The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires non grand fathered health plans to limit an enrollee’s out-of-pocket costs for essential health benefits each year. This annual limit is often referred to as the “out-of-pocket (OOP) maximum.”

Recent agency guidance will require the self only OOP maximum to be embedded family coverage when the plan’s OOP maximum for family coverage exceeds the ACA’s limits for individual coverage. This requirement will take effect beginning with the 2016 plan year, when the OOP maximum for self-only coverage will be $6,850. This guidance applies to all non grandfathered group health plans, including self-funded plans and insured plans of all sizes. Read More

Most people are familiar with the risks of unprotected sun exposure, such as sunburn, wrinkles, freckles, eye damage and skin cancer.

However, although overexposure to the sun is bad for your health, getting enough exposure to sunlight is necessary and beneficial. Adequate time in the sun gives you several

benefits:

• A boost in serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates your appetite, sleep, memory and mood

• Support of your circadian rhythm, which leads to better sleep—sunlight “turns off” melatonin production each morning, which is the hormone that makes you feel drowsy as it gets darker at night

• Production of Vitamin D, which is needed for important body functions such as strengthening your bones and contributing to your immune system

• Relief of stress and pain, and help for individuals suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression

• Lowered risk for nearsightedness—research indicates that children who spend more time exposed to sunshine outside may reduce their risk of becoming nearsighted

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Diabetics are at a significantly increased risk for developing

a wide range eye problems, including the potential for

vision loss.

Diabetic Eye Disease

Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye conditions that can affect people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, as well as individuals with prolonged high blood sugar levels. These conditions all have the potential to cause severe and permanent vision loss or blindness. Diabetic eye disease includes the following conditions:

• Diabetic retinopathy is damage to the blood vessels in the retina and is often a sign of damage to other organs

• Cataracts are the clouding of the lens of the eye, which often develops earlier in diabetics

• Glaucoma is an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye, leading to optic nerve damage. Vision loss is twice as likely to develop in a diabetic than in someone without diabetes Read More

In April, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a much-anticipated proposed rule that describes how the ADA applies to employee wellness programs that include questions about employees’ health or require medical examinations.

The EEOC’s proposed rule would establish the following parameters for permissible wellness program designs under the ADA:

• Must have a reasonable design and must promote health or help prevent disease

• Must be voluntary; employees may not be required to participate, denied health insurance or given reduced benefits, or disciplined for not participating

• Must give employee notice describing what medical information will be collected, who will receive it and how the information will be used and kept confidential

• Must have limited incentives: 30 percent of employee-only coverage; 50 percent for tobacco cessation (if biometric screening, then incentive is limited to 30 percent)

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