Health Insurance – Page 13 – Total Benefit Solutions Inc

Medicare Creditable Coverage Part D notification requirements

September 15, 2022September 15, 2022Ed MacConnell

FROM INDEPENDENCE: Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires plans that offer prescription drug coverage to their Medicare‑eligible employees, retirees, and dependents to notify them by October 15 as to whether that coverage is “creditable” or “non‑creditable.” What customers must do Customers must take the following steps to comply with this requirement: Review the materials provided to determine whether their prescription drug coverage is creditable or non‑creditable. Disclose to their Medicare‑eligible members (employees and their dependents) whether their prescription drug coverage is creditable or non‑creditable prior to the Medicare Part D Annual Election period, running from October 15 through December 7 of this year and at other times during the future.… Read More

The Employer Shared Responsibility Provision Estimator

September 15, 2022August 11, 2022Ed MacConnell

The Taxpayer Advocate Service developed the Employer Shared Responsibility Provision (ESRP) Estimator to help employers understand how the provision works and learns how the provision may apply to them. The provision applies to applicable large employers – generally, that means employers that had an average of at least 50 full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees-FTEs), during the preceding calendar year. If you are an employer, you can use the estimator to determine: The number of your full-time employees, including FTEs, Whether you might be an applicable large employers, and If you are an applicable large employer, an estimate of the maximum amount of the potential liability for the employer shared… Read More

Additional Guidance on New Prescription Drug Reporting Requirement

September 15, 2022September 14, 2022Ed MacConnell

As previously reported in 2021, Section 204 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) requires plan sponsors of group health plans to submit informationannually about prescription drugs and health care spending to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on behalf of the Departments of Health and Human Services(“HHS”), Labor (“DOL”), and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”). The first deadline is December 27, 2022. CMS recently updated guidance related to this reporting requirement that provides some helpful clarification. Click the link below to download this bulletin. As always please contact your Total benefit Solutions, Inc health insurance specialist at (215)355-2121 if you have any further questions or concerns.

New FAQ Addresses NSA and TiC Rules

September 14, 2022Ed MacConnell

he Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (collectively, “the Departments”) issued FAQ Part 55, providing guidance as it relates to certain aspects of the No Surprises Act (“NSA”) and the Transparency in Coverage (“TiC”) final regulations. FAQ 55 includes 23 questions and answers. The guidance is lengthy and very detailed. Below you will find some of the key highlights of the guidance. Please download the bulletin below for details and contact your Total Benefit Solutions, Inc health insurance specialists at (215)355-2121 with any additional questions or concerns.

When is the Part D Senior Saving Model expected to end? How many years is the model?

September 14, 2022August 10, 2022Ed MacConnell

Since CMS is testing the Part D Senior Savings Model to lower costs and improve health care quality, it has a set period for when it’s available. Part D plans participating in the Model first became available on January 1, 2021. The Model extends until December 31, 2025, but the plans participating in the Model may change each year. Please contact your Total Benefit Solutions Medicare health insurance specialists at (215)355-2121, if you have any questions or concerns.

IBC: Understanding your network

September 9, 2022July 22, 2022Ed MacConnell

The type of health plan you choose determines the network of providers you can visit. In-network providers are the doctors and hospitals in your plan’s network. You’ll save the most money by visiting network providers. Out-of-network providers are those not in your plan’s network. You may pay more for out-of-network services, and some services may not be covered at all. Know your options — before you need them When you need care and your primary care doctor isn’t available, remember you have other options that don’t involve a trip to the emergency room. Using virtual care, retail clinics, or urgent care centers can save you time and money. https://www.ibx.com/get-care/find-doctors-and-healthcare-providers/where-to-go-for-care Click here for links to your network and more… Read More

Guaranteed Issue Rights

September 7, 2022July 29, 2022Ed MacConnell

Guaranteed Issue (GI) rights are rights the beneficiary has in certain situations when insurance companies must offer certain Medigap policies. There are ONLY 7 situations where Guaranteed Issue Rights apply. Two of the most common are: Beneficiary is in a Medicare Advantage Plan, and the plan is leaving Medicare or stops giving care in their area, or the beneficiary moves out of the Medicare Advantage plan’s service area. Beneficiary has Original Medicare and an employer group health plan (including retiree or COBRA coverage) or union coverage that pays after Medicare pays and that plan is ending. Just like with the Medigap Open Enrollment Period, during a Guaranteed Issue: No eligibility… Read More

What is a health insurance deductible?

September 1, 2022August 4, 2022Ed MacConnell

The amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay. With a $2,000 deductible, for example, you pay the first $2,000 of covered services yourself. After you pay your deductible, you usually pay only a copayment or coinsurance for covered services. Your insurance company pays the rest. Many plans pay for certain services, like a checkup or disease management programs, before you’ve met your deductible. Check your plan details. All Marketplace health plans pay the full cost of certain preventive benefits even before you meet your deductible. Some plans have separate deductibles for certain services, like prescription drugs. Family plans often have both an… Read More

Defined Contribution Plans

August 31, 2022August 9, 2022Ed MacConnell

The Issue As one of our long-time group insurance customers grew over the years, their workforce became more diverse and the management team found it difficult to accommodate each employee’s unique insurance needs. As much as the team wanted to provide the necessary coverage for the employees, they also required some control over the employee benefits budget. They came to us for advice. The Solution We proposed that this employer consider a defined contribution strategy. Defined contribution plans build benefit portfolios around a specific dollar amount, rather than around a specific plan or plans. In this way, the management team could select an amount that the company would contribute toward… Read More

Medicare Advantage (MA) Quick Facts

August 30, 2022August 3, 2022Ed MacConnell

What is it? A Medicare Advantage Plan is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company, such as Independence Blue Cross, that contracts with Medicare to provide all Part A and Part B benefits. If enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare services are covered through the plan and aren’t paid for under Original Medicare. Plan types offered: Medicare Advantage Plans include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), for example. Independence offers Keystone 65 HMO as well as Personal Choice 65 PPO. Medical Coverage: If enrolled in a HMO, members must choose a PCP (which also will coordinate referrals) and must stay In-Network. PPO… Read More

What is a Health Savings Account (HSA)?

August 29, 2022August 9, 2022Ed MacConnell

A type of savings account that lets your set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses. By using untaxed dollars in a Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and some other expenses, you may be able to lower your overall health care costs. HSA funds generally may not be used to pay premiums. While you can use the funds in an HSA at any time to pay for qualified medical expenses, you may contribute to an HSA only if you have a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) — generally a health plan (including a Marketplace plan) that only covers preventive services… Read More

IRS Announces 2023 ACA Affordability Indexed Amount

August 25, 2022August 8, 2022Ed MacConnell

The IRS recently announced in Revenue Procedure 2022-34 that the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) affordability indexed amount under the Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (“ESRP”) requirements will be 9.12% for plan years that begin in 2023. This is a notable decrease from the 2022 percentage amount (9.61%) and below the original 9.5% threshold. Rev. Proc. 2022-34 establishes the indexed “required contribution percentage” used to determine whether an individual is eligible for “affordable” employer-sponsored health coverage under Section 36B (related to qualification for premium tax credits when buying ACA Marketplace coverage). However, the IRS explained in IRS Notice 2015-87 that a percentage change under Section 36B will correspond to a similar change… Read More

What is copayment?

August 24, 2022August 4, 2022Ed MacConnell

A fixed amount ($20, for example) you pay for a covered health care service after you’ve paid your deductible. Let’s say your health insurance plan’s allowable cost for a doctor’s office visit is $100. Your copayment for a doctor visit is $20. If you’ve paid your deductible: You pay $20, usually at the time of the visit. If you haven’t met your deductible: You pay $100, the full allowable amount for the visit Copayments (sometimes called “copays”) can vary for different services within the same plan, like drugs, lab tests. and visits to specialists. Generally plans with lower monthly premiums have higher copayments. Plans with higher monthly premiums usually have… Read More

Medigap Quick Facts

August 23, 2022August 3, 2022Ed MacConnell

What is it? A Medigap policy (also called “Medicare Supplement Insurance”) is private health insurance that’s designed to supplement Original Medicare. This means it helps pay some of the health care costs (“gaps”) that Original Medicare doesn’t cover, like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. Play types offered: Insurance companies can sell only a “standardized” policy identified in most states by letters. Independence Blue Cross offers Plans A, B, F, F-HD, G, G-HD, and N. Medical Coverage: No selection of a PCP is required; members are able to choose any doctor or hospital as long as they accept Original Medicare. This also allows for no referrals and no network. Prescription Drug Coverage:… Read More

How does a Flex Spending Account Work?

August 22, 2022July 23, 2022Ed MacConnell

A Flexible Spending Account Plan (“FSA”) offers an easy and convenient way for you to save money on taxes and make your benefit dollars go further. If you participate in a Health Care and/or Dependent (Day) Care FSA, your employer puts money aside from your paycheck (before taxes are taken out) and you use that money to pay for eligible health care and/or dependent (day) care expenses. Questions about an F.S.A. account? please contact your Total Benefit Solutions group health insurance specialists at (215)355-2121 www.totalbenefits.net

New Prescription Drug Reporting Requirement

August 18, 2022August 2, 2022Ed MacConnell

As previously reported in December 2021, Section 204 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) requires plan sponsors of group health plans to submit information annually about prescription drugs and health care spending to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) on behalf of the departments of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Labor (“DOL”), and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”). The first deadline is December 27, 2022. CMS recently updated guidance related to this reporting requirement that provides some helpful clarification. Employers with fully insured or self-funded (includes level funded) group health plans, including grandfathered plans, church plans subject to the Internal Revenue Code, and governmental plans. The term “group… Read More

Important Notice Regarding United Healthcare and US Digestive Health

August 17, 2022August 1, 2022Ed MacConnell

USDH has over 150 providers and 25 locations across Central Southeastern, and Southwestern Pennsylvania that remain at the forefront of treatment protocols, attracting the most accomplished specialists and brightest medical minds in the field, and utilizing cutting edge technologies so that our patients receive high-quality care and the best possible health outcomes. USDH is currently negotiating with United Healthcare for a new contract that covers the care we provide patients with United Healthcare employer-sponsored, Exchange, and Medicare Advantage health plans. If we do not reach a new agreement, our doctors and facilities will be forced out of United Healthcare’s network effective September 1, 2022. The contract that has governed our… Read More

MACRA: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015

August 16, 2022July 29, 2022Ed MacConnell

Since January 1, 2020, Medigap plans sold to people new to Medicare aren’t allowed to cover the Part B deductible. Because of this, Plans C and F are no longer available to people who were “new to Medicare” on or after January 1, 2020. For this situation, people “new to Medicare” are people who turned 65 on or after January 1, 2020, and people who got Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) on or after January 1, 2020. If you already have either of these 2 plans (or the high deductible version of Plan F) or you were covered by one of these plans before January 1, 2020, you will be… Read More

Understanding the Coding of Health Plans from MEC to Metallic

August 15, 2022July 22, 2022Ed MacConnell

Choosing the right insurance plan for you (and your family) is not an easy task. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has introduced major changes to the way carriers traditionally marketed their health plans to the public and introduced a volume of new terms, requirements and complexities, many of which may sound confusing to the general public. From terms like “minimum essential coverage” to the various metallic plan categories of Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, a solid foundation of knowledge is essential in order to find the coverage required at an affordable price. The health insurance experts at Total Benefit Solutions Inc are well versed on these terms so when you… Read More

What is a Self-Insured Plan?

August 10, 2022July 27, 2022Ed MacConnell

Type of plan usually present in larger companies where the employer itself collects premiums from enrollees and takes on the responsibility of paying employees’ and dependents’ medical claims. These employers can contract for insurance services such as enrollment, claims processing, and provider networks with a third party administrator, or they can be self-administered. Please contact your Total Benefit Solutions, Inc health insurance specialists today at (215)355-2121.

What are HDHPs & HSAs?

August 9, 2022July 22, 2022Ed MacConnell

One way to manage your health care expenses is by enrolling in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) in combination with opening a Health Savings Account (HSA). How High Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts can reduce your costs: If you enroll in an HDHP, you may pay a lower monthly premium but have a higher deductible (meaning you pay for more of your health care items and services before the insurance plan pays). If you combine your HDHP with an HSA, you can pay that deductible, plus other qualified medical expenses, using money you set aside in your tax-free HSA. So if you have an HDHP and don’t… Read More

Best Time to Buy a Medigap Policy

August 8, 2022July 27, 2022Ed MacConnell

The best time to buy a Medigap policy is during the Medigap Open Enrollment Period. The Medigap Open Enrollment Period lasts for 6 months and begins on the first day of the month a beneficiary turns 65 or enrolls in Part B, whichever is later. Under 65 Medicare beneficiaries get a second Medigap Open Enrollment Period when they turn 65. The professionals at Total Benefit Solutions, Inc are here to help you understand your Medicare health insurance choices. Call us today at (215)355-2121.

Premium Formulary Adoption Swells Among Large Group Clients

August 5, 2022July 22, 2022Ed MacConnell

The Premium formulary is an option for large group clients wanting access to a formulary that manages traditional, non-specialty drug costs without compromising clinical outcomes. In many cases it saved early adopters nearly 10% per member per month on their plan’s traditional drug spend. Overall, members saved on drug costs without rigorous additional step therapies, prior authorizations, or other invasive utilization management strategies. Members transitioning to the Premium formulary will receive communications about the change, potential disruptions to their drug therapies, and clinically appropriate and cost-effective alternatives. Blue KC will continue to make quarterly updates to the Premium formulary and will send subsequent member communications about those changes and appropriate… Read More

Alternative Funding Yields Big Savings

August 4, 2022July 22, 2022Ed MacConnell

The Issue A firm we had worked with for several years had expressed a concern that the cost of their employee benefits package was threatening the financial stability of their firm. With a little over 150 employees, their annual benefits cost was exceeding $1.3 million and increasing at a rate of 8-15% each year. Even more concerning was that the benefits cost represented 32% of the company’s operating revenue. They had contemplated making plan changes including an increase in deductibles, copays and co-insurance limits, but they cared about the well-being of their employees and felt compelled to keep a competitive level of benefits. Our Solution We took the approach that… Read More

What is coinsurance?

August 3, 2022July 19, 2022Ed MacConnell

Coinsurance is usually a percentage of the cost for a service that you would pay. For example, if your coinsurance is 20% for covered services, your plan would pay 80% of the covered charges, and you would pay the coinsurance of 20%. Call your Total Benefit Solutions, Inc health insurance specialists today at (215)355-2121.

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