Shelby Livingston
Pensions&Investments
Chicago, IL, United States
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Past articles by Shelby:
Liberty Mutual employees score victory in pension fight
An appeals court handed a victory to several Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. employees, ruling they could pursue claims against the insurer for denying them past service credits under its retirement plan. → Read More
Millennials most likely to desire financial help from employers
Employees — particularly millennial workers — want financial help from their employers, a new study shows. According to a MetLife Inc. study released Monday, 62% of employees say they look to their employer for help in achieving financial security through employee benefits. That's up from 49% in 2011, MetLife said in a statement announcing the study results. Millennial workers are most… → Read More
Wellness programs evolving to mental and financial health
Employers are expanding wellness programs to address issues that affect worker productivity, such as stress, emotional resilience and financial health, a new survey reveals.The survey released Friday by Boston-based Fidelity Investments and Washington-based National Business Group on Health showed... → Read More
Humana employees who take wellness program seriously get results
Humana Inc. employees engaged in the health insurer's HumanaVitality wellness and rewards program over a three-year period had fewer absences from work, lower health claims costs and fewer hospital and emergency room visits than employees who didn't participate, the health insurer said Tuesday.... → Read More
Anthem suit over drug costs may start trend
Anthem Inc.'s lawsuit over pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co.'s pricing practices sparks questions about transparency in the PBM industry and what the future may hold for stand-alone PBMs. Indianapolis-based Anthem last week filed a nearly $15 billion lawsuit against St. Louis-based Express Scripts alleging the nation's largest PBM breached its contract with the health → Read More
Health insurers see good year despite ACA
Despite challenges stemming from public health insurance exchange business and distractions posed by mergers among the top five, the largest publicly traded health insurers reported strong results in 2015. Collectively, the largest U.S.-based publicly held health insurers reported $388.77 billion in total revenue in 2015, a 12.4% increase from 2014. Net income for the group grew 5.2% to → Read More
Benefits exchange for self-insured employers expands
Maestro Healthcare Technology Inc. on Tuesday announced that it has added third-party administrator Integra Employer Health to its private benefits exchange platform for self-insured employers.Maestro Health acquired Charlotte, North Carolina-based Integra Employer Health in April 2014, but waited... → Read More
Diabetes management guide released by employer health care group
The Northeast Business Group on Health on Tuesday released a guide that aims to help employers evaluate the various digital tools available for preventing and managing diabetes among their employees.The guide looks at 25 digital diabetes tools and categorizes them based on their primary use, the... → Read More
Gallagher exec to chair London broker group
The international division of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced Thursday that Andrew Agnew, the firm's managing director of specialty, has been appointed as chairman of the London & International Insurance Brokers' Association. Mr. Agnew takes over from Steve Hearn, group CEO of Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Ltd., Gallagher said in the statement. Mr. Agnew has served as deputy chairman of LIIBA… → Read More
Mobile health program targets weight loss for kids, families
Mercer L.L.C. on Wednesday said it has partnered with Palo Alto, California-based Kurbo Health to provide employers a mobile health coaching and weight loss program for kids, teenagers and families. The partnership aims to help employers assist employees and their families in reducing childhood obesity, thereby leading to healthier families and reduced health care costs, according to the… → Read More
Student loan payback schemes attract millennial workers
The small group of employers paying their employees' student loans continues to expand as mounting national student debt keeps workers from saving for retirement or reaching major life milestones, like buying a home. Fidelity Investments, the latest in a string of firms to announce an employee student loan payback program, this week said that 5,000 employees have signed up for the Boston-based… → Read More
Fidelity Investments helps workforce pay back student loans
Fidelity Investments has become the latest to join a small group of employers who are paying off their employees' student loan debt. The Boston-based financial services firm on Monday said that nearly 5,000 employees have signed up for its Step Ahead Student Loan assistance program, launched in January and first announced Monday. Fidelity partnered with Santa Monica, California-based Tuition.io… → Read More
Corporate wellness efforts adapt as firms pursue 'culture of health'
Company health and wellness programs have the greatest success when those companies have an underlying culture of health. The current buzz in the benefits business, a culture of health is the “secret sauce” that drives engagement in company wellness programs, said Seth Serxner, San Francisco-based chief health officer at Optum Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s health care → Read More
Stream of pricey cancer drugs to hit employer costs
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Expensive specialty drugs, one-third of which are for cancer, give patients greater hope, but insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and employers need to find innovative ways to deal with the escalating costs. “If you look at the drug pipeline, it is more robust than any time in my 35 years of health care,” said Dr. Steve Miller, chief medical → Read More
Claims manager Crawford swings to loss
Crawford & Co. on Thursday reported a net loss of $52 million during the fourth quarter of 2015 on expenses related to its GAB Robins Holdings U.K. Ltd. acquisition.That compares with the $3.7 million profit the Atlanta-based claims management provider reported in fourth quarter of 2014, Crawford... → Read More
More employers charging extra for spouse when other health coverage available
The number of employers using spousal surcharges to contain health plan costs is expected to more than double by 2018, a survey shows. In 2015, 27% of employers surveyed reported using spousal surcharges for health care coverage when other employer-provided health insurance is available, according to the 2015 Willis Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health “Best Practices in Health Care… → Read More
More employers charging extra for spouse when other health coverage available
The number of employers using spousal surcharges to contain health plan costs is expected to more than double by 2018, a survey shows. In 2015, 27% of employers surveyed reported using spousal surcharges for health care coverage when other employer-provided health insurance is available, according to the 2015 Willis Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health “Best Practices in Health Care… → Read More
Wellness programs can counteract effects of heart disease
Wellness programs can play a pivotal role in guiding workers to better hearth health while lowering employers' costs, according to a study released Monday by health care management platform HealthMine Inc.Some 27.6 million U.S. residents had heart disease in 2014, according to the National Center... → Read More
Wellness communication goes mobile
Forget mail-outs and flyers — benefits managers are going mobile and even texting to get employees involved in wellness, a new study shows. Half of employers surveyed use mobile applications and other mobile technology to engage employees in health and wellbeing, according to the study from Xerox HR Services and the National Business Group on Health that looked at the use of gamification, mobile… → Read More
Employers testing new ways to rein in specialty drug costs
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — To rein in rising specialty drug costs, employers most often use prior authorization, step therapy and cost-sharing strategies, but more are also experimenting with formulary exclusions and value-based pricing models, a new report shows. One of the fastest growing areas of health care costs, specialty drug spending increased 26.5% in 2014 to $124.1 billion and accounted… → Read More