Category: Healthcare Reform

Total Benefit Solutions has entered into a  strategic partnership with Wellworks for You.   This partnership enables us to offer services to our clients for designing and implementing comprehensive wellness programs. We truly believe that corporate wellness programs can deliver benefits to both employers and employees.From a financial standpoint, wellness programs can drive down health care utilization and costs. But more importantly, wellness programs can produce employees that healthy, satisfied, and productive employees and families. Some of the key highlights of this solution include onsite preventative screenings, wellness challenges, rewards, a monthly wellness newsletter, and more. Click the link below to get a quick look at the small business packages available to… Read More

      The Affordable Care Act (ACA) presents opportunities, and uncertainties, to health insurance agents and brokers. Yet as the ACA continues to roll out, it’s becoming clear that health insurance brokers are needed to help consumers and small businesses navigate the changing regulations, health plan choices, and enrollment process. 

Is your business eligible for the expanded Health Care Tax Credit under the Affordable Care Act? Small employers who meet the requirements are eligible for an expanded tax credit of up to 50% of the paid premiums if they meet the following requirements: Less than 25 employees Average wages of under $50,000 ( owners excluded) Employer must pay at least 50% of the premium Coverage must be offered to 100% of the eligible employees working on average of 30 hours per week 75% of the employees must participate in the coverage.   In order to get the credit, your business must apply and be approved for eligibility before applying for… Read More

Via The Washington Post: Enrollment records for close to 15,000 HealthCare.gov shoppers were not initially transmitted to the insurance plans they selected, according to a preliminary federal estimate released Saturday…click here to read the story on The Washington Post

Brokers are reporting that some of their clients are in insurance limbo as they wait for the error to be corrected by HHS or their states. From USA Today… The federal health care exchange is incorrectly determining that some people are eligible for Medicaid when they clearly are not, leaving them with little chance to get the subsidized insurance they are entitled to as the Dec. 23 deadline for enrollment approaches. Read the story on USA Today

Health Care Reform Bulletin: Exchange Enrollment Periods   Under the Exchange (also known as the Marketplace), there are three enrollment periods:  the initial, the annual and the special enrollment periods. Click the link below to download the latest bulletin covering enrollment dates. Exchange Enrollment Dates – 120213R

Zane Benefits December 2, 2013 at 7:30 AM Today, less than 50% of small businesses offer employees health insurance, largely because of the cost. That’s over 2.3 million small businesses that don’t offer health insurance. Under ObamaCare, small businesses (<50 employees) aren’t required to offer health insurance, but most want to. And, there are new advantages of individual health insurance such as the premium tax credits and guaranteed-issue coverage. All of these factors leave many small business owners asking “Can I just reimburse employees’ individual health insurance in 2014?” Under ObamaCare, small businesses (<50 employees) aren’t required to offer health insurance, but most want to. And, there are new advantages of… Read More

Despite Improvements, HealthCare.gov Still Marked By Technical Issues. via nahu,org: HealthCare.gov’s first full day after its overhaul generated very little unambiguously positive coverage from nonpartisan news outlets, and a great deal of reporting highlighting the technological obstacles that continue to confront those attempting to use the site to purchase health insurance. The site and its improvements, however successful, garnered nearly six minutes of network news coverage and prominent placement in many of the nation’s major newspapers. Scott Pelley, on the CBS Evening News, reported that on Monday, HealthCare.gov “faced its first big test…since the Obama Administration said that it met its deadline to make” the site “work smoothly for the… Read More

Small Employers Must Continue to Apply Offline Until November 2014 Online enrollment for small employers to purchase employee health coverage through the federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace has been delayed for one year, until November 2014. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services previously announced that all SHOP functions would be available this month. Until online functionality for SHOP is available, small business owners who wish to purchase a SHOP qualified health plan may work with an agent or broker to enroll. For 2014, the federally-facilitated SHOP Marketplace is open to employers with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. Employers located in a state which is operating its… Read More

story per nahu.org Several media outlets, including two national newspapers, covered the Obama Administration’s announcement over the holiday weekend of a one year delay to small business exchange enrollment on the Federal health insurance marketplace. Some sources focused on the mechanics of the policy shift while others centered their coverage on the political implications of the latest setback to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The New York Times (11/28, Pear, Subscription Publication) reported that the Obama Administration announced on Wednesday a delay of one year to small business enrollment in Federal health insurance exchange. The delay applies to small businesses in states using the Federal government’s exchange. The… Read More

At around 10:00 p.m. on November 21st, a HHS spokesperson, who asked to remain anonymous because the announcement is not yet official, divulged that the 2015 open enrollment period will be delayed one month, ostensibly to give insurers more time to set rates and to give consumers more time to shop for plans. The open enrollment period change, which does not impact this year’s open enrollment at all, means that people will begin being allowed to enroll in exchange plans November 15, 2014, and the enrollment window will end on January 15, 2015.   Click here for entire story