Definition of Predicament: People Who Don’t Have Access to Employer Coverage, Aren’t Medicare Eligible, and Don’t Qualify for Subsidies

Yes, this is a bit anecdotal. Nevertheless, I think it’s  worth reporting and some may find it interesting. First, recently our team managed the annual open enrollment process for the group health plan of one of our employer clients. After a quick but thoughtful...

“Dear Employer” Letter from Medicare (Part 2) – Compliance Overview

The CMS Data Match program determines whether an employer-sponsored group health plan has the responsibility for paying health care claims before Medicare. As discussed in last week’s post, with the number of workers age 65 and over steadily increasing, many...

Letters From CMS (Medicare) to Employers Regarding Group Health Plan Reporting Are Causing Some Confusion

Many employers are receiving letters from CMS (Medicare) requesting information and it’s causing some confusion. The actual title of the letter reads “Requirement to Submit the Group Health Plan Report for the IRS/SSA/CMS Data Project”. Here’s an overview that may...

In Case You Missed It – HHS Has Again Extended the Small Group “Keep Your Plan” Provision of the Affordable Care Act

We know you get updated on a lot of healthcare issues.  Just in case you missed our previous announcement this is worth repeating for those employers in the under 50 segment who have kept pre-ACA plans in place. For our under 50 employee groups, we were ramping up to...

If You Want A Pragmatic Understanding of the Opioid Epidemic You May Want to Listen to This

This post follows up on last week’s primer on how abuse of prescription pain medications has led to what’s now recognized as a true national crisis. The new podcast Embedded provides a riveting inside look at how the use of one particularly powerful prescription...