PROED 230 - CEBS Course 1--Employee Benefits: Concepts and Health Care Benefits

This program, designed and cosponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, is a professional designation program for human resource and employee benefit specialists. The CEBS program consists of ten courses covering the legal, organizational, and financial contexts underlying employee benefit plans. It is designed to help individuals prepare for the national CEBS exams. CEBS courses do NOT need to be taken in sequence! The first two assignments of Course 1 set the stage for the study of employee benefits to be pursued in the remainder of Courses 1 and 2 by examining the employee benefit environment, the functional approach to benefit planning, and risk management and insurance techniques in employee benefits. Much of this introductory material encompasses retirement plans, covered in Courses 3 and 4 of the CEBS program, as well. The coverage of health care benefits begins with a discussion of the environment of health care and health care plans, followed by health plan designs and cost-control techniques. Two assignments are devoted to managed health care, the first on the managed care spectrum and the second on the health care cost equation. Other assignments cover evaluating and selecting health and managed care plans, maintaining and improving employee health, and purchasing quality health care. Dental plans and specialized benefits--mental health/substance abuse, prescription drugs, vision, and hearing care plans--also are covered as are the timely topics of medical benefits for retirees and long-term care. The course concludes with two assignments on insuring and managing employee disabilities which includes a discussion of workers' compensation.