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Employee health benefits will continue to be an important issue to both employers and employees in 2013. With the election behind us, employers are looking to the future and working to determine the impact that recent healthcare reform will have on their business. In 2013 businesses will work to establish a balance between working within the regulations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) while attempting to keep the costs of employee health benefits down.
Even with the rising costs of healthcare, many employers remain committed to providing their employees with attractive and comprehensive healthcare benefits. After reviewing benefits survey data, along with the healthcare coverage trends of 2012, the following predictions can be made for 2013. Read the complete article
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Top Stories: Human Resources
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By hiring part-time workers who put in less than 30 hours per week, employers can avoid a mandate dictated by the new health reform law: either provide expensive health insurance or pay a fine equal to $2,000 per worker. Avoiding the mandate becomes even more attractive for low-wage employees, since they can get highly subsidized insurance in the newly created health insurance exchanges. It is estimated that about half the precipitous 2007-2011 decline in the labor-force-participation rate and in hours worked can be blamed on easier eligibility rules for unemployment insurance, food stamps and housing aid.
(Forbes) Read the complete article
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Unemployment rates are now below 7 percent in 23 of the 50 states. The Labor Department says rates rose in seven states in October and were unchanged in six. The biggest job gains among states in October were in California and Texas. California employers added 45,800 positions. Texas gained 36,600 jobs.
(Washington Post) Read the complete article
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Retaining Key Talent: Ask Them What They WantWhen it comes to retaining employees, companies should recognize that what they offer to attract employees to the organization will not necessarily be enough to retain those employees. In its 2012 Global Workforce Study, Towers Watson identified the five most important levers a company has to recruit a prospective employee and the five most important levers available to retain that employee once on board.
(Business Finance) Read the complete article
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Top Stories: Lodging & Gaming
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US Hotels Report Performance Gains in OctoberA report of the hotel performance in the hotel industry. Overall, the U.S. hotel industry's occupancy rose 2.4% to 64.4%, its average daily rate was up 4.2% to $109.67 and its revenue per available room increased 6.7% to $70.62. Five markets achieved RevPAR increases of more than 15%: New Orleans, Denver, Seattle, Anaheim-Santa Ana, California and Houston. (Hotels News Now) Read the complete article
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Florida Medicaid Expansion Would Pay Off, 3 Studies SayFlorida could gain an economic boost and thousands of new jobs each year if state officials accept federal funds to expand Medicaid. However, opponents of accepting the federal funds say they don't believe the expansion would yield the economic benefits the studies claim. And they say it's a waste of taxpayers' money at a time of deficit-cutting. (WUSF) Read the complete article
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