Public Policy

  • A Billion and Change in Federal Grants for Health Promotion

    In 2012, the federal government announced over a billions dollars of grants as part of the ACA for various prevention efforts. This article outlines the different grant opportunities as a…

    Downloads: 7

  • AEI Recommendations for Improving the ACA

    With the surprise 2016 Presidential election results the ACA is likley to be going through change in 2017.  The attached document is from the AEI, a well-known conservative think tank,…

    Downloads: 8

  • AMA encourages MDs to prescribe physical activity

    Summary: This call to action from the American Medical Association asks all physicians to actively prescribe physical activity to their patients. The epidemiological evidence is used to justify the recommendation.…

    Downloads: 1

  • APA 2015 Work and Well-Being Survey

    This 2015 survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) is a national sample of over 1,500 American employees and contains a wealth of data on employee attitudes, preferences and perspectives…

    Downloads: 9

  • Assessing Organizational Readiness for Wellness Tool L2-12

    An organization’s readiness for Wellness and Well-being programming is usually shaped by senior management’s attitudes toward Wellness along with the propensity of the organization’s “culture,” meaning the commonly held set…

    Downloads: 38

  • Bending the Cost Curve through Market-Based Incentives

    This five-page article from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) identifies the main reasons why Obamacare will likely fail to manage health care costs.  This article is a clear…

    Downloads: 8

  • CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report; 2013

    This piece provides a backdrop for considering the value to the community from your worksite wellness activities—specifically their contribution to reducing health disparities.  This report to assess disparities across a…

    Downloads: 0

  • CDC’s Built-Environment Package

    Why is this important? This 12 page infographic-oriented package includes a visual guide, implementation guide and real-world examples of how the environment around our worksites can be modified to support wellness…

    Downloads: 19

  • Changes to Connections Newsletter and CPSTF Recommendations for Workplace

     Change is Coming!   Hello WellCert Graduates! It’s been a very interesting 3 years for all of us!  The COVID pandemic clearly created many new challenges for all of us.  In looking back…

    Downloads: 8

  • Clinical Treatment Guidelines for COVID-19

    What is this about? The 4-month-old COVID-19 Pandemic has directly affected virtually everyone in the world. The absence of science-based, consensus-mediated, clinical guidelines for its treatment has been a sore point…

    Downloads: 17

  • Creating a Culture of Wellness Tool L4-8

    Creating a “culture of wellness” in your organization takes a lot of work.  It doesn’t happen by accident or serendipity!  There are a number of strategies that must be done…

    Downloads: 68

  • Declining Health-Related Quality of Life in the U.S.

    Why is this important? This 9-page article provides concrete proof that the U.S. working population is reporting lower quality of life satisfaction due primarily to health-related factors. Another way of thinking…

    Downloads: 16

  • Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors by State: 1990 – 2016

    Why is this important? This 29-page article includes a great deal of state-specific information about the health status, health risks, life expectancy, premature mortality, and disability burden for a very large…

    Downloads: 15

  • Employee Engagement in the American Workplace

    This very useful report on employee engagement in the American workplace was released in 2017. Gallup developed "State of the American Workplace" using data collected from more than 195,600 U.S.…

    Downloads: 20

  • Employer and Employee Opinions About Workplace Health Promotion (Wellness) Programs

    This recent peer review article highlights the results of two major national surveys of employer and employee attitudes and opinions about wellness. The JOEM abstract is as follows: "Objective: The aim…

    Downloads: 13

  • Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the USPSTF

    This compendium of 9 peer review articles published in this month’s edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (January, 2018) provides an in-depth look at the USPSTF. The 9…

    Downloads: 10

  • Fighting Obesity Requires Collective Solutions

    Why is this important? This 16 page report, titled “The Failure of Obesity Efforts and the Collective Nature of Solutions,” surveyed more than 700 clinicians and experts nationwide and then summarizes…

    Downloads: 11

  • Final Amended Text of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

    This downloadable 906 page PDF copy of the ACA is authorized by the GPO and is searchable. This Law has enormous implications for everyone involved in health plan and wellness…

    Downloads: 1

  • Final regulations on the ACA wellness programming and incentive rules

    This 35 page document is the PDF of the Federal Regulations for June 3, 2013 on the design of wellness incentives that meet the requirements of the ACA.  These regulations…

    Downloads: 5

  • Final Rules from EEOC on Wellness Incentives

    Summary: This summary of key questions and answers regarding the May 17, 2016 publication of EEOC Final Rules for employers and health plans regarding wellness incentives is an important clarification…

    Downloads: 16

  • Genetic Information Doesn’t Lead to Health Behavior Change

    Summary:  This systematic review of the scientific evidence examines the effectiveness of genetic information on health behavior change.  Genetic testing is being increasingly used in a growing number of healthcare settings…

    Downloads: 3

  • Glossary of Wellness Terms Tool L1-1

    This tool is a newly expanded glossary of wellness and health terms. With more than 100 different terms included in the glossary it can be used as a source for…

    Downloads: 12

  • Group Activity Planning Worksheet Tool L1-9

    This tool provides a useful planning aid for the design and planning of group activities. The tool includes key issues that can help assure a successful group activity. There are…

    Downloads: 23

  • Health Care Spending Rises with More Coverage and Care

    This document contains a very useful compendium of U.S. health care cost data up through 2015.  Based on national health care expenditure accounting sources, it provides a very useful set…

    Downloads: 12

  • Health Insurance Chartbook 2016

    Recently the federal government released one of the most comprehensive and authoritative chartbooks profiling health insurance coverage, costs and trends for working Americans.  This 168 page publication provides one of…

    Downloads: 15

  • HIPAA in the 21st Century

    Why is this important? This 2-page editorial from JAMA is an insightful look at the changing landscape of health data protection. In an era of social media, personal tweets and growing…

    Downloads: 6

  • HIPAA Privacy and Security Toolkit

    This 25 page guide from the AMA provides practical ways to meet new HIPAA Privacy requirements.   This article is a streamline way to meet the new privacy requirements as of…

    Downloads: 1

  • How much alcohol is “safe” to consume?

    Why is this important? This 11-page article presents a landmark analysis of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption. This global scientific effort applies meta-analysis statistical techniques to derive greater scientific…

    Downloads: 9

  • National Prevention Strategy Analysis

    In June 2011, Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the United States, released the nation’s first-ever ‘‘National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy: America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness’’ (truncated as…

    Downloads: 2

  • New Guidelines for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

    What is this about? The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have issued a new set of guidelines for the primary prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). …

    Downloads: 21

  • New National Guidelines for Physical Activity

    Why is this important? The combined authoritative weight of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) signifies the importance of this national effort. …

    Downloads: 16

  • New Standard for Diagnosis of Hypertension

    On November 13, 2017,  the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) released a new report that recommends changing the clinical parameters for the diagnosis of…

    Downloads: 12

  • Participation Strategies Tool L2-4

    There are a large number of possible strategies that can be used to increase participation levels in your worksite wellness program. This tool describes in detail 12 major strategies for…

    Downloads: 24

  • Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights

    This is a recently published compendium that highlights new and confirmed behavioral and social science findings that under-gird population health.  This 444 page document contains a large number of summary…

    Downloads: 9

  • Prevention and Public Health Fund Detailed Activities by Agency

    This report shows patterns of prevention spending tied to the Affordable Care Act.  The table shows fiscal year spending from 2011-2014 by agency on preventive health. Published: 2014

    Downloads: 2

  • Preventive Services Covered by Private Health Plans Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

    This report details the requirements in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that private insurers (including self-funded employers) – with the exception of so-called “grandfathered” plans – cover certain preventive services…

    Downloads: 3

  • Proposed relaxing of HIPAA Privacy Rules

    What is this about? This edition of Connections provides an advanced copy of the proposed changes to the current rules implementing the privacy and confidentiality provisions of the Health Insurance Portability…

    Downloads: 15

  • Results from Wellness combined with a CDHP

    A just published article in JOEM that presents the findings of a 5 year strategy combining a targeted well-being improvement strategy along with a full replacement Consumer-Driven Health Plan (CDHP).…

    Downloads: 12

  • Sample Wellness Program Budget Tool L2-8

    The file contains a sample budget developed as part of the National Healthy Worksite Program sponsored by the CDC and established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of…

    Downloads: 35

  • Strategies for Optimizing Results Tool L2-11

    This tool contains a more detailed discussion of the 10 major strategies for optimizing the results and return from your employee wellness program. For each of the 10 major strategies…

    Downloads: 24

  • Study on Key Success Factors for Employee Wellness Program

    Summary: This study from JOEM identifies key success factors of corporate wellness programs that are associated with creating a culture of wellness. Objective: The aim of the study was to identify…

    Downloads: 15

  • The Affordable Care Act and the Prevention and Public Health Fund Report to Congress for FY2012

    This report to congress provides details on the prevention activities undertaken by the Department of Health and Human Services.  The health of Americans is influenced by where Americans live, work,…

    Downloads: 1

  • The Future of Public Health

    Summary: This summary article originally presented at the prestigious Shattuck Lecture at the Massachusetts Medical Society, by the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and provides a…

    Downloads: 10

  • The Truth about the Prevention and Public Health Fund

    This 9 page PDF explains the status of federal funding for Title IV of the ACA. It details the status of funding for Prevention and Wellness available through federal and…

    Downloads: 0

  • Update on Status and Clinical Significance of Obesity

    Summary: These two new articles from JAMA provide clear epidemiological and clinical evidence regarding our need to further address obesity in all populations. Recent epidemiological evidence places a new urgency…

    Downloads: 16

  • Updated ACA Prevention Spending

    Prevention and public health spending have been a moving target with changes from the ACA.  This 2013 data table provides detailed spending planning through the 2013 fiscal year on government…

    Downloads: 0

  • USPSTF Recommendations for Counselling for Diet and Exercise

    What is this about? This edition of Connections newsletter provides an 8-page article published recently in JAMA from the USPSTF with recommendations for behavioral counselling interventions to promote a healthy diet…

    Downloads: 5

  • Viewpoint on Health Literacy

    This recently published article from JAMA highlights the significance and key implications of the growing problem of health literacy. The National Academy of Sciences has also published a series of…

    Downloads: 3

  • What’s New in Obesity Management?

    This 13 page Review article provides an excellent overview of the medical issues in understanding obesity and its management. With more than 2/3 rds of Americans over the age of…

    Downloads: 28

  • Why Sleep Really Matters

    This 101 page Report authored by the staff of the Rand Corporation office in Cambridge, UK provides a multi-country analysis of the economic costs associated with insufficient sleep.  The report…

    Downloads: 16