Egon Singerman Archives - Be Well Solutions

Event: Ohio Safety Congress & Expo

High Risk: Finding Your Wellness Program Purpose Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Our Presenter: Bill Frankel, Executive Vice President and Principal of Be Well Solutions As health issues expand across the country, more and more companies are feeling the burden of an unhealthy workforce. Higher health insurance costs, increased absenteeism, reduced work productivity all affect your bottom-line. Today, learn about: • The Financial Toll on Corporate America o Indirect Cost and Direct Cost of Poor Health • Making a Case for Wellness o Reduction in Risk Factors = Reduction in Health Care Costs • Wellness that Works: Essential Elements o Selecting the Right Wellness Program for Your Organization • 2016: Updates to the ACA, Alternative Standards and Technology • Wellness for YOU: It’s Never Too Late to Begin Your Journey Into Wellness For more information, please visit https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/employer/programs/safety/SafetyCongress.asp

EEOC Update – Wellness

As you may recall, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had not clarified its position on employer-sponsored wellness programs. In fact, several lawsuits were filed by the EEOC against employer-sponsored wellness programs (e.g., the Honeywell suit). The pushback was based on the Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). On October 29, 2015 the EEOC issued proposed rules which would amend Title II of GINA as they relate to wellness programs that are part of health plans. Comments on the proposed rules were accepted through the end of 2015. In short, the proposed amendments to GINA are favorable and show that the EEOC does not want to be an impediment to wellness programs. The following changes, in part, are proposed to GINA: A key proposed change in GINA involves incentivized wellness programs. The changes would [...]

ERISA, COBRA and Wellness Programming

David T. Andrews, Attorney for Day Ketterer The threshold issue to determine whether ERISA applies to a wellness program is whether the wellness program rises to the level of a “Group Health Plan.” ERISA defines a Group Health Plan as “an employer-sponsored welfare benefit plan to the extent that the plan provides medical care (…including items and services paid for as medical care) to employees or their dependents directly or through insurance or otherwise.” Many common wellness program initiatives will cause a wellness plan to become a Group Health Plan subject to ERISA, including health risk assessments that provide advice and counseling, employer-paid immunizations and employer-paid biometric screenings (i.e., blood pressure screening, BMI, cholesterol, etc.). In addition, a wellness program can become a Group Health Plan by becoming linked to a Group Health Plan, such as by rewarding employees for [...]

BWS- Top Workplace by The Cleveland Plain Dealer and WorkplaceDynamics, LLC.

CLEVELAND, OH – June 21, 2015 – Be Well Solutions is pleased to announce, for the second consecutive year, that it has been named a 2015 Top Workplace by The Cleveland Plain Dealer and WorkplaceDynamics, LLC. The award recognizes corporate culture, work/life balance, support of the local community, and the strong connection between employees and the company. Most importantly, the Top Workplace Award takes into consideration the internal support, guidance and encouragement provided to employees. At Be Well Solutions, employees take pride in making an impact in the health and well-being of our participants. The Be Well Solutions culture unifies the company to work as a team toward the same goal – to continue to provide impactful wellness solutions. “Be Well Solutions is thrilled to be selected as a top workplace for the second year in a row. From the [...]

Be Well’s employees aren’t all marathoners, but top small company practices what it preaches

Michelle Jarboe McFee for The Plain Dealer SOLON, Ohio -- Eileen Herman spent years researching diseases and working with patients struggling with diabetes or recuperating from heart and lung problems. Now she's focused on prevention instead of treatment, as the nursing director for Be Well Solutions, a small Northeast Ohio company that stands to grow as employers try to tamp down rising health-care costs and comply with the Affordable Care Act. A physician-owned company, Be Well Solutions offers health screenings, risk assessments and wellness programs to a broad range of corporate clients. The 50-person business emerged as the top-ranked small business in this year's Top Workplaces in Northeast Ohio survey. In May, Herman and much of Be Well's staff traveled to health fairs in North Carolina, Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts. They tested workers' blood pressure, cholesterol and other vital statistics, [...]

Wellness Warriors

Timothy Magaw for Crain's Cleveland Be Well Solutions, a Solon-based wellness consultant, and Movable, the Brecksville-based makers of the colorful MOVband products, have joined forces. The two companies said they have partnered on Be Well's largest client to date, Kent State University. The hope is that Be Well ultimately will be able to offer MOVbands — the colorful plastic wristbands designed to help people track how physically active they are — to all of their clients. With the partnership, the MOVband technology will be integrated into Be Well's web portal. This will allow Kent State employees, for instance, to upload and track their activity. Working with the university's health services, Be Well will hold health fairs on all of Kent State's campuses, and hold meeting to introduce university employees to the program. Be Well's web portal will provide employees with a [...]

Be Well Solutions Currently Assists More Organizations with the BWC Wellness Grant than Any Other Wellness Company in Ohio.

Ohio employers wanting to improve the health and wellness of their workers can benefit from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s newest program, the Workplace Wellness Grant Program (WWGP). It provides funding to assist employers in establishing training and programs to reduce health risk factors specific to their employees. BWC established WWGP to study the effect of a wellness program in the workplace on bringing down incidence and cost of accidents and illnesses. The goal is to control the escalating cost of workers' compensation claims through addressing health risk factors. The WWGP's collateral goals are also to reduce health-care costs for employers, as well as improve the health of the workforce. The BWC has established this program to meet the challenges of obesity, rising incidence of chronic diseases and the aging workforce. This program will assist employers with the creation and [...]

How the Health Care Law is Making a Difference for the People of Ohio

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Because of the Affordable Care Act, the 86% of Ohioans who have insurance have more choices and stronger coverage than ever before. And for the 14% of Ohioans who don’t have insurance, or Ohio families and small businesses who buy their coverage but aren’t happy with it, a new day is just around the corner. Soon, the new online Health Insurance Marketplace will provide families and small businesses who currently don’t have insurance, or are looking for a better deal, a new way to find health coverage that fits their needs and their budgets. Open enrollment in the Marketplace starts Oct 1, with coverage starting as soon as Jan 1, 2014. But Ohio families and small business can visit HealthCare.gov right now to find the information they need prepare for open enrollment. The health care [...]

Tags: ACA, affordable care act, be well solutions, bill frankel, biometric screening, BMI, cleveland, cleveland wellness, cleveland wellness company, comprehensive wellness, Egon Singerman, healthcare reform, national wellness, obama, obamacare, preventative care, preventive care, solon wellness, wellness|

Administrator chosen for wellness program

Sue Reid for Solon Times City council’s finance committee approved preparing legislation last week to accept the proposal of Be Well Solutions, a Solon company, as third-party administrator of an employee wellness program. The cost to Be Well Solutions for the one-year contract is $25,850. The city interviewed five companies of 10 proposals it received, with Be Well Solutions believed to be the “best fit” for the city and its culture, Human Resources Coordinator Jessica Vest told the committee. The fee proposal, which is an estimate, is based on the number of expected participants and includes biometric screenings, health risk assessment, coaching, incentive tracking and on-site presentations, among other services. The hope is to expand the program to cover all the city’s 283 employees and their spouses, Ms. Vest said. “Wellness programs have been gaining popularity over the last [...]

Electronic Cigarettes: Our Position

Background: Electronic inhalers (EI’s) are devices that are gaining enormous popularity in the US and the world. The units go by a number of different names: electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) electronic vaping devices personal vaporizers (PV) electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) These devices use a liquid solution (juice) which is heated to vaporize and then inhaled. Some of the liquids contain nicotine, while some merely release flavored vapor. Nicotine levels in the liquids vary between preparations. Tobacco is not used in e-cigarettes, though tobacco companies are investing heavily in EI’s. E-cigarettes are often designed to mimic traditional smoking implements, such as cigarettes or pipes, in their use and/or appearance, although more and more devices are designed not to imitate them, in an attempt to develop a different culture of user. In a recent edition of the Medical Letter® (Volume 54, [...]

Tags: be well, be well solutions, bill frankel, biometric screening, BWS, cigarettes, cleveland wellness, cleveland wellness company, comprehensive wellness, disease prevention, dr. golovan, dr. michael schechter, Dr. Ronald Golovan, dr. schechter, e-cigarettes, e-cigs, ecigarettes, ecigs, Egon Singerman, EIs, electronic inhalers, electronic nicotine delivery systems, electronic vaping devices, ENDS, health, health risk assessment, healthcare, healthy, healthy lifestyle, inhalant-free incentive programs, lung cancer, michael schechter, mouth cancer, national wellness, nicotine-free incentive programs, personal vaporizers, preventive care, PV, ron golovan, smoking cessation, Solon, solon chamber of commerce, solon wellness, tobacco-free incentive programs, wellness, wellness company, wellness incentive programs, wellness program, wellness programs|