Avitus Group Releases Corporate Wellness Plan Best Practices Guide as Obamacare Marks 5 Year Anniversary; ACA Requires Preventive Services in Businesses' Health Plans
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) July 13, 2015 -- Under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, unless a company’s health plan has “grandfathered” status, the company is required to include preventive services to its employees with no deductible or co-pay. Preventive services include things like tobacco cessation interventions, obesity screening and counseling and depression screening. These services usually fall under a corporate wellness plan. The report has Avitus Group (A business solutions company that administers benefits, located in Denver and nationwide) issuing an online Corporate Wellness Plan Best Practices Guide for Colorado and all U.S. businesses. The guide is designed for companies to take a simple quiz to make sure they are in compliance with the ACA and making the most of their corporate wellness plans. The timing of the online guide reflects the 5 year anniversary of the ACA and the issuing of a "5 Years Later: How the Affordable Care Act is Working" state-by-state report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to that report, since the ACA was passed into law, 1,382,000 people in Colorado have gained preventive service coverage with no cost sharing.
"Even though it has been 5 years since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, we still receive many questions about Obamacare. The law itself is thousands of pages long. Most business owners and managers simply don't have the time to read the law. Our top priority is to make sure that businesses are in compliance with the law. We also want to make sure companies are making the most out of their corporate wellness plans. Avitus Group helps companies simplify, strengthen and grow, and boosting the bottom line through an effective wellness plan is just one way we can help," says Denver-based Avitus Group Human Resource and Risk Management Consultant Dawn Wilson.
According to a report entitled "Unscheduled Absence Survey," absenteeism costs large employers as much as $764,000 each year. Additionally, a report called Association Between Changes in Health Risk Status and Changes in Future Health Care Costs: A Multi-Employer Study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that investment in a quality wellness program generated returns on investment of up to 3:1 by the third year. Avitus Group’s best practices guide suggests financial incentives and including employee spouses in any wellness programs.
“One question we often get is: “In order to be in compliance with Obamacare, what is considered as preventive care?” The list is very long and is broken down into different categories: adults, women and children. It includes things like Aspirin use for men and women of certain ages, folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant and specific immunization vaccines for children from birth to age 18. It can get complicated, but when Avitus Group administers benefits for our members, we truly simplify, strengthen and grow a business,” says Avitus Group Senior Vice President of Finance, Steve Bentley.
Avitus Group Pre-Released its Corporate Wellness Plan Best Practices Guide to Colorado members in July 2015 following HHS's release of its "5 Years Later" report. It is now available to any U.S. business.
Avitus Group is a worldwide company. Avitus Group helps other companies with administrative hassles. When businesses use Avitus Group, all of the necessary, yet burdensome functions of the business become Avitus Group's responsibility, so the business can focus on what they do best, grow and increase profits. Avitus Group serves clients nationwide through 10 regional office locations from California to Florida. The company also serves international clients through partner locations in Europe, Canada, China, England, India, Japan and Singapore.
Dianne Parker, Avitus Group, http://avitusgroup.com/, +1 8004542446 Ext: 2070, [email protected]
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