America has a financial crisis that extends far beyond Washington D.C. According to a recent white paper issued by Purchasing Power, 44% of full-time employees worry about their personal finances during work hours. In addition, 29% of full-time workers said they spend time dealing with their personal finances during work hours, and of those, 46% spend an average of 2-3 hours per week at work dealing with their financial issues. While this is certainly a costly productivity and engagement issue for employers, it is also a health issue.

Employers should believe that healthier employees are more productive employees. Studies prove this! Emphasizing health AND changing the culture within the workplace to support healthier lifestyles is worth the effort. Any ROI is icing on the cake.

Preventing disease is important to leading a healthy life. Detecting disease early is a key component to disease management and recovery. As Ben Franklin said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Achieving this “pound of cure” will be easier now than ever before with the new provision

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.

The Wellness Council of Indiana (WCI) has received a grant to provide a tobacco cessation program to up to 100 employers of any size in Indiana. The program is called QUIT NOW! It's an easy-to use, web-based program that links organizations with support for tobacco cessation.

Long-Term Care insurance (LTC) has been among the fastest growing executive benefits for the last several years. As we approach the end of the year, many employers are reviewing their strategy for retaining key contributors and Long-Term Care insurance could provide valuable tax incentives.

For the 19^th consecutive year, Gibson has earned Best Practices status from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA).

It's that time of year when many companies are conducting their employee benefits 'open enrollment'.

The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. By a 5-4 vote, the individual mandate requiring most Americans to maintain "minimum essential" health insurance coverage, 26 U.S.C. 5000A, is affirmed as an exercise of Congress's taxing power.

America has a serious weight problem. Public Service Announcements to eat better and get active can be seen and heard on television and radio. The concern about the nation’s health has even reached the White House, with First Lady Michelle Obama launching the Let’s Move campaign to fight childhood obesity.

The Thomson Reuters Workforce Wellness Index (WWI) recently published research indicating 6 behavioral risk factors could be linked to 14% of direct healthcare costs in the employed, privately insured workforce. The risk factor with the most impact on healthcare cost is Body Mass Index (BMI). While this study and others have demonstrated BMI’s link to an increase in health risks and costs, many have begun to question the usefulness and accuracy BMI.