Benefits Buzz
Posted June 7th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Telemedicine can generally be defined as a way to provide a broad range of health-related services by phone or through an online platform. Several employers and insurance carriers offer telemedicine services in conjunction with their health plan(s) as a way to provide a cheaper alternative of diagnosing and treating common illnesses, such as the cold or flu.
In the first part of this series, we discussed how everyone from insurance companies to employers has been affected by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but no group more so than employees - the true healthcare consumer.
As required under the ACA, the federal government must conduct audits of Marketplace coverage to ensure that only people who are truly eligible are receiving a subsidized plan.
Effective Spring 2016, CMS launched an "Employer Initiatives" Program to aid in the auditing process. As part of this program, CMS may contact an employer to request whether or not one or more employees were enrolled in minimum essential coverage, or whether or not they were offered a health plan which was affordable and had minimum value.
Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect, Flex has been following closely as the market transitions further away from traditional healthcare concepts. The following is the first piece in a three-part series that addresses key industry issues, trends and solutions related to Consumer-Driven Accounts (CDAs).
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled a new interim final rule on May 6, 2016 which amends certain special enrollment periods (SEPs) in the individual marketplace and revises certain rules pertaining to consumer operated and oriented plans (CO-OPs). The rule aims to curb abuse of the SEP, which insurers have said is occurring when consumers claim to have a qualifying event but actually do not. The rule also aims to strengthen the CO-OP program.
What happens to beneficiaries who are enrolled in COBRA when a merger or acquisition occurs?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has some rather thorough and complex guidelines that address COBRA issues when business reorganizations occur, including mergers and acquisitions. In an effort to simplify an otherwise complex situation, we can generally break down the guidance as follows:
