Posts Tagged ‘group health’
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
While many young adults faced losing coverage as they aged off their parent’s plan, had no coverage in the case of an unexpected pregnancy, or merely had the bare necessities covered by their school plans, all can breathe a sigh of relief as health care reform promises to end their fears.
As mentioned in earlier posts, the most immediate change is coverage will be extended to overage dependents, as long as they are not offered other employer sponsored coverage, up through their 26th birthday. This helps ease the burden of uninsured claims, as many of these adult children would wait over two years before attempting to obtain their own coverage.
This is a preview of
Many Important Health Care Reform Changes for Young Adults
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Read the full post (320 words, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)
Tags: children's health, group health, health insurance, heath insurance, Universal Health Care
Posted in Employees, Employers, Family, Federal, Laws | Comments Off
Monday, May 17th, 2010
We are now well into the first year following the passing of the health care reform bill. However, we still are not completely sure of what the changes are going to be, and how it will affect all of us. While some portions of the bill are clear cut, such as extending coverage to overage dependents, many of the larger concepts remain to be fully explained. How are small and large businesses going to be able to afford coverage for their employees? How will the tax breaks help or hurt? How can coverage for all Americans remain affordable?
This is a preview of
Health Care Reform – where it is headed?
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Read the full post (169 words, estimated 41 secs reading time)
Tags: group health, health care reform, health insurance, preventative care, Universal Health Care
Posted in General, Government Run Health Plan, Resources, Tools | Comments Off
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Worries grow as those Californians who have been receiving assistance with their COBRA premiums are faced with losing financial assistance. As federal stimulus money dwindles, the 65% of premium formerly covered by this subsidy will expire, leaving many to make a tough choice – pay the premiums or go without coverage. COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) was passed in 1985, allowing involuntarily terminated employees to keep their current health plan, and take over the payments for their monthly premiums. However, after many years and skyrocketing health care inflation, many people are finding that their COBRA premiums are exceeding their unemployment benefits.
If reports are correct in showing that 40% of newly employed people applied for the COBRA subsidy, these numbers can mean that the number of uninsured people will rise along with the lack of federal support. There are some plans in the works, however, which may bring some much needed relief:
HR 3930 would extend the period of eligibility through June 2010, increase the maximum duration of the subsidy to 15 months and end all subsidies at the end of December 2010.
S 2730 by includes the same provisions as the House bill and would also increase the federal subsidy from 65% of the premium to 75%, as well as expand eligibility to include employed people who lose health coverage because of involuntary reduction of hours.
COBRA Subsidy Laws are changing all the time. We will try and bring you the most updated information as we can. In the meantime, there are many websites to help you keep up with the changes. We are also happy to answer any questions you have!
Permanent link to this post (280 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)
Tags: COBRA, group health, health care costs, premiums
Posted in Employees, Employers, Federal, Group, Laws, Resources | Comments Off
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Diabetic clients will be finding more comprehensive dental and vision benefits with Anthem Blue Cross starting 1/1/2010. These integrated benefits will help such individuals obtain the care they need to manage their conditions, and prevent diabetes related complications.
Diabetic Retinopathy can be a common occurrence, but is almost 90% preventable with proper vision care. Therefore, members who have the Blue View Vision plan and the 360 degree health program will be enrolled in the ConditionCare for Diabetes program. This program will help clients take a proactive role in managing their condition should a diabetic-related vision diagnosis occur.
Dental benefits will also be extended for diabetic clients, adding one additional dental cleaning or periodontal maintenance procedure every year. High blood glucose levels can help germs to build up on teeth and gums, and increase the probability of gum disease and ultimately tooth loss. Another concern is the fact that dental infections can worsen diabetes by causing hyperglycemia.
Please contact us with any questions regarding these vision and dental enhancements. We want to help you to get the care you need to stay as healthy as possible in 2010.
Permanent link to this post (190 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)
Tags: added benefits, group health, preventative care, wellness
Posted in Employees, Employers, Family, Group | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
In October of 2008, the President signed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), which provided some vital changes in the way group mental health and addiction benefits are to be covered. This ensures that those needing such coverage will not be denied or restricted in their ability to seek treatment.
The MHPAEA applies to Large Group plans; both self-funded and fully insured, and works to prevent the placement of dollar limits on mental health care. Instead, it ensures that mental health benefits and substance use disorders are covered just as any other medical or surgical benefits.
However, there are some snags. If the group plan does not currently have mental health benefits on their plan, they will not be required to add them to their current benefit package. Also, the number of covered visits may be limited, even if there is no visit limit imposed on regular medical visits. Cost sharing may be higher for mental health or substance abuse visits as well.
Though this law may only apply to large group plans, those individuals who are on small group or an individual/family plan will find the same protection under “Mental Health Parity”. You can click on www.ncsl.org to see state specific laws regarding mental health benefits.
Permanent link to this post (215 words, estimated 52 secs reading time)
Tags: Add new tag, group health, mental health, pre-existing
Posted in Federal, Group, Laws, Resources | Comments Off
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Small business owners in California received extra protection under the law for their rights with group health insurance when the law AB 1672 was passed in 1992. This new requirement required that group health insurance carriers provide coverage for employees covered under a group health plan, even if they have a pre-existing condition. This new law meant that insurance companies may not deny coverage, and if there is an exclusion period for a pre-existing condition, it must be kept to six months to one year. If an employee was covered by a health plan before joining the group health plan offered by their new employer, this coverage must count towards this exclusion period, as long as the employee’s coverage was enacted within 62 days of losing the previous policy.
This is a preview of
Assembly Bill 1672 & What it means for Small Business Plans
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Read the full post (191 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)
Tags: group health, pre-existing
Posted in Employees, Employers, Group | Comments Off
Friday, May 8th, 2009
The IRS has instituted a provision in Section 125 of their code. This provision allows for a simple change in your company’s payroll process that reduces your taxable payroll. Every premium contribution your employees make will be deducted from your overall taxable payroll amount. Here’s what you and your employees can expect with a Premium Only Plan or POP.
Employer Benefits
Lower Taxes – Every small business owner needs to take advantage of every tax break they can find. By using a POP plan, you are immediately lowering your taxes, which means that you can turn this additional revenue into more options for your business.
This is a preview of
Savings with a Premium Only Plan (Section 125)
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Tags: group health, pre-tax
Posted in Employers, Group | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
In February of 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Designed as part of the economic stimulus bill, this also provides some major assistance to COBRA coverage for certain individuals. Some of the major points to this bill are:
- Will provide for a federal subsidyon the COBRA continuation coverage premiums for qualified beneficiaries due to involuntary termination of employment between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009 (Assistance Eligible Individuals)
- Qualified beneficiaries will include the covered employee, the covered employee’s spouse, and covered employee’s dependent children. This means that the spouse or dependents of the involuntarily terminated employee will be eligible for benefits even if the employee does not elect COBRA.
Tags: COBRA, group health
Posted in Employees, Employers, Federal, Group, Laws | Comments Off
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Businesses, especially those with fewer than 5 employees, are really bearing the brunt of the rate increases. However, there are still options out there to save you and your employee’s money.
Carriers are constantly revising their portfolios to meet your needs. For example, Anthem Blue Cross expanded its portfolio to include four new HMO options.
Other ways to save on your Group Health Coverage may be to consider adding on the Section 125 Premium Only Plan. This allows employees to pay certain medical expenses (i.e. their portion of the premium) before taxes are deducted from your paycheck. This increases the employee’s take home pay, and reduces Employer taxes.
Tags: group health
Posted in Employees, Employers, Group | Comments Off
Monday, April 27th, 2009
One of the most important things you need to do as an Employer offering health insurance is to make sure that your employees understand their benefit packages.
Here are some frequently asked questions that employees may have about their group health insurance plan:
How much do they have to pay?
As the employer in a group health insurance policy, it is your responsibility to provide at least some payment for monthly premiums for the policy.
It is important that your employees know exactly how much you will provide and what they will have to pay on the policy. Ideally, this should be answered before an employee signs up for your group health plan to avoid any confusion.
This is a preview of
Keeping Employees Aware of Benefit Packages
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Read the full post (346 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)
Tags: group health, health savings accounts
Posted in Employees, Employers, Group | No Comments »
