Medicare

Medicare Part D "Donut Hole" Closing Sooner than Expected

Posted February 13th, 2018 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
paczki fat tuesday donuts

Happy Fat Tuesday! Much like the paczki, we will soon be without a "donut hole"- for Medicare Part D. The donut hole, also known as the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage, will close a year earlier than expected as a result of a budget deal signed by President Donald Trump this past Friday. The donut hole will now close in 2019 instead of 2020.

Tags:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, Medicare, President Trump, Part D
Read More

Reminder: Medicare Part D Notices Must Be Distributed by October 14th

Posted October 3rd, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Reminder: Medicare Part D Notices Must Be Distributed by October 14th
Each year employers must provide a written notice to Medicare-eligible employees who are covered under their group health plan. The notice must include information about the creditable coverage status of the prescription drug benefit. In other words, the notice tells employees if the prescription drug benefit on the group health plan is at least as good as the standard Medicare Part D plan. 
 
Tags:
Medicare, Part D, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, COBRA
Read More

Medicare Part D Notices Must Be Distributed by October 14th

Posted September 19th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Medicare Part D Notices Must Be Distributed by October 14th
Employers must provide a written notice on an annual basis to any Medicare-eligible individuals who are covered under a group health plan that includes prescription drug coverage. The notice is required to include information as to whether the prescription drug coverage is considered to be creditable. In other words, is the prescription drug coverage at least as good as the standard Medicare Part D plan? 
 
Tags:
Medicare, Employee Benefits, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, COBRA, retirement
Read More

IRS-SSA-CMS Data Match

Posted July 22nd, 2016 in Producers, Employers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are required to share information that each agency has about whether Medicare beneficiaries or their spouses are working. This sharing of information is referred to as the IRS-SSA-CMS Data Match, and the purpose of the Data Match is to identify situations where another group health plan may be primary to Medicare. In general, a group health will be primary to Medicare when:
 
Tags:
IRS, SSA, CMS, Medicare, group health
Read More

10 ACA Facts for 2016

Posted December 10th, 2015 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
10 ACA Facts for 2016
Below is a list of some key Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes and facts that will be effective in 2016:
 
  1. The Individual Mandate penalties increase to $695 per adult ($347.50 per child) or 2.5% of household income, whichever is greater. 
  2. The Employer Mandate expands to include all employers who have 50 or more employees. 
  3. The Employer Mandate offer rate increases from 70% to 95%. 
  4. Employer reporting related to the offer of coverage is due for the first time during Q1 2016. 
Tags:
HHS, CMS, healthcare reform, Affordable Care Act, ACA, individual mandate, small group health plans, Medicare
Read More

2016 Medicare Premiums and OOP Costs

Posted November 20th, 2015 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
2016 Medicare Premiums and OOP Costs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released premium and cost sharing information for Medicare beneficiaries in 2016.  Approximately 70% of individuals will pay $104.90 per month for Part B, however, the premium cost will be higher for the remaining 30% of individuals who:
 
  1. Enroll in Part B for the first time in 2016; or
  2. Those who don’t currently receive Social Security benefits; or
  3. People who have Medicare and Medicaid, and Medicaid pays the Part B premium; or
Tags:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicare, CMS, Medicaid, individual health plans
Read More

An End to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)

Posted April 17th, 2015 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
An End to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)
Since 1997, the federal government has used a system referred to as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) to pay doctors that participate in the Medicare program. The SGR has aimed to slow increasing costs related to Medicare by limiting and reducing payments to doctors. However, the SGR has seen a lot of backlash from doctors, with many indicating they would not participate in the Medicare program if payments were reduced.
Tags:
Medicare, Congress, President, Republican, Democratic, Bill, Sustainable Growth Rate
Read More

Employer Payment Plans Update

Posted March 16th, 2015 in Producers, Employers
New Information Regarding Employer Payment Plans

The IRS has released Notice 2015-17 with some new information about Employer Payment Plans, which are plans that are used to reimburse employees with pre-tax dollars for individual market coverage (e.g. HRA). Previous guidance had essentially eliminated Employer Payment Plans as an option for actively employed workers because they would not be able to comply with all of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market reforms. Notice 2015-17 elaborates on the IRS’ position of Employer Payment Plans.

Tags:
healthcare reform, Affordable Care Act, individual mandate, Employer Mandate, IRS, Medicare
Read More

2015 Medicare Plan Premiums

Posted October 24th, 2014 in Producers
2015 Medicare Plan Premiums
We, at the Flex General Agency, are excited about this Medicare sales season and wanted to provide some general insight for insurance professionals regarding this booming marketplace. 
 
Reminder: The 2015 Medicare Annual Open Enrollment Period started on October 15 and runs though December 7, 2014. 
 
Tags:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicare, Annual Enrollment Period
Read More

HSA Contribution Clarification

Posted May 2nd, 2014 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
HSA Contribution Clarification

How do the annual maximum Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution limits apply to an eligible individual with family High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) coverage for the entire year if the family HDHP covers spouses or dependent children who also have coverage by a non-HDHP (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid, HMO)?

Tags:
Health savings account, HSA, Consumer-driven health care, HDHP, Medicare
Read More

Benefits Buzz

Blog Home
SUBSCRIBE TO THE FLEX BLOG

Mailing List Join Our Mailing List
RSS Benefits Buzz RSS Feed

Recent Posts

Tag Cloud

individual mandate HRAs HSAs healthcare reform health savings accounts Affordable Care Act ACA Medicare IRS health insurance Employee Benefits Employer Mandate
More

Archives

Stay Connected