Unhealthy, unproductive, unengaged employees are among an employer’s largest strategic risks. Employers have seen this in health insurance rates for years. Now, the workers’ compensation insurers are starting to pay attention. Workers’ compensation insurers are coming to the realization that safety programs aren’t enough. Yes, these programs are necessary and beneficial, but they don’t address the health and wellness of each individual employee and often fail to impact employee engagement focusing instead on physical hazards (e.g. machine guarding). Insurers recognize the changing demographic of today’s employees: an aging workforce that’s retiring at an older age and more likely to be overweight. This is leading to comorbid health issues like hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Taken together, these elements have the makings of a perfect storm.

Imagine this scenario: Mary is in the supply room getting a box of paper. It falls on and injures her foot. Her employer sends an incident report to their workers’ compensation carrier. A few days later, Mary’s foot is still bothering her with an ulcer forming at the impact site. Mary gets medical treatment, but the ulcer won’t heal. Fast-forward a few months to the possibility of Mary losing her foot - a complication of untreated diabetes. Of course, this is an extreme example, but it’s one that’s becoming a trend.

As Health Care Reform is implemented, the debate continues on two fronts: (1) is the law truly going to impact costs and (2) how will the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured impact provider access? While these two topics have dominated the discussion, there has been little discussion on how health literacy will impact both.

Whenever we encounter a particularly shocking piece of news, we tend to assume the worst. When the videos of the West Fertilizer Co. explosion appeared on YouTube and the news of the devastation was carried across the country, it caused many people to make some wild assumptions. The fact that it occurred in the same week as the tragic events at the Boston Marathon, led many to assume some kind of connection between the two tragedies.

On Thursday the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2013-25, heralding changes to health savings account contributions for individuals and families for 2014. As well as this, employee out-of-pocket expenses are also set to change. These changes are to reflect the changes in the cost of living.

No one ever thought the implementation of Health Care Reform would be easy. Even fervent supporters of the law admit that things are going worse than expected.

Gun ownership is a hot topic at the moment, one that is never far from the headlines. With this debate comes the discussion of gun liability insurance. Many states have considered making it mandatory in the past but recent events have caused many individuals to seek protection themselves.

The Obama administration recently released a proposed rule outlining the standards for "navigators” who will help consumers shop for health insurance in new exchanges set up by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Navigators are organizations that will provide unbiased information to consumers about health insurance, the new health exchanges, qualified health plans, and public programs including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

You can’t eliminate risk. It exists in every line of work. Whether you’re a banker or a construction worker, there are inherent risks that you must identify and manage. Most businesses will be concerned with financial risk. In construction however, risk management is even more vital as it is about keeping people safe. It’s not inconceivable that someone could die on the job. It is, therefore, important that you can plan for every eventuality.

Non-fatal

It isn’t just the potentially fatal injuries you need to be on the look-out for when making your construction risk management plan. Non-fatal injuries to the hands, arms, or legs can have a debilitating effect on a person for the rest of their life. Almost a quarter of construction site injuries are to the hands and fingers due to digits being cut off and hands being crushed or burned. Basic things like gloves and safety guards for machinery can help to avoid these kinds of accidents.

Health Care Reform will change the way employers make business decisions now and into the future. Employers can no longer guess at what mandate will affect their business or what changes need to be made and when. That makes NOW the time to work with a consultant that can provide the analysis necessary to make the best decisions.

If you own, borrow, or rent recreational vehicles, you have a lot of responsibility on your hands. Everyone looks forward to having fun and no one counts on having an accident. Unfortunately, they happen and it’s important to be prepared in case one occurs.

First, have an effective risk management strategy. Protecting your assets, your vehicles, is an obvious place to start. Ensuring this protection starts with maintenance. Implementing a schedule of routine servicing and checks can guarantee the safety of your vehicles and potentially catch an issue before is poses a significant threat.