TEAM POWER    Mid-State redefines work-life employee benefits with integrated wellness, HR, safety, finance, and leadership Traditional insurance and employee benefits are commoditized foundations of job security, but far from the only cornerstones that companies can use to strengthen the health, safety and well-being of their loyal workers. "The best-run companies strive to create a thriving corporate culture where each employee has the opportunity to reach full potential and use it for the achievement of company goals," declares John Austin S. Basten, president and chief growth strategist for The Mid-State Group, Lynchburg, Virginia. "Insurance is just one facet of effective benefit or risk management. We're trying to address the 24/7 systemic causes of injuries, illness, workers comp claims, health care costs, and compliance fines," he adds. Many small and middle-sized companies lack the resources to field top-tier managers in every department to help navigate complex workplace issues, such as ever-changing regulations with OSHA or the Affordable Care Act. "Busy managers wearing multiple hats in downsized companies welcome Mid-State's bouquet of consultation, thought leadership, or workload balancing," says Basten. He says Mid-State's big-picture goal is to boost employee productivity and company profits by providing 360-degree education, enrichment and engagement. If needed, Mid-State can deliver an outsourced CFO, safety director, HR executive, wellness coach, ERISA specialist, or Six Sigma consultant a la carte or as an integral custom strategy. With 36 employees, Mid-State has the bench depth to deploy high-level specialists across key areas within a company, along with corporate growth strategists who calibrate insurance and benefits needs. Click here for the complete article …

LTC'S LOOMING POTENTIAL FOR BENEFIT PLANS    Coverage for the risk that can undermine a retirement plan seems to belong in the workplace Long-term care insurance (LTC) is only minimally available through employee benefits plans. While significant growth is taking place in some segments of the long-term care individual market, the number of new enrollees in true group long-term care insurance plans declined by 66% in 2013 compared to 2012, according to Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. "The current economic climate simply isn't favorable enough to encourage insurers to offer the type of products and underwriting concessions that larger employers are used to," Slome said. He noted that whatever growth the group LTC product is experiencing is coming from small and mid-sized employers. "Small and mid-sized employers are capitalizing on some significant savings opportunities available because insurers still offer unisex pricing on their multi-life policies. As a result, female applicants are able to pay between 40% and 60% less than they would pay in the individual long-term care market," Slome explained. Listening to presentations at a recent conference of the American Association of Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI), it was hard not to wonder how long it will be before the employee benefits business figures out a way to offer long-term care more widely in the workplace. Isn't the benefits business the logical place to address a risk that is so closely linked to the success of a retirement plan? Long-term care expenses can quickly undermine a retirement plan built through decades of employer/employee contributions. Click here for the complete article …