecting a new promotion in 2024, and half of them said they’d look for a new job if they didn’t get it. This data suggests that workers do not wish to remain in an environment that offers low potential for their future. To develop a supportive culture, employers should offer each worker career development opportunities with a career path toward better prospects, better pay, better work-life balance, and a better lifestyle for themselves and their families.
Promote Communication But Set Boundaries
Communicate various options for discussions. For example, if a worker (or a team of workers) has a problem with their immediate supervisor, they should know who they can speak to confidentially to get help with their concerns.
Balance the need for communications. For example, schedule company messages so that worker inboxes are not filled with administrative emails every morning. Be particularly conscious of this during open enrollment season. Another example is balancing the need for updates with autonomy, especially with remote workers. Train managers on how to navigate the delicate balance between ‘touching base’ and micromanagement.
Be cognizant of the considerable rift in politically-minded workers over the next few years. You may want to communicate that certain topics should be discussed outside of the work environment to prevent unnecessary conflicts between workers. By the same token, give managers guidelines on how to mitigate these types of arguments should they arise.
One of the keys to developing a responsive company culture is to understand what your labor force wants. To do this, foster a high-feedback environment. Start with an initial survey to help you understand how employees feel about the organization’s current culture. As you rebuild from within, take frequent pulse surveys to ask how changes are perceived and consider implementing suggestions for improvement. According to a survey by Achievers Workforce Institute, 64% of workers consider resigning due to their “lack of being heard”.
Employers can learn a lot through exit interviews. Communicate that this is not a bridge- burning scenario. Emphasize confidentiality and that the HR department sincerely wants to understand the reasons why employees depart. For top talent, convey the desire to work on issues and leave open the door to welcome them back in the future.
Take Care of HR
According to the latest SHRM State of the Workplace Report, more than half of HR departments are understaffed and overworked. Burdened with the responsibility of managing a complex web of benefits, the fallout of toxic management, and the potential for political upheaval, human resource personnel are understandably stressed out and at high risk of burnout. If your goal is to improve employee culture, the first place to start is with the morale and welfare of this department.
To attract and retain competent workers, make your workplace culture more enticing than others. Despite the impact of volatile times (e.g., economic, political, natural disasters, pandemics), workers should have no doubt that no matter the circumstance, remaining with their current employer is far better than rolling the dice somewhere else.
That in itself is a reason to invest in a strong corporate culture.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:28:00 -0800</pubDate>						
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			<title>Why Offer Soft Skills Training?</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Why-Offer-Soft-Skills-Training-243</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Many employees want to increase their skills so they can earn more money to improve their lifestyle. But even those who do not can be motivated by the opportunity. When employers offer skills training, this gives workers the chance to learn more and do more to improve their own life – with subsequent advantages for the company.
In fact, workers are most often hired for their experience, knowledge, and their “hard skills.” Hard skills are the functional and quantifiable skills needed to meet the scope of work. For example:

Accounting
Carpentry
Cashiering
Coding
Computer software knowledge
Copywriting
Data analysis
Graphic design
Foreign language speaking
Inventory
Project management
Social media management
Tax preparation
Welding

However, what is often missing, what is generally not taught in colleges or technical trade schools, are “soft skills” – such as the ability to work well on a team. Soft skills are less tangible and often more difficult to teach because they are borne out of behavior and personality.    
Common soft skills include:

Communication – clearly expressing ideas and listening to others
Teamwork – collaborating with others to achieve a common goal
Adaptability – being flexible and open to change
Emotional intelligence – managing one’s emotions and understanding those of others; exhibiting empathy, self-awareness, patience, multicultural sensitivity, humility, gratitude, and resilience
Trustworthiness – reliability and integrity
Problem-solving – identifying and resolving issues efficiently
Conflict resolution – handling disputes quickly, fairly and constructively
Time management – prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively
·Leadership – guiding, motivating, and moving a group of people seamlessly in the same direction; mentorship
Strategic foresight – the ability to apply product/service and marketplace knowledge to maximize planning opportunities
Critical thinking – approach problems and challenges with a strategic and analytical mindset; weigh available options and consider potential outcomes; evaluate the strength of arguments and identify flaws in reasoning; consider multiple perspectives; consider short- and long-term consequences
How to network – in order to strengthen professional relationships and create more career opportunities
Coach/mentor or be coached/mentored – to help oneself and other coworkers learn the ropes and avoid pitfalls on the job

Creativity: the ultimate soft skill
In the approaching era of artificial intelligence (AI), creative thinking will become an increasingly important skill. While AI may be able to supplant many rote and repetitive jobs, the ability to think outside the box, generate ideas that challenge the status quo, and innovate new ideas will be in higher demand. That’s because creativity evolves from natural curiosity, a willingness to take risks and embrace ambiguity and uncertainty – nuances that are generally eschewed by logistic considerations.
Without creativity, innovation would stagnate. After all, AI does not have the wholly human ability to imagine. The soft skill of creativity, on the other hand, allows the mind to view problems without logistical boundaries, to envision a future and then work backwards to design a path to reaching goals via non-linear solutions.
The challenge of soft skills training is how to leverage humans in a workplace destined to be replaced by technology. A recent McKinsey and Company study projected that within the next five years, AI and machine learning-enabled tech could replace up to 30 percent of the global workforce. However, without creativity – both at the problem-solving factory floor level and pie-in-the-sky “what’s the next best thing” innovation – forward-thinking commerce will deteriorate.
Fortunately, creative thinking can be taught, practiced, and excelled in by people at all levels of the income band. Creative soft skills are not just for artists and musicians; it’s like a muscle that can be exercised and built through repetitive training and practice. Politicians, executives, and business leaders at all levels have been taught creative soft skills via:

Improvisation classes
Role playing
Brainstorming
Stream of conscious journaling
·Walking in nature
Reading fantasy/science fiction
Meditation
Repetitive exercise (e.g., running, treadmill, stationary cycling)
Working with different people/exposure to different cultures, races, genders, and ages
Working with what Abraham Lincoln called a “team of rivals” to spark productive discussions and debates among people with opposing opinions (e.g., creatives with technical staff)

Note that today’s remote work staffing model opens up more opportunities for diversity exposure and soft skill learning by having in-office personnel work with staff located throughout the country or world. According to the Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum, creativity and innovation are expected to be the most valuable skills over the next five years.
The building blocks of soft skills training
Soft skills training can be either structured or unstructured, which allows workers to choose what works with their schedule and learning capacity. For example, structured face-to-face classes may work well for on-site staff who benefit from the interactive class experience. However, other workers may opt for online classes that they can take when it is convenient for them, such as nights and weekends.
To help workers identify what type of soft skills training they need, an employer can provide tools and screenings to help them self-evaluate their current capabilities and pursue weak areas. For example, some of these assessments may already be used during the HR hiring process, such as:

Cognitive ability tests – evaluate how workers perform in unexpected scenarios using abstract thinking with numerical and verbal reasoning skills
Game-based assessments – measure cognitive ability
Personality tests – gauge certain aspects of a worker’s personality, such as introversion vs extroversion

Soft skills assessment tools can help identify strengths and weaknesses to prepare a customized training curriculum. Also consider having supervisors discuss with workers potential career paths that lean into their strengths and goals, then choose soft skill training classes that can help further them along that tract.
What are the benefits of soft skills training?
There are times in a worker’s career when, despite accumulating a vast number of hard skills, experience, and industry knowledge, his career path may be stunted due to lack of soft skills. For example, he may not have strong people skills or the ability to lead teams. Recognize that this hurts employers as well, because people with fewer hard skills and experience may be hired in or promoted above them. This not only breeds resentment but sends a message to other high-performing skills workers that their career path is limited.
It is also important to note that as technology continues to advance, it threatens and perhaps even shortens the careers of highly skilled workers. By taking advantage of employer-sponsored soft skills training, workers can add more depth to their resume and open up greater opportunities to manage in a technology-led environment. Regardless of the reasons, developing strong soft skills and a creative mindset offers new avenues and career longevity.
Employers also benefit from increased soft skills among the workforce. For example, workers learn:

To be more focused on long-term goals
To make more rational, realistic decisions
To develop persistence and resilience
To become better listeners
To make others feel more comfortable working with them
To practice kindness and encourage others to do so as well
To improve and strengthen working relationships with colleagues and supervisors
To better manage stress and feel more energized at work
To be more creative, thus spurring new problem-solving techniques and develop innovative products/services that generate a competitive edge

While there is a wide array of coveted soft skills, some may be more valuable than others based on position or industry. By having a soft skills training program in place, employers do not have to limit their job candidates to those they believe already have the requisite soft skills.
In other words, imagine you interview a candidate to manage a team of programmers. This person has in-depth experience and knowledge in all the software programs your company uses – but the candidate appears to lack management or people skills. Or perhaps you’d like to promote a long-time skilled worker to a C-suite position, but she lacks critical thinking and long-term planning skills. A soft skills training program can help you hire and promote people who have the hard technical skills that the job requires, paired with the opportunity to train them to become a perfect match for the role.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:55:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>How To Improve Communication of Employee Benefits</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?How-To-Improve-Communication-of-Employee-Benefits-242</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In recent years, studies of company benefit communications have yielded a common theme – and employers are not going to like it any more than workers do. Aon’s new 2024 Global Benefits Trends study summed it up in no uncertain terms:
“Current efforts are underwhelming, uncoordinated, and ineffective.” 
One reason for this is because many employers are still not taking advantage of digital solutions that are widely available (e.g., benefits apps, virtual meetings, video messaging). Adopting a broader array of communication vehicles can improve reach and better explain benefits to workers. According to Aon’s research, more than 80% of employers admit that their workers do not fully understand their benefits, including large, mature companies and those in progressive and high-tech industries.
A 2023 Employee Benefit Trends Study conducted by MetLife revealed that:

45% of workers do not fully understand all elements of their benefits package
50% would feel more valued by their employer if benefits were better communicated
54% would like personalized recommendations
60% regretted the benefit choices they made due to a lack of understanding or information

The desire for better clarity is particularly high among Generation Z, who are new to the responsibility of choosing benefits and have had less exposure to long-form written documents. They grew up on quick, informative sound bites. Their minds, through no fault of their own, are trained differently.
An Aflac survey also confirmed that nearly half of workers feel that poor benefits communication reflects their employer’s lack of care. It is possible to infer that the company wants to frustrate and alienate workers from choosing benefits in order to save money.
Improvement Strategies
Fortunately, there are ways to improve this situation. Some of the issues stem from the lack of  expansion to electronic communication vehicles. As avenues of communication broaden, it gives people more options and they develop preferences. Part of this is generational – younger adults prefer electronic vehicles while Boomers are comfortable with printed materials. However, this is not the only distinction.
Many young people prefer face-to-face conversations, interestingly enough. This is largely due to their unfamiliarity with benefits which, let’s face it, are far more expansive and complicated than back when Boomers started their careers. In-person interactions enable workers to ask specific questions and follow-up queries. They are also generally more productive than chatting with a bot that has limited information and non-intuitive responses.
But also consider that introverts, regardless of age, may prefer chatbots and reading materials more than extraverts. Note that the sheer number of worker preferences is vast and varied, and nearly all of them (89%, according to a recent workplace study by LegalShield) would prefer tailored communications that highlight their specific needs and interests.
The good news is that the combination of today’s technology and human resource diversity can help deliver a higher level of customization. Employers should provide standardized benefit packages in both print and electronic forms, but offer additional resources designed to meet individual preferences.
For example, ensure that your HR staff reflects your workforce, in age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Empower them to use their background and expertise to improve benefits communications. For example, let younger HR personnel take the lead on developing newer digital communication strategies. Furthermore, once they understand the benefits, they can write about them in language that their peers will understand. This may also be true for gender and race – brainstorm with staffers to generate ideas addressing cultural differences that may be incorporated into benefit descriptions and personalized recommendations.
While it helps to have experienced communicators who have worked on benefits for years, recognize that standard wording may make perfect sense to an HR expert but be confusing to workers, particularly Gen Z. Remember, writing in simplistic terms alienates no one and appeals to everyone. 
Also consider training and assigning HR personnel who closely match specific demographics to respond to questions via video or other like-minded response mechanisms (e.g., text, email, phone call). For example, let a Millennial staffer address a question that tends be asked by Millennial workers. This is a customization strategy that enables workers to engage with personnel who inherently understand their needs.
Recognize that new hires are bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information, so benefits may take a backseat to learning what is expected of them in the job. While offering a comprehensive guide on day one may be prudent, prioritize benefits that need to be selected right away. If possible, remind them to sign up for lifestyle-oriented and/or voluntary benefits at least a week before their 30-day window expires.
Consider the following benefit communication tactics:

Conduct in-person group meetings; specifically invite remote workers into the office or to watch via video-conference
Offer short, benefit-specific workshops, webinars, Q&amp;A sessions or vendor panels so that workers can select from options in order to better manage their time
Make open enrollment fun: Host a yoga session or group walks around the campus to emphasize health and wellbeing benefits
Explore gamification options to engage workers and motivate them to use benefits throughout the year; enable workers to earn points for activities and redeem them for prizes
Offer the ability for workers to schedule a one-on-one call, video chat, or in-person meeting with HR personnel
Provide access to a live representative dedicated to answering benefit questions all year round
Highlight changes to benefits and new benefits offered during open enrollment (e.g., a bulleted cover sheet, splash page, on-site signage)
Send benefit reminders and due dates via email, text, splash landing pages, app notifications, on-site signage, social media platforms, etc.
Send targeted benefit reminders throughout the year to encourage utilization
Maintain a running log of questions asked by workers, including their demographic information when possible (e.g., gender, age range, location, race, ethnicity)
Utilize the ability to quickly generate short in-house videos that address common questions; align the HR speaker with demographics, when appropriate; make these videos available online, on demand, categorized and searchable by issue
Offer customized benefit recommendations based on age, gender, and life events with sample profiles (via printed flyers and online links)
Develop an online questionnaire to generate a unique benefit recommendation based on worker answers
Share price hikes that have caused an increase in benefit premiums over the previous year – and show how those costs are split between the company and workers (employer transparency is valued now more than ever)
Emphasize money savings opportunities via examples and benefit comparisons
Illustrate how each financial savings vehicle offered builds over time through regular contributions
Show relevance – promote which benefits are most appropriate at different stages of life (e.g., paying for college/student loans, saving to buy a house, starting a family, caregiving for family members, planning for retirement, etc.)

Benefits To Employer
In 2021, a Pew Research survey found that 43% of respondents left a job because the benefits were not good enough. But was that really the problem? In the movie, Field of Dreams, the catch phrase purported that “if you build it, they will come”. However, the film was mystical, evidenced by the fact that Kevin Costner’s character didn’t even advertise.
Benefits, by contrast, require clear communication and non-stop promotion. Employers must do a great job of communicating benefits or workers may miss deadlines, make unsuitable selections, or forget to use them. Worse yet, they may look for another job with an employer offering fewer benefits – but that explains and promotes them better.
If your company has not incorporated digital communications such as video messaging and virtual meetings, it may not effectively reach remote and young adult workers. Also note that these mediums provide quicker, cheaper, and more personal alternatives to benefits booklets and group meetings.
Studies show that benefits satisfaction is directly correlated to worker contentment, loyalty, and retention. Therefore, employers should focus on improving benefits communication to reduce turnover, increase utilization, and provide a better return on their investment. It is not enough to offer a great benefits package; workers must understand them, choose the correct options for their circumstances, use them, and appreciate their value.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 30 Sep 2024 14:45:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Employee Must-Have Benefits: Revamping the Old, Adding the New</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Employee-Must-Have-Benefits-Revamping-the-Old-Adding-the-New-241</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Traditional benefits have focused on retirement plans as well as life and health insurance. These are important employee benefits because many workers would not be able to afford them otherwise. However, times have changed, and employers must change with them if they want to be competitive in the labor market. Benefits management is critical because employee well-being is a critical business need. Without it, your organization will suffer.
These days, traditional benefits are considered de rigueur. To stand out, employers must go well beyond the traditional package. However, recognize that traditional and non-traditional benefits are not mutually exclusive. To present a progressive package, you can freshen up traditional benefits with new components, as well as augment them with new options.
Broaden Medical Coverage
For a couple of decades, the focus on health plans was to make them more affordable for both employers and their workers. Today, the focus is on expanding healthcare coverage in both form and reach. Consider the following options:

Cover both workers and their dependents, including:

Married and unmarried domestic partners
 LGBTQ+ families


Offer coverage for fertility treatments, adoption, surrogacy, and other options to help workers start or expand their family

Ensure these benefits are available to all workers, not just heterosexual couples


Include gender-affirming care
Offer financial support for workers who must travel to another state to access reproductive care
To be inclusive, your plan network should include providers who meet various needs, such as:

Those familiar with LGBTQ+ care
Bilingual providers
Providers that look like your workers
Providers that share the same background


Mental healthcare access and affordability

Be aware that access to affordable mental healthcare is critical for all employees, but especially those who belong to diverse groups. Even if your company has built a diverse and inclusive workplace, employees may experience unconscious bias, exclusion, and overt discrimination out there in the rest of the world. Offering expanded benefits that address inclusion goals help your employees feel that work is a safe space for them.
Wellness Programs
Wellness programs continue to expand, offering a wide range of benefits from smoking cessation and weight loss programs to yoga and meditation apps, to fitness center memberships. However, consider that these programs could be analogous to putting a Band-Aid on a heart attack. What may be more impactful is to identify and initiate company-wide systemic measures designed to eliminate sources of employee stress.
Paid Parental Time Off
Parental leave is a traditional benefit protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which offers certain workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. There are three ways to update this benefit. The first is to offer a fixed amount of paid maternity leave so that new mothers do not have to use up all their vacation time to stay home with their newborn or adopted child. The second way is to offer a certain amount of paid or unpaid leave for fathers to bond with new children and help around the household. And finally, consider creating a gender-neutral parental leave policy to include LGBTQ+ couples.
Financial Benefits
Traditional financial benefits call for competitive compensation and a retirement plan. New, non-traditional benefits should recognize the financial challenges specific workers face and offer impactful solutions. For example:

Divert matched paycheck income into a liquid emergency fund or college savings fund
Facilitate access to low-interest rate mortgage loans
Host college and retirement planning seminars
Offer free access to experienced financial/investment/legal advisors
Enable faster access to pay than every two weeks

Floating Holiday Model
There are no federal laws that mandate employers offer paid holidays. Even so, most companies have a full slate of paid holidays, including Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. However, your workers might prefer selecting their own paid holidays, such as a family birthday, the day after the Super Bowl, or two days before Christmas to spend with in-laws. While you may still want to close up shop on the big holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day – the floating holiday model allows you to stay open the rest of the year with staff who would rather choose their own paid holidays to better accommodate personal celebrations.
Nontraditional Benefits
Stay abreast of new benefit trends but be aware that not every type of benefit will work for every employer. For example, the Silicon Valley trend for unlimited paid time off (PTO) will not work for many organizations. Before implementing new benefits, consider any unintended consequences.
With that said, do not be reluctant to explore new benefit options, including the following.
Flexible Work Options
Remote work and hybrid schedules have proven to be one of the most highly- coveted benefits in recent years, with many workers swearing they will never return to the office environment. Fortunately, a significant body of research supports the idea that most workers tend to be as productive if not more so working from a remote location. The bonus is that it helps them also achieve a better work-life balance.
Another enhancement employers can add is flexible work hours. In many cases, this means working earlier, later, or variable hours in order to accommodate a partner’s schedule and/or childcare needs. Also consider giving workers the ability to compress their 40-hour workweek into four days instead of five. With these flexible options, you may even impose certain requirements, such as mandating they spend at least two days a week in the office or be available from 10am to noon for a meeting window every day.
Additional PTO
PTO is one of those benefits that is not always used each year by the entire workforce. According to Pew Research Center, nearly half (46 percent) of American workers do not use all their PTO during the year. If this is the case, there may be little risk in offering more. Note that for some workers, this perk means they would not have to cut back vacation plans for ad hoc medical appointments, daycare closures, to attend a child’s after-school activity, or jury duty.
Caregiver benefits
More workers are taking on caregiving duties, whether for children or elderly relatives or both. Adding new benefits, such as reimbursing paid caregiver expenses or offering flextime for unexpected situations, help reduce worker stress and reinforce the value of company benefits.
Culture Defines Benefit Usage
It’s one thing to offer generous PTO and paid parental leave, yet another for workers to feel they can take full advantage of these benefits. In some companies, supervisors inadvertently or purposely discourage workers from taking time off – which they have technically accrued – because it would put a workload strain on the department.
To eliminate this pressure not to take benefits, consider ways to empower middle management to help address their issues. For example, cross train coworkers to better fill in when colleagues are out, hire temp workers, bring in retirees or part-timers to fill the void. Most importantly, train managers to encourage direct reports to take full advantage of benefits offered, approve time off when requested, and augment departmental resources when needed so that the burden doesn’t fall on co-workers.
In fact, HR can support this cultural change by monitoring benefits utilization and holding leaders accountable for team members not taking time off. Over the long run, this initiative can help improve morale without sacrificing productivity.
Know Your Workforce
If you don’t know what mix of traditional and non-traditional benefits your workforce would prefer, just ask. Brief, specific surveys can help garner the data you need while making workers feel they have a voice in the workplace.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:59:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Employee Care: Wellness and Wellbeing</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Employee-Care-Wellness-and-Wellbeing-240</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Employee care means more than just providing benefits. It should be the basis of company culture, steadfastly consistent – no one slips through the cracks – and universally practiced by all who work in the organization. Company leaders should facilitate, nurture, and reward a caring culture.
Caring about workers goes beyond health insurance and a retirement plan. It should cover all aspects of each employee’s life – essentially 360° holistic health – including:

Physical health
Mental health
Financial health
Social health

Social Health
While the first three factors are well-known, social health is a relatively new concept. It refers to relationships. Interestingly, you may find that some of your highest-performing employees –those not distracted by family obligations and an active social life – are the ones most likely to experience poor social health. Often it is the “workaholic” who eschews close relationships in order to focus on work, even if work gives them a lot of satisfaction.
However, we all need a social support system, whether provided by family, friends, or work colleagues. Social health is a sense of wellbeing that emanates from personal connection and community. Longitudinal studies have shown that closely bonded relationships typically have a greater impact on how well we live and how long we live – even more so than physical health. One study even found that loneliness is a greater contributor to death than obesity.
In other words, a person who eats healthy, exercises regularly, and maintains a positive mindset but neglects personal relationships may be compromising his overall well-being. Some of the ways employers can help nurture and strengthen workers’ social health is by offering:

Opportunities for social interaction and bonding, such as happy hours, office picnics, a game room
Volunteer opportunities to help workers get involved with community organizations
Encourage friendships at work – allow people time to indulge them

Even one or two close friends can yield positive social health – and work friends may be the only friends they have.
Wellness vs. Wellbeing
Wellness programs and benefits have been around for a while; the concept of Wellbeing is fairly new. Traditionally, employers have deployed wellness programs as a means to improve worker health, complement their health insurance, and lower costs – either now or sometime down the road.
A Wellbeing program, on the other hand, is designed to address more than just physical health. It includes benefits and resources to enhance emotional resilience, stress management, and even financial fitness.
The following table offers examples of wellness and wellbeing benefits:





Wellness Benefits

Wellbeing Benefits



 360 healthcare benefits

health plan
dental plan
vision benefits
hearing benefits



 Work Flexibility

work schedule/compressed hours
work location
time off as needed
job sharing/phased retirement





 Full range of discounts for fitness preferences

gyms
pools
spas



 Mental health

counseling/teletherapy
stress management/resilience
mindfulness resources





 Demographic-specific healthcare support

smoking cessation
disease management programs
weight loss and nutrition
menstruation and menopause leave
cancer support
fertility benefits
sleep management
diversity among network providers



 Financial support

financial education/advisor
match for emergency savings account
contribute to a health savings account
insurance premium reductions
tuition/student loan assistance
home buying assistance
childcare/caregiver assistance
flexible paydays





 Alternative care

chiropractic care
massage therapy
acupuncture
acupressure
craniosacral therapy
herbal medicine
reiki



 Safety

environment
bullying/harassment
racism
sexism
ageism
classism
heterosexism/genderism






The Trouble With Studies
Some recent studies on workplace wellness programs have demonstrated increased worker satisfaction, but a lack of improvement in employee health or a reduction in medical costs. In many cases, gym memberships, fitness apps, and other wellness benefits have yielded no significant impact on measured outcomes such as weight, blood pressure, cholesterol or blood glucose, nor reduced rates of medical diagnoses or healthcare service utilization.
While controlled studies often reveal substantial health improvements via benefits and resources offered in Wellness and Wellbeing programs, employer programs are not always able to replicate these results through voluntary and inconsistent usage.
Proactive vs Reactive
For many workers, Wellness and Wellbeing benefits are reactive efforts. Some research indicates that employers could be more proactive at reducing work factors that tend to cause stress and anxiety in order to eliminate these precursors of poor physical and mental health. For example, work stress factors include frequent layoffs and restructurings, poor hiring, firing and promoting practices, and lack of compassionate management training.
When adopting a universal employee care perspective, structural and operational changes should take into consideration whether they could potentially cause worker stress. In turn, management deliberations should think through how to reduce or eliminate that potential.
The return on this investment would come over time, as there may be less call for an expansion of wellness and wellbeing benefits. Well-run, well-structured employers that adopt an employee care vision may then place more focus on their product or service delivery.
 A Band-Aid on Burnout
For employers seriously engaged in employee care, benefits that promote flexibility and opportunity are more likely to have long-term success. In other words, a gym membership is a great way to work off stress caused by not earning enough income to cover household bills. However, the ability to work from home when children are sick can be more empowering than a massage at the end of a stressful day.
Prolonged stress, caused by a combination of professional and personal obligations, is a recipe for burn out. Employee care should perhaps be focused on removing daily stress factors rather than mitigating them with meditation and yoga classes.
The Bottom Line
The cost of workforce healthcare grows with each passing year. However, the investment is vital because the alternative is higher absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, and lost productivity. Research in this area is rather conclusive: A healthy workforce yields lower costs and higher operational performance.
While the wellness industry has grown exponentially in recent years, an employer would do well to understand its workforce, its true needs and wants. Employee care starts with a mission statement; all other benefits, practices, and policies offered should directly support that mission.
Remember, the goal is to support employees with what they need, when they need it. To accomplish this, benefits should support and reflect a caring culture.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 31 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>The Care Factor: The Key to Worker Engagement, Productivity, and Loyalty</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?The-Care-Factor-The-Key-to-Worker-Engagement-Productivity-and-Loyalty-238</link>
			<description><![CDATA[According to MetLife’s 2024 US Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS), workers say that employers who care about their health and happiness is what motivates them to be more productive, loyal, and satisfied with their job. The study defined employee care as:

Demonstrating genuine interest in workers’ overall well-being – both professionally and personally
Fair and transparent compensation structure
A safe work environment
Recognizing and valuing individual worker contributions
Acknowledging their unique needs as individuals

Unfortunately, the research found that 42 percent of US workers have concluded their employers do not care for them based on these benchmarks. In contrast, among workers who do feel cared for by their employer:

87% are more engaged with their work
90% are more productive
89% are loyal to their employer

Demographic Differences
It is important to note that the EBTS study found that worker priorities tended to vary by demographic groups. For example, women are more concerned with safety and comfort in the work environment, as well as a high level of support from managers. Gen Z workers, on the other hand, preferred that their employer be transparent and proactive on political, social, and environmental issues.
Promote Purposeful Work
In the small business arena, more than 50 percent of workers value what they consider “purposeful work” to be a key component of their job. Among those who didn’t feel their job offered purposeful work, 71 percent indicated they’d be looking for a new job within a year.
Flexibility
In order to self-determine their own work-life balance, employees seek flexibility in work arrangements, including remote or hybrid work, as well as less rigid schedules.
One recent trend that has emerged is called “chronowork.” This scheduling strategy is based on the overriding fact that people have different circadian rhythms. This generally references sleep patterns, such as an early bird or a night owl. Some employers have started lengthening the workday, so that early risers can start early and clock out early. Late sleepers can come in late and work late – all punching in an eight-hour day. While there should be a few hours of overlap to hold meetings and face-to-face interactions, this new biological clock tactic enables people to work during the time of day when they feel most productive.
Supportive Work Culture
The 40-hour workweek is the most dominant staple in peoples’ lives; the largest unit of time around which all other appointments and activities must be scheduled. With increasingly busy lives as workers, spouses/partners, parents, caregivers – even children and teenagers – it is incumbent on employers to build a supportive work culture. This involves managers and supervisors getting to know their direct reports on a personal level so they can understand the challenges workers face and the activities they enjoy that help stave off burnout.
Because employees spend so much time at work, their colleagues and managers become part of their social community. Encouraging caring and positive relationships among your staff hierarchy can result in an energetic and supportive team. Quick personal conversations allow managers to connect with workers and help them feel that people at work care about them.
Prioritize Training
Many workers are continually looking toward the future, trying to figure out a career path that will earn them more money. One way that employers can be pro-active is by providing continuous training opportunities. Managers should hold one-on-one meetings (not just at review time) to talk about each worker’s goals and what they would like to be doing in the future – then help match them with training opportunities.
An MIT survey revealed that the average worker receives only a half day of training each year. Furthermore, only 4.5 percent of workers receive a promotion within the first two years of hire. That may be because next-level positions are often filled by outsiders; only 10 to 20 percent of job openings are fill by incumbents. Lateral moves are even more scarce – awarded to only one percent of US employees, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Employers should weigh not only the considerable cost savings that come from training and promoting in-house talent, but also the value of demonstrating that they care about employee career growth.
Bear in mind that even if workers do not see themselves working there in the future, guiding them toward their goals elsewhere can make them more productive, appreciative, and loyal in the present.
Focus Benefits on Personal Care
The same holds true for personalizing benefits. If you provide a wide menu from which to choose, HR has the opportunity to guide individual workers toward benefits best suited to their situation. Offer workers the ability to schedule one-on-one meetings to share their situation and get personalized benefit recommendations – a surefire way to show workers you can about them.
Pay Fairly
It’s no secret that pay disparities breed resentment and division among workers. You can try to keep worker salaries a secret, but that continues to be a losing battle in today’s more transparent environment. It can erode trust in the company and its leaders. A better route is to build an equitable and transparent pay system that aligns with worker knowledge, experience, and productivity.
Conduct pay-equity audits to identify workers whose pay is below scale based on these benchmarks. In other words, don’t keep an outperforming worker at his paygrade level simply because that’s where he – or more likely she – was hired in. Level up pay once you recognize that productivity and performance is on par with higher-earning coworkers. Not only will this earn trust and make that worker feel valued and cared for, but it’s also the right thing to do.
Interestingly, MetLife discovered that 83 percent of company leaders believe that their workers are “financially healthy.” The first step to debunking this myth may be an anonymous pop-up survey asking your workers that very question.
Crisis Care
Most workers encounter critical moments in their lives when they need support. It could be juggling school and work, trying to buy a home, welcoming a new family member, taking on new caregiving duties, or losing a loved one. These are times when employers should be prepared to step up with extra compassion, flexibility, and resources to support individual workers.
The MetLife study found that employers that go the extra mile during these critical moments create long-term loyalty that yields higher levels of holistic health, productivity, engagement, and retention.
Ease Up on Restructuring
An enormous contributor to workplace stress and anxiety is the dreaded restructure. And yet, endless departmental restructures seem to be the norm at many large companies. Moving people around (and calling them “human capital”) like pieces on a chessboard is both dehumanizing and sends the message that their job roles and contributions are devalued. This is the opposite of showing workers that you care about them.
It is also worth noting that most organizational restructures do not last, which is why they seem never ending. The stress toll on workers, not to mention irreversible actions such as laying off employees and hiring new ones, may be less constructive than investing in a more caring approach to operational improvement.
One key aspect to employee care is often the most overlooked: HR should take the lead role in designing policies, benefits, and management training practices designed to treat employees better and nurture the role of employer care.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:22:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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			<title>Environmental and Sustainability Benefits For Workers</title>
			<link>https://www.fickewirth.com/the-loop-detail.php?Environmental-and-Sustainability-Benefits-For-Workers-239</link>
			<description><![CDATA[More than eight out of ten Millennials and Generation Z workers believe that businesses should take responsibility for improving environmental and social issues. While many companies have developed green business practices, it is important to demonstrate this commitment through worker benefits as well.
After all, younger generations are trying to steer their careers toward socially conscious employers. Aligning their professional life with an employer that reflects their personal values gives them a sense of pride and purpose. Therefore, offering environmental and sustainable benefits presents an all-new and viable avenue for employers to attract and retain a dedicated and productive workforce.
Transportation
Every day, millions of Americans commute to work by personal vehicles or public transportation. As a result, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Employers that offer remote and hybrid work options can substantially reduce these emissions.
The following are environmental and sustainable benefits related to transportation:
• Limit business air travel to only what is necessary • Offer working from home or a hybrid home/office work schedule• Offer subsidies to relocate workers closer to the worksite • Offer subsidies for using public transportation or biking to work• Offer incentives to organize or encourage carpooling• Offer subsidies or discounts to rent or buy bikes and accessories; consider deducting payments on a tax-advantaged basis from paychecks• Provide worksite charging stations for electric cars and e-bikes• Offer subsidies, rebates or discount programs for buying or leasing electric or hybrid vehicles• Offer subsidies, rebates or discount programs for the cost and installation of a home charging station for electric cars and/or e-bikes
Bonus Vacation Time
Business air travel is not the only contributor to greenhouse gas emissions – vacation travel is also a major factor. While many people may be willing to utilize other modes of transportation, they are typically limited to air travel due to time constraints. One way that employers can incentivize lower-carbon alternatives is to offer paid “travel days” in addition to vacation PTO. In other words, when a worker submits vacation plans that feature train travel in lieu of air travel, they may be granted extra PTO to compensate for the slower, but more environmentally conscious alternative.
Purchase Programs
Employers have the advantage of being able to negotiate prices at volume rates and then pass on those savings to their workers. Consider using this tactic for sustainable products and services that workers can integrate into their homes and lifestyles. For example:
• Offer subsidies, rebates, or discount programs on appliance and home systems for efficient lighting, heating, and cooling – which also may qualify for tax credits and incentives• Offer subsidies, rebates, or discount programs on home energy assessments and installations of energy efficiencies like insulation, solar panels, and battery storage• Subscriptions to local organic farms and markets• Offer Permaculture, Grow Your Own, and DIY workshops • Offer subsidies, rebates, or discount programs for sustainable and ethical smartphones and eco-friendly laptops • Offer subsidies, rebates, or discount programs for sportswear and other ethical clothing brands
Worker Investment Options
Give workers the opportunity to align their investments with their priorities and passions. Offer environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment options in employer-sponsored defined contribution (DC) plans.
Sustain By Example
Working for an environmentally conscious company is a source of pride for many workers. They talk about policies and practices their employers implement to create a more sustainable, energy-efficient environment. The following are some of the best practices that many workers perceive as benefits:
• Paperless office – encourage workers to print only when necessary• Use deforestation-free printer paper• Offer canned drinks instead of plastic bottles in vending machines• Provide biodegradable alternatives to plastic straws and cutlery• Use recyclable coffee pods or reusable drip filters in coffee makers• Provide ample recycle bins in strategic locations• Place indoor plants throughout the office, which can boost oxygen levels and remove harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide and formaldehyde• Offer green dry-cleaning services with an onsite drop-off/pick-up point• Offer farm-share market days at the workplace featuring discounted locally grown produce • Limit lighting in environments where workers use screens for the majority of their work; eliminate widespread ceiling lighting and make small task lighting lamps available for cubicles and desktops for on-demand use • Use motion-activated light switches in restrooms, dimly lit corridors, and stairwells• Install energy-efficient ceiling fans to help circulate air and regulate temperature• Provide compost bins and allow workers who would like to use it for their own gardening purposes to take waste home• Organize environmental worker/family activities, such as a local park clean-up day during National Park Week• Install solar panels on office buildings • Turn empty offices or a conference room into swap meets – where workers can drop off lightly used household goods, books, toys, etc. for others to take as needed• Partner with local organizations to provide opportunities for workers to bring their electronic waste (e.g., cell phones, tablets, laptops, batteries) to the workplace for recycling and papers for shredding• Offer lunch-and-learn sessions on sustainable topics, such as reducing your carbon footprint or how to protect natural resources• Offer paid volunteer time for local ESG-related initiatives
Enhance Your Brand Reputation
The nice thing about environmental sustainability is that you can generate quantifiable results, such as energy reduction, commute miles eliminated, and pounds of trash versus recycled materials. There are even environmental management systems that can help you track your progress.
Don’t be shy about touting your ESG achievements. Set measurable goals, track, and report on them to your workforce, shareholders, clients/customers, local and national media, as appropriate. Studies show that employers with eco-friendly policies have more productive workers, so give them the data that demonstrates your organization’s success and they will share it with others. Research also has shown that workplace sustainability practices yield fewer sick days, less employee burnout, and higher job performance.
Gone are the days when people who recycled were denigrated and labeled “tree huggers.” Today, reducing, reusing, repurposing, and recycling are the norm. Workers and consumers are more environmentally conscious than ever, and companies that “go green” both align with the prevailing public sentiment and boost their own brand reputation.
When giving workers the option to take advantage of environmental and sustainable benefits, employers are perceived as responsible, ethical, and caring. There’s not a broad downside to this initiative, and it will only grow stronger in the future.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2024 04:19:00 -0700</pubDate>						
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