MedBen Municipality Clients Saw Lower Claim Costs in 2018
"In 2018, per-employee net claim costs for our municipality block decreased 4.9% from 2017," announced MedBen Vice President of Sales & Marketing Brian Fargus at the 13th Annual Municipality Roundtable on April 11. This reduced cost factors both medical and...
Flu Season Not Over Yet
If you’ve made it safely though flu season so far, congratulations… but don’t let your guard down just yet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an unexpected second viral wave has extended this flu season to 21 weeks, the longest in 10...
Statins Alone No Guarantee of Lower Cholesterol
Taking statins alone doesn't guarantee lower cholesterol, suggests a new study in which fewer than half of participating users of the drug failed to reach target cholesterol levels. Using data that tracked over 165,000 statin users, researchers found that over a...
ER Visits Up, but Non-Emergency Usage Down
Emergency room visits rose to an all-time high of 145.6 million in 2016, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the percentage of ER patients who needed regular care fell from 5.5% in 2015 to 4.3% in 2016 – a decrease...
MedBen Introduces Enhanced Reporting Platform
To give employers the most accurate and up-to-date information possible, MedBen has partnered with Deerwalk, Inc. to provide an upgraded data analytics and reporting platform. The strong reporting that MedBen clients come to expect is now even stronger. With our...
Controlling Blood Pressure Essential to Long-Term Health
When you see your family doctor, they'll likely check your blood pressure regardless of the purpose for your visit... and for good reason. High blood pressure affects a third of adults ages 40-59 and nearly two-thirds of those 60 and older. "If left untreated, [high...
Overprescribing Drugs Raises Costs, Health Risks
The ongoing movement to reduce prescription drug spending focuses primarily on the cost factor. But as Shannon Brownlee and Judith Garber contend in a Stat opinion piece, overprescribing of drugs also carries financial and health risks. "Between 2000 and 2012, the...
Federal Court Strikes Down Association Health Plan Rule
While the legal future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) recently made the headlines, another legal decision related to the ACA also has a direct bearing on self-funded employers. On March 28, a federal judge struck down the Department of Labor's expansion of...
Future of Affordable Care Act? Cloudy
There's been a flurry of news lately regarding the fate of Affordable Care Act (ACA), but for self-funded employers, it adds up to business as usual… at least for the moment. On March 25, the Justice Department informed the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that it...
Regular Dental Checkups Can Help Spot Diseases
When you go in for your twice-yearly dental exam, your dentist isn't just seeing if you've been brushing. Teeth and gums provide a wealth of medical information – and may even alert the dentist to the possibility of multiple diseases. Diabetes. Missing teeth and...
Rx Spending Hikes Call for Smart Solutions
In just four years, U.S. retail prescription drug spending grew nearly 27%... a substantial increase that illustrates the need for pharmacy solutions like those available through MedBen Rx. A new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that annual spending on...
Buying Online with Your MedBen FSA Debit Card
Recent news that online retailer Amazon now allows consumers to use their flexible savings account (FSA) funds to buy medical items serves as a timely opportunity to remind FSA members that MedBen debit cards can be used to make online purchases in addition to buying...