The announcement that CVS plans to acquire Aetna for US$69 billion raises hope and concerns. The transaction would create a new health care giant. Aetna is the third-largest health insurer in the United States, insuring about 46.7 million people.

There is plenty of evidence that being physically active can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, but when do the benefits of exercise start to pay off?

Going to the doctor usually involves exposing the body with all its faults and flaws. In a culture that increasingly values self control and bodily perfection, being sick or even merely old can lead to feelings of shame and inadequacy.

” Of all the parasites that affect humanity I do not know of, nor can I imagine, any more distressing than that of Obesity. So started William Banting‘s “Letter on Corpulence,” likely the first diet book ever published.

Dariush Mozaffarian The national debate on health care is moving into a new, hopefully bipartisan phase. The fundamental underlying challenge is cost – the massive and ever-rising price of care which drives nearly all disputes, from access to benefit levels to Medicaid expansion. So far, policymakers have tried to reduce costs by tinkering with how care is delivered. But focusing on care delivery to save money is like trying

New Wage, Workplace, and Cannabis Laws Spell Dynamic 2018 for Canadian Employee Benefits (WBN Series), by Tim Witchell A Single Workout Could Save Your Life, by Dick Thijssen CVS Merger With Aetna: Healthcare Cure or Curse? by Sharona Hoffman Shaming People About Their Lifestyles Does Nothing To Improve Their Health, by Luna Dolezal and Barry Lyons

10 years ago, a number of group protection providers in the U.K. approached the ORC International research company and asked, “Can you help us understand how advisers feel about the proposition, service and support we provide?” Or something along those lines! 10 years on from the conversation that took place between seven of the leading group protection providers and ORC International back in 2007, the annual, syndicated “Group Protection Monitor” is still going strong.

The step forward came in 2007 when Lockton acquired Alexander Forbes GBV: What are the highlights of your careers in relation to global employee benefits and global mobility?

Interview – Lockton’s Mike Tyler, Chris Rofe, and Jon Green The U.K. Group Protection Market and Insurers – A Retrospective, by Paul Avis and Peter Johson The Long, Strange History of Dieting Fads, by Melissa Wdowik Want to Fix America’s Health Care? by Dariush Mozaffarian

Stephan Hillert, Head of Distribution and Customer Relationship Management Europe for Zurich International Corporate Solutions, looks at the income protection gap in the German market and how a new approach to group life and disability cover could help to close it – with benefits all round.

As the old saying goes, the only things certain in life are death and taxes. While death is inevitable, the quality of life you experience until death is often within an individual’s control. This is what our team at the Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research chose to focus on by developing a rigorous measure of quality of life. How many healthy years of life do you have ahead before you become unhealthy?

Global Benefits Vision: Could you start by giving us an overview of your career? Paige Schaffer: I have been with the Europ Assistance group since 2007. I was brought in as Vice President of Operations and Chief Service Officer, responsible for the operation of our identity protection group and our emergent travel assistance group, two separate call centers.

Australia’s health system is unique – much like its fauna. It has been shaped by the nation’s colonial history – the first hospitals were provided by the colonial administrations – and, of course, politics. It’s a curious blend of public and private funding and delivery of health care, with the Commonwealth (national) and the state governments both having significant roles in what has been described as an example of “marble cake federalism”.

Interview – Paige Schaffer on Identity Protection Perspectives on Five Health Systems – Efficient and Sustainable? Australia, New Zealand, France, United Kingdom, Canada Better Together – Life Is Simpler in A Group by Stephan Hillert R&D: A Calculator to Guess How Many Healthy Years of Life You Have Left by Jeyaraj Vadiveloo

Global Benefits Vision: Could you share with us the highlights of your career, with emphasis on global employee benefits or on related fields? Frank Schmid: I entered the insurance industry in 2004 from the Federal Reserve, serving as a Senior Economist at the National Council on Compensation Insurance in Boca Raton, FL.

Today, freelancers represent 35% of the United States workforce. In the European Union, the rate is 16.1%. Both figures demonstrate the same global trend: from creative entrepreneurs to those paid by the task, freelancing is on the rise worldwide.

How do employers react to past hiring experiences when it comes to members of specific social categories? In Learning to hire? Hiring as a dynamic experiential learning process in an online market for contract labor, we investigate why job applicants run the risk of not being hired when they reveal their social category – in this case, their country of origin.

Global Benefits Vision: LeAnne, can you share some of your career highlights with us, focusing on global employee benefits and global mobility? LeAnne Stefl: I’ve been in the industry close to 30 years. I started my career on the private client services side, with Barney and Barney (now part of MMA) in San Diego, California, in the mid-1980s. In 1999, I joined Marsh San Diego as a benefit analyst, focused on U.S. clients.

When it comes to research and data on consumer behaviors and attitudes, one of the first names that come to mind in the United States is the Gallup organization. Their most recent report, State of the American Workplace, takes a comprehensive snapshot of the modern American workforce, and was created to help business leaders optimize their attraction, retention, engagement, and performance strategies in a time of unparalleled advancement and social change

Interview – LeAnne Stefl, Worldwide Broker Network Benefits & Perks for the New Millennium Is Freelancing the Future of Employment? Is Hiring an Experiential Learning Process? Interview – Frank Schmit, American International Group

Opinion – Paul Avis on the State of the U.K. Group Risk Market Pay Policy and the Changing Workforce Paul Pittman Pooling at Fifty – A Conversation with Marc Reinhardt Patient-Centered Healthcare 101 Melissa Armstrong What happens when the federal government eliminates health coverage? Lessons from the past Simon Haeder R&D: Don’t hate your gut Jasenka Zubcevic and Christopher Martyniuk

For those who have been away there is a momentous change taking place in the workforce that you may have missed. A generational transition is introducing new values to the workplace, creating a seismic shift in culture and the way in which employers are interacting with their employees.

After much secrecy and no public deliberation, Senate Republicans finalized release their “draft” repeal and replace bill for the Affordable Care Act on June 22. Unquestionably, the released “draft” will not be the final version.

A universe of organisms living inside you may affect every part of your body, from your brain to your bones, and even your thoughts, feelings and your attempts to lose weight.

Swiss Re 2017 Group Watch – and now for the bad news! Why is it that insurers are never happy? An additional 4.5% increase in employees covered and 3.8% increase in premiums means that at the end of 2016 we insured 12,029,790 people and £2.106bn in premiums.

There is increasing international emphasis on patient-centered care at all levels of health services. This shift recognizes that it is the patient, not the doctor, who should drive health care decisions. Patient-centered care involves acknowledging that each patient is unique and health care decisions should be guided by individual needs, values, and preferences (Table).

As more top managers seek to develop their global skills through going on international assignments, they must be aware that the definition of a strong leader is a matter of culture.