Best of the week roundup of employee benefits news December 23, 2024

Top news for the week of December 23

December 27, 2024 12:00 PM

Two companies, When and isolved, partnered to offer employees alternatives to Cobra, editor Lee Hafner reports. The platform helps employees compare and enroll in the best health insurance option for them and their dependents.

Senior reporter Deanna Cuadra delivers a roundup of EBN's best wellness stories of the past year, and also reports on the best companies for compensation. Adobe, Salesforce and Boston Consulting Group are among the top companies.

Contributing opinion writers Joe LaMantia III and Donovan Pyle reveal how employers can potentially save billions of dollars if they pay more attention to how they purchase healthcare.

Read these stories and more in our best of the week roundup.

When and isolved team up to offer alternatives to COBRA

Being let go from a job is painful. Losing an employer's financial contribution to the health insurance plan that came with it can make things much, much worse.

There are multiple reasons someone could find themselves suddenly paying out of pocket for health insurance premiums, and two of the more common reasons are getting fired or laid off. Though these and other events often qualify an employee for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) — a law that allows them to keep their employer health plan for a certain amount of time — they become responsible for the entire cost, typically $400-$700 per-person per-month, according to COBRAinsurance.com.

5 ways to strengthen employee wellness in 2025

Rates of burnout and stress have not eased in the last four years, despite increasing employer-provided mental health support. Next year will likely see a continuation of the same story.

According to insurance company Aflac, 60% of workers are facing moderate to high burnout, and three in four employees are experiencing at least a moderate level of stress at work, marking a 5% jump from 2023. Meanwhile, an estimated 94% of employers with 500 or more employees claim they have increased mental health coverage or wellness-related benefits in the last three years. Benefit leaders are left to question what employees need to improve their mental health and bring their best selves to work.

10 best companies for compensation in 2024

The cost of living is not getting any cheaper, and wages don't typically pace the rate of inflation. Unsurprisingly, workers are prioritizing not only competitive pay but also benefits that ease some of their financial burdens.

In response, employers are paying more and more attention to financial wellness. In fact, according to Bank of America, 97% of employers now feel responsible for their employees' financial well-being. However, some companies are light years ahead when it comes to creating truly valuable compensation packages.

This independent assessment can save employers billions on healthcare

As rising costs ignite frustration across the nation, a little-known aspect of our employee benefits purchasing system offers an opportunity to save billions on health care. This solution doesn't require Congressional intervention; instead, it invites us to reexamine existing frameworks to reduce expenses and improve access for millions of Americans.

U.S. employers pay a staggering $1.2 trillion on healthcare benefits each year, with about $300B (25%) wasted. According to a new report from Mercer, they face a nearly 6% rise in health insurance costs, and that will make 2025 the third consecutive year in which employer healthcare costs rise by more than 5%.

5 items employees should have on their end-of-the-year checklist

The new year is two weeks away, and for many companies, work is slowing to a crawl. But before employees completely unplug, they may want to check on a few things.

HR software company Justworks released an end-of-the-year guide to 2024 recommending that workers review vital tax information and meet benefit utilization deadlines. While taxes and flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are the last things workers want to think about during the holidays, checking off quick list items like ensuring their employers have correct personal information ahead of tax season and confirming there are no PTO days being left on the table before 2025 could make a huge difference.