Dan Cook
BenefitsPro.com
Portland, OR, United States
Contact Dan
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Past articles by Dan:
HR more bullish on value of benefits than plan members
Three-quarters of employees say they were satisfied with their benefits, while 96% of HR say they were pretty sure their work force was happy with their benefits. → Read More
Industry groups to SEC: Kill 'hard close' proposal that could hurt 401(k) savers
The proposal would create a two-tier system – one for those who directly invest with a mutual fund, and another for those that invest through intermediaries, such as the typical retirement plan participant, say opponents. → Read More
Leisure, hospitality, financial employers report strong January
The 500+ employee firms added 128,000 jobs in the month, while medium sized firms also grew staff. → Read More
Congress’s spending bill adds to benefits options
Plan sponsors, their members, and benefits advisors were given new resources and options for 2023 benefits planning with Congress’s passage of the omnibus spending bill in late December. → Read More
Bold, new investment strategies for near-retirees: What plan sponsors need to know
The combination of historically high inflation and fluctuating interest rates threatens to erode the income-generating strategies for retirees that have prevailed for the last two decades, according to a new report. → Read More
Study endorses extension of Medicaid coverage for children
The omnibus spending bill heading toward Congress appears to be taking the lead in keeping that coverage intact from year to year. → Read More
Gig economy here to stay – and growing
While gig workers do have some gripes about their choice to do it alone in the workplace, most who have gigged are not going back to employee status. → Read More
Data analysis supports connection between greater diversity and better financial results
Trends spotted in this analysis do tend to support the theory that greater diversity among an employer’s overall workforce and its management team leads to better financial results. → Read More
What today’s workers want: More money, greater flexibility
HR personnel are acutely aware of increased financial concerns among plan members. → Read More
Plan premiums to soar along with health system labor increases
The projected increase remains below the 8.3% CPI inflation rate. Small solace for plan sponsors seeking the ever-elusive predictable annual premium increase. → Read More
Jobseekers want salary transparency before applying to jobs
Adzuma says its research since 2017 reveals that 54% of jobseekers turned down a job offer when they learned what the pay would be. → Read More
The cost of consolidation: Are mergers actually cost efficient?
The elephant in the health care M&A room remains the cost of those services post-merger. → Read More
How talent wars are reshaping compensation, benefits plan design
Employers are either standing pat with benefits, or finding more creative ways to configure their package to make it more attractive to employees. → Read More
HHS cites Medicaid, enhanced ARP supports for uninsured declines
The overall uninsured rate for all U.S. adults and children in the first quarter of this year dropped to a record low of 8%. → Read More
State’s auto-IRAs may encourage sponsors to offer savings plans
In those states that have created auto-IRA programs, employers with plans continue to offer them and businesses without plans are adopting new ones at rates similar to before the state options were available.” → Read More
Health care consumers plagued by inaccurate procedure estimates
U.S. health care consumers continue to struggle paying for medical care, even when they have received a cost estimate for a procedure in advance. Oftentimes,… → Read More
Fewer but larger, health care mergers reported in second quarter of 2022
Merger mania was interrupted and redefined by COVID-19. Now, players appear to be more focused on consolidating health systems of some magnitude. → Read More
Emergency department visit cash fees exploited by large health systems
A recent study from the University of Maryland illustrates how the law affords insight into how hospitals set fees for various services and how health care providers are taking advantage of it. → Read More
HR looking to brokers to expand access to mental health services
More than half of HR respondents said they were considering switching brokers in the next year due to failures to provide access around mental health benefits. → Read More
White House scrambles to preserve right to covered contraceptives
One of President Biden’s first post-Roe actions was to convene a meeting between insurers and two of his cabinet members to underscore the need to preserve insurance coverage for contraceptives. → Read More