Welcome to HealthFinanceNews! When it comes to employee healthcare in our country, there are three different languages spoken.

There’s vendor-speak, filled with buzzwords like presenteeism, consumer-driven health care, and employee self-service.

There’s legalese, bogged down in compliance issues such as ERISA, FMLA, COBRA and other laws that HR departments need to know.

And then there’s the everyday language of the managers who are concerned with how these issues affect the bottom line.

We created HealthFinanceNews.com with the last group in mind. It’s our aim to tie cutting through the jargon and look at how different issues affect both the costs and returns on your health plan. We understand the constraints on your budget — and your own time.

Of course, we’ll cover the need-to-know legislative and cost-related benchmarking info. More than that, though, we’ll offer one-of-kind features such as:

“My best management idea.” – In our daily dealings with benefits managers, we’ve learned of many of the clever, cost-efficient ways companies have trimmed the fat on their health benefits without hurting employee morale or quality of care. We think you’ll see, in those stories, some solutions that you can apply to your own company.

“Who won the case?” – We will lay out the facts of an actual lawsuit. Just for fun, we will give you a chance to decide who won in court. We will then reveal the outcome and suggest ways you can avoid some of the problems that led to the lawsuit if a similar situation arises at your company.

“What managers told us.” – You’ll get the results of our exclusive opinion surveys on topics ranging from wellness programs to administrative outsourcing. It’s a great way to benchmark your costs and see what your colleagues are thinking and doing.

Stick around and have a look, share your views and please come back again. If there’s something you have a question about or you’d like to make a suggestion, let us know at healthfinancenews@pbp.com.

Bill Meltzer

Editor, HealthFinanceNews