Benefits October 15, 2004

Absence Control Program Usage on Decline

October 15, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The number of absence control program is down this year, according to a new survey.
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The average number of programs aimed at decreasing the amount of unscheduled leave has dropped to five for employers surveyed, down from 5.6 last year, according to the CCH survey. The most popular program is disciplinary action, with 91% of employers saying they utilize them. Other popular programs were yearly reviews (79%), verification of illness (76%), paid leave banks (63%), no fault programs (59%), and personal recognition (59%).

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Paid leave banks, also known as paid time off, climbed in popularity for the year, with 63% of employers using them, compared to 59% last year.For effectiveness, paid leave banks and discipline ranked highest, getting a ranking of 3.5 out of 5 for both.

This year’s survey also found employers are offering fewer sick days on average, but employers were taking about the same number of days off for sickness. On average, companies granted 6.9 sick days for the year, down from 7.6 in 2003. Employees used on average 5.8 days, compared to 5.6 last year.

Products October 14, 2004

Enroll Link to Offer New EDI Enrollment Product

October 14, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Enroll Link Inc. has announced the release of a new product aimed at EDI enrollment specialists and their current companies that will help them keep track of the changes in health plan EDI enrollment forms.
Reported by

Accordiing to a news release, the program scans health plan Web sites that contain EDI enrollment forms nightly for changes. When the program detects that a form has been changed, Enroll Link will send the user an email with the payer name and the location of the newly updated form. The user then has the ability to download the revised form for use in the EDI enrollment process. The service currently monitors 280 health plan forms.

Enroll Link believes that this process will save users money by automating a process that previously had to be done manually, the company said. The company estimates the automation can save up to 30%.

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More information on Enroll Link is at http://www.enrolllink.com/alert_services.htm .

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