In today’s society, technology is just part of the landscape. It permeates almost every aspect of life, from communication with family, friends and colleagues to managing life’s daily activities such as banking and counting calories. Still, there a significant number of small businesses using the old fashioned way of communicating with their employees – printing […]
-
6 Tips for Getting Through Renewal
It’s group health insurance renewal time and we know what that means… busy season! Here are some tips on how to get through this benefits renewal stress-free. 1. Start early. To make the most of your benefits renewal, you should start getting everything you need together as far in advance as possible. Contact your health […]
-
What role can technology play in group health insurance renewal?
With the shift from full-coverage health plans to high deductible group health plans, the need for making well-informed decisions as an employee is more important than ever. One-on-one meetings may not be an option for your business, so how do you make sure all of the information you want to communicate is readily available? The […]
-
Renewal Date November or December? You Should Be Renewing Now
Most businesses moved their health benefit renewal dates to the fourth quarter in 2013 to avoid price increases coinciding with legislative changes to the Affordable Care Act. The result is an overwhelming number of accounts renewing their group health insurance and employee benefits at the same time. Health insurance carriers are inundated with phone calls, […]
-
The 5 Reasons You Might Choose Level Funding
Level funding isn’t for every group health insurance plan, but if it works for your business, it could mean a substantial savings in health care costs. With increases expected in 2016 and beyond, switching to this model might stand to save you not only this benefits renewal season, but for years to come. 1. You […]
-
10 Things Your Benefits Broker Should Be Doing
In the world of small business health insurance, there are many different players – group health insurance providers, agents, brokers, carrier representatives – the list goes on. So what services does the benefits broker offer? Many would say the answer was that the broker is there to provide insurance quotes and help you make a […]
-
How does the flu affect your company’s bottom line?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu costs the U.S. a total of $10.4 billion dollars in direct medical costs each year. On average, an estimated $700 dollars is spent per employee who contracts the flu. Not only do the monetary costs hurt business, but for small and mid-sized companies, employee absences, poor […]
-
EEOC Issues Proposed Rule on the ADA and Wellness Programs
The long-awaited proposed rule would provide much needed guidance for employers on how to structure employee wellness programs without violating the ADA. Most importantly, the proposed rule addresses the amount of incentives that may be offered under employee wellness programs that are part of group health plans. This amount is generally consistent with HIPAA’s limits […]
-
New Exchange Special Enrollment Periods for 2015
On Feb. 20, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance providing a special enrollment period (SEP) for individuals and families who did not have health coverage in 2014 and are subject to the individual mandate penalty when they file their 2014 taxes in states that use the Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE). This […]
-
Community Rating Restrictions
Prior to the ACA, composite rating was the way insurers calculated their premiums for groups under 50. Factors such as plan design, family composition and individual factors, such as health status and claims history, age, gender, location, occupation, tobacco use and duration of coverage basically told insurance companies how much the employee’s financial obligation was […]