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Cost-sharing Limits for Health Plans
Posted on: July 22, 2014Categories: HR & ComplianceBeginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires certain health plans to comply with cost-sharing limits with respect to their coverage of essential health benefits. Under the ACA, “essential health benefits” (EHB) must be equal in scope to benefits covered by a typical employer plan and must include items and services in ten general categories, including hospitalization, prescription drugs and maternity and newborn care. The cost-sharing limits include both an overall annual limit ...
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EEOC’s New Guidelines Regarding Pregnancy Discrimination
Posted on: July 21, 2014Categories: HR & ComplianceFor the first time in over thirty years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has provided an update on the subject of pregnancy discrimination by issuing new guidelines under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These guidelines come at a time when there has been an increase in awareness about pregnancy related discrimination issues. In fact pregnancy discriminations claims have increased by 46% between 1997 and 2011. The EEOC has c ...
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10,000 Steps
Posted on: July 16, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7A recent upcoming trend in the world of health is tracking the amount of steps an individual takes on a day to day basis. The Surgeon General has recommended thirty minutes of activity most days of the week and reaching a minimum of 10,000 steps a day roughly accounts for that physical activity. Why count steps? It is a simple way to keep track of your daily activity and it is easily measurable. Reaching 10,000 steps a day is close to about 5 miles. This may seem like a difficu ...
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8 Ways to Improve Job Satisfaction
Posted on: July 14, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/71. Pin point the problem If you aren’t 100% happy at work it’s important to pinpoint what the issue is and what’s troubling you. It’s good to narrow down what’s causing you tension, frustration or unhappiness so that you can find a good way of dealing with it. The problem is likely to be either: - the task i.e. related to the role - personality driven i.e. a people problem e.g. difficult colleagues / boss or related to the environment Once you’ve iden ...
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10 Home Remedies for Sunburn Treatment
Posted on: July 7, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7Place a cool compress on sunburned skin. Take a cool shower or bath. Use lotions that contain aloe Vera to soothe and moisturize skin. Some aloe products contain lidocaine, an anesthetic that can help relieve sunburn pain. Topical over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone cream may help relieve sunburn pain, itch, and swelling. Take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) to help relieve pain and inflammation. Apply cool, not cold, milk with a clea ...
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11 Tips for a Safe Fourth of July
Posted on: June 30, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7Be a safe swimmer. Water sports and fireworks are two of the biggest pastimes for Fourth of July celebrations, and these are both linked to numerous deaths and injuries each year. Never swim alone, and make sure that kids' water play is adequately supervised at all times. Many drownings occur when parents and other adults are nearby, so always have a designated chaperon for water play and don't assume that others are watching the kids. Statistics show that most young children who drown in ...
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10 Ways to Build Healthy Bones
Posted on: June 23, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7For helpful tips and guides to improve your overall health, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clarke-and-Company-Benefits-LLC/250229171682353 https://twitter.com/ClarkeBenefits 10 Ways to Build Healthy Bones Bones are quite literally the support system of the body, so it’s super important to keep them strong and healthy. Bones are continuously being broken down and rebuilt in tiny amounts. Before about age 30, when bones typically reach pea ...
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10 Foods to Eat Every Single Day
Posted on: June 16, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7Nobody needs another “10 Healthiest Foods on Earth” article, or another “25 Can’t Miss Superfoods” slideshow that makes you click “Next” 24 times. They’re fun, sure, and everybody likes saying “Hey, I eat that one already!” But as far as actually helping us to eat better, lists like these are pretty worthless. The problem? None of them helps you to eat these foods habitually. We see the list, we make a mental note to eat more X, Y, and Z, and then we forget we ever read it as ...
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June 2014 Health Care Reform
Posted on: June 10, 2014Categories: HR & ComplianceNews & EventsThe pay or play rules will take effect for most ALEs (Applicable Large Employers) beginning on Jan. 1, 2015. To prepare for compliance, employers that intend to use the look-back measurement method for determining full-time status for 2015 will need to begin tracking their employees’ hours of service in 2014 to have corresponding stability periods for 2015. Please inquire about the Clarke & Company Full Time Tracking Tool. Our Tracking Tool is designed to simplify measurement period ...
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10 Tips to Tame your Temper
Posted on: June 9, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7Do you fume when someone cuts you off in traffic? Does your blood pressure rocket when your child refuses to cooperate? Anger is a normal and even healthy emotion — but it's important to deal with it in a positive way. Uncontrolled anger can take a toll on both your health and your relationships. Ready to get your anger under control? Start by considering these 10 anger management tips. 1. Think before you speak In the heat of the moment, it's easy to say something you'll later regret. Take a ...
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5 Habits that Will Improve your Emotional Wellness
Posted on: June 3, 2014Categories: HR & ComplianceLiveWell 24/7Do you monitor your emotional well-being and take action when you hit a rough patch? Let's be honest, most of us don't. Even if you did pay attention to your psychological health, would you know how to ease emotional pain when your feelings were hurt, how to boost your confidence when your self-esteem was low, or how to recover after experiencing a loss? Again, most of us do not. What makes this a surprising truth as well as an inconvenient one is that our psychological health impacts our qualit ...
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How to Start a Healthy Lifestyle
Posted on: May 29, 2014Categories: HR & ComplianceEverything starts for a reason and fitness is no exception to the rule. Unless you have a really good reason to start you won't be able to stay committed and follow through with your resolutions. The good news is that most of it is mental which means you can actually put a plan of action in place that will remove all the obstacles standing between you and your fitness goals: Start small. What you really need is to change your habits, and how you feel and look will change on their own. The moment ...
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3 Ways to Avoid Weekend Warrior Injuries
Posted on: May 19, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7What is a weekend warrior? It's a person who is inactive during the week, and squeezes in all of their physical activity during the weekend. Weekend warriors can be in seemingly perfect shape, at a healthy weight with good muscle tone. But because of inactivity during the week, they greatly increase the risk for injury on the weekend. The statistics are staggering on exercise and sport-related injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 11,000 Americans visit eme ...
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10 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally
Posted on: May 12, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure (a systolic pressure — the top number — of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure — the bottom number — of 90 or above), you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down. Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication. Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lo ...
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May 2014 Health Care Reform
Posted on: May 6, 2014Categories: HR & ComplianceThe Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires covered employers to provide former employees and dependents who lose group health benefits with an opportunity to continue group health insurance coverage. Individuals who are eligible for health coverage under COBRA are known as "qualified beneficiaries." The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made health insurance Exchanges available, beginning Jan. 1, 2014, for individuals and small businesses to purchase health coverage. Th ...
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12 Things Successful People Do Before Breakfast
Posted on: May 5, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7Those among us who have managed to find professional success and eke out a life actively embrace early morning readiness. They must set aside their first hours of the day to invest in their top-priority activities before other people’s priorities come rushing in. Science supports this strategy. Vanderkam cites Florida State University psychology professor Roy Baumeister’s famous finding that willpower is like a muscle that becomes fatigued from overuse. Diets, he says, come undone in the eve ...
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5 Easy Ways to Wake Up Without Coffee
Posted on: April 28, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7You may notice yourself relying on coffee more than ever to shake off the morning grogginess. Yet you still may find yourself feeling lethargic after a few cups. In fact an estimated 54 percent of American adults drink at least a cup of coffee a day. And get this -- a survey of over 7,000 adults by Le Meridien Hotels found more people would choose coffee over sex first thing in the morning! While we can't deny we love the soothing, crisp aroma, and get the bulk of our antioxidants from our ...
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9 Ways to Save Money on Healthy Food
Posted on: April 21, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7Have you ever seen a coupon for some overly processed cookie and thought, “Why aren’t there coupons for kale?!” According to a recent study, which looked at more than 1,000 online coupons offered by six major grocery store chains, the biggest chunk of discounts (25%, in fact) were for snack foods—like chips, crackers and desserts—and just 3% were for fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and veggies. Major bummer! But there are savvy ways to cut yourhealthy grocery bill, and even save on ...
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Gluten Intolerance Symptoms
Posted on: April 14, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7What are gluten intolerance symptoms? Are people with gluten intolerance just fussy eaters with a new excuse for their picky food habits? Research shows that gluten sensitivity in some form, including celiac disease and mild gluten intolerance, affects approximately 15% of the US population. These statistics are likely to be similar in Western countries with similar health issues and dietary patterns. Are you one of these people? How do you recognize gluten intolerance symptoms? First of all ...
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10 Tips for Seasonal Allergies
Posted on: April 7, 2014Categories: LiveWell 24/7It's that time of year again: Temperatures rise, trees bloom and your nose starts to run. It itches, too; you keep sneezing or coughing, and your eyes won't stop watering. These are all signs of seasonal allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever and most commonly caused by tree pollen that irritates your nasal passages. In the past year, almost 17 million adults were diagnosed with hay fever. Steering clear of allergens is the best way to reduce symptoms, but that's tough with billions of tiny ...
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