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Medical costs for employers are on a track that is significantly outpacing
inflation, and the resulting financial challenges are growing ever more
complex. Managed care has helped to ease some pressure in the past two decades
but, with the initial cost advantages of managed care behind us and amid
lingering concerns about access and quality of care, costs are again on the
rise. Companies are looking for new strategies to help manage health expense.
Most offer some incremental value. But, increasingly, employers are recognizing
that a comprehensive approach to absence management can be an effective tool.
Unum's research of tens of thousands of its claims in multiple
industries points to a powerful connection between employee absence and medical
costs. As the leader in income protection,* our company specializes in helping
employers put together solutions to the productivity and cost challenges of
employee absence.
Your investment in an effectively designed employee disability insurance program
and use of the other absence management tools that support the plan can make a
difference in your bottom line.
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The average per-employee cost of absenteeism rose to an all-time high in 2002 of
$789, up from $755 in 2001 and $610 in 2000. Absenteeism declined only slightly
in 2002, to 2.1% from 2.2% in 2001.*
By learning more about absenteeism, better training your staff about it, and
better planning for it, you can minimize workplace disruption and realize
measurable cost savings. Unum helps you create a more productive,
stay-at-work or return-to-work orientation with a unique offering available
only through our employee income protection plans. Our corporate return to work
program development support includes:
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Web-based education, impact assessment and human resource training tools
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Additional available telephone mentoring and regional staff training
opportunities
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If desired, fee-based customized on-site analysis of lost-time patterns in your
workplace, development and integration of employee absence policies, staff and
management training and mentoring, coordination of return-to-work network
providers, and measurement of results
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$8-9 saved for every dollar invested
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25% fewer lost work days
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32% fewer work-related claims
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22% reduction in medical costs
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30% reduction in new LTD claims
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Information is a critical element in better managing employee absence. Whether
related to traditional disability absence or an entire employee benefit
program, data and its analysis are paramount to identifying and understanding
the who, what, where, when and why of employee absence. Leaner human resources
staffs and increasing executive interest in cost-containment compound the need
for efficient and effective reporting capabilities.
Unum's expertise allows us to offer information services that will help
you better measure, monitor and manage your lost-time and employee benefit
costs.
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You will receive standard access to a consolidated view of non-occupational
lost-time costs and trends through reporting from your short-term disability,
long-term disability and/or family medical leave events.
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If you are a larger company, we can enhance or customize your reports for an
additional fee, integrating data from a complete spectrum of employee benefits
programs non-occupational, occupational, group medical, family medical leave,
human resource/demographic into a common data warehouse and reporting
platform.
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Your account management consultants are available to help your use analyze and
use your findings to move your benefits programs closer to your actual needs.
The information we deliver can help drive management decisions that reduce or
eliminate absence costs before they become a drain on your company's medical
and administrative resources. Knowing more about how absence impacts your
company allows us to put our specialty expertise to work for you, recommending
practices and procedures that can help you better manage your unscheduled
absences and disability trends — ultimately helping you keep your employees
healthier and bolstering your bottom line.
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Since implementation of the Family Medical Leave Act in 1993, millions of
Americans have taken family medical leave and 33 states have adopted their
own leave regulations. The resulting tracking and reporting complexity has
taxed many human resource organizations. A complicating factor is that between
50% to 70% of employee medical leaves may also qualify as short-term disability
leaves.* This means that managing medical leaves separately from your
disability programs can add additional costs and potentially mean that
employees remain absent from work longer than necessary. Concurrent, consistent
leave management is critical.
Unum partners with larger employers (500+ employees) to help
meet this growing challenge. Your sales contact or account manager will work
with your staff to analyze your company's situation and implement a program
that:
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Consistently administers leave in compliance with all applicable regulations
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Provides integrated intake, management and reporting of federal or state leave
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Systematically tracks and reports all medical leave
Our leave management unit operates as an extension of your human resources
department, and we are in constant communication with you and your employees.
Your employees receive written documentation of leave requests, and periodic
re-certification of leave periods as required by law. You receive daily and
weekly absence reports on family medical leave.
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