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  • 5 Tips to Save Money on Health Care: Part 2 | VA Benefits Firm

    Smart spending can keep your health care from costing an arm and a leg.  With costs rising on everything from gas to food, every penny counts. It pays to shop smart – that is why it helps to learn how to take steps to limit your out-of-pocket health care costs. Save Money on Prescriptions Go…

  • 4 Ways Inflation and Higher Costs Impact HR | VA Employee Benefits Agents

      U.S. President Joe Biden recently laid out his plans to combat inflation and the high cost of living. The average family is spending an additional $327 per month compared to pre-pandemic costs, according to a CNN broadcast May 10. At the time, the national average price of gas was $4.37. While the Federal Reserve…

  • Best Practices for Employee Appreciation | Virginia Benefits Team

    As HR leaders work hard to retain talent during a historic labor shortage, they are trying to show employee appreciation. At the HR Exchange Network Employee Engagement and Experience online event, Mary Shelley, Chief People Officer at Tango Card, shared best practices for rewarding employees to inform them of their value to the organization. In the session, 5…

  • Transparency Rules Require Plan Sponsors to Act Now Before July 1 Deadline | VA Benefits Advisors

    The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the Departments) released Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rules in late 2020 that will require fully insured and self-funded plan sponsors of non-grandfathered group health plans to make important disclosures about in-network and out-of-network rates beginning July 1, 2022. To be ready to meet that deadline,…

  • Mental Health is Wealth, So Start Saving Up Now! | Virginia Benefits Group

    “Suck it up,” “cheer up,” “snap out of it,” “but you don’t look sick”- these are just some of the phrases that well-meaning friends and family tell loved ones struggling with mental health issues. Research shows that one in five adults struggle with mental health conditions.  Mental health struggles include depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia,…

  • 401k Pointers by Bill Kite | VA Employee Benefits Consultants

    Is this year 2000 or 2008 revisited? Whenever there are significant corrections on Wall Street we all get nervous about being in the market.  This time, compounded by higher inflation, we want to remind everyone not to make foolish moves and to utilize every available opportunity.  This is a strange time with market decreases, real…

  • What is Mental Health and Wellness in HR? | Virginia Employee Benefits Advisors

    Mental health and wellness in HR are becoming top priorities for employers. In fact, HR leaders named mental health and wellbeing as their third biggest problem, behind the labor shortage and retaining talent, in the latest HR Exchange Network State of HR report. In addition, those surveyed also said burnout was the top consequence of the…

  • The 4 W’s of Lifestyle Benefits | Virginia Employee Benefits Agency

    Com­pet­i­tive wages are no longer enough to sat­is­fy and sup­port val­ued employ­ees. Today, a vari­ety of ben­e­fits and perks play an essen­tial role in attract­ing and retain­ing talent. Lifestyle benefits, sometimes referred to as employee perks, are non-salary benefits given to employees to improve their overall lifestyle that go above and beyond standard medical, dental and…

  • 5 Tips to Save Money on Health Care: Part 1 | VA Employee Benefits Consultants

    Health insurance is essential to protecting your health but the high cost of coverage may leave you feeling sick.  Even after employers pick up a substantial amount of the cost, every year Americans spend thousands of dollars on healthcare while costs are continuing to rise. By taking certain steps, you can stretch your healthcare dollars…

  • As Cybercriminals Act More Like Businesses, Insurers Must Think More Like Criminals | Virginia Benefits Agents

    Cybersecurity is no longer an emerging risk but a clear and present one for organizations of all sizes, panelists on a panel at Triple-I’s Joint Industry Forum (JIF) said. This is due in large part to the fact that cybercriminals are increasingly thinking and behaving like businesspeople. “We’ve seen a large increase in ransomware attacks for the…