Déjà Vu, Again – Small Group Transitional Relief Plans (pre-ACA) Extended Through 2020

Déjà Vu, Again – Small Group Transitional Relief Plans (pre-ACA) Extended Through 2020

Buried far below the most recent headlines related to eliminating the ACA, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) once again announced that employers in the small group market still enrolled in Transitional Relief Plans (pre-ACA) may keep their existing policies...

65Plus Is The Hottest Labor Market Demographic. Here Are Key 2019 Medicare Costs That Employees And Employers Should Know.

Some say it’s the hottest demographic in the labor market — men and women ditching traditional retirement age to work into their 70s, 80s and sometimes beyond.   According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the 65 and over crowd will make up the...

The Check’s in the Mail — MLR Premium Rebate Checks and What Do We Do with Them

Some BBG employer clients are reporting that they have received MLR rebate checks from their carrier. What are MLR rebate checks and why do only some employers receive them? Affordable Care Act rules stipulate that insurance carriers must spend a certain percentage of...

EMPLOYER REIMBURSEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL HEALTHPLAN PREMIUMS REMAINS A BANNED PRACTICE UNDER ACA

While this was more of a hot topic when the full monty of healthcare reform was implemented back in 2014, some employers perhaps unaware of the turmoil in the individual marketplace still ask about reimbursing employees for individual health insurance policies. The...

“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...