Benefits June 9, 2004

Insurance Study: STD, Health Coverage Integration Has Advantages

June 9, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A study by a national insurance provider claimed that melding workplace disability and health-care programs from the same carrier can help return disabled employees more quickly and can help lower benefit costs.
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The CIGNA study found that the duration of short-term disability (STD), and how quickly the employee returns to work full time, is better for those with an integrated disability and health care program. CIGNA said in a news release that it studied STD claims data from 60,000 employees in 156 companies from 2001 to 2003. The goal: to compare results when an employer got both medical and STD from CIGNA with those who get STD coverage from CIGNA and health from another carrier.

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For a hypothetical employer with 3,000 employees, integrated coverage resulted in savings of between $100,000 and $200,000 in direct disability costs, and up to $500,000 in indirect costs (lost productivity, costs of hiring and training temporary replacement workers), the CIGNA study claimed.

CIGNA said in its announcement that it will institute discounts of between 3% and 7% for clients who purchase short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) coverages in conjunction with CIGNA medical coverage.

Products June 8, 2004

ASPA Offers Online CE Access

August 30, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Plan sponsors and providers alike now have a more cost-effective way to keep up with those continuing education requirements.
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The American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA) has just added a series of continuing education quizzes to its web-based tests. ASPA’s credentialed members are required to meet continuing education requirements in order to maintain that standing. 

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ASPA members have had the ability to earn continuing education (CE) credit through a series of quizzes based on each issue of The ASPA Journal. However, now that these quizzes are on-line, members can review questions, take the quiz, and receive immediate results, according to ASPA.  And those quick results can come in handy when you’re trying to wrap up a few last minute credits ahead of the CE reporting deadline.

Just as critically, on-line availability offers an inexpensive way to keep up with ASPA’s continuing education requirements. Before on-line testing, most members acquired CE credit by attending conferences, which can be both costly and time consuming.

According to Marissa Pietschker, QPA, ASPA’s CE Committee Chair, “Given today’s economy, many employers are cutting back on expenses and will not pay for costly employee training and development opportunities.”

ASPA says it will be implementing additional e-learning programs in the near future.

ASPA is a national organization of retirement plan professionals dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the private pension system in the United States. 

You can check out the online tests at http://www.aspa.org/ASPAwhat.htm

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