Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
High Deductible Help
Health Care costs are increasing, the economy is not turning around quick enough - what are employers doing about health insurance ? Some are reducing benefits by putting in higher co-pays or large deductibles (some are doing both!). If there is substantial cost savings by doing this, a company may give back some of the savings by "funding" all or part of the large deductible in an H S A (health savings account) or an HRA (health reimbursement arrangement). Another option is to offer a voluntary set of benefits to employees designed to offset these larger potential expenses. Recently I was interviewed on this exact topic. Read more here.
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Joe the Plumber Doesn’t Need to Wait Any Longer
Steve Blewitt has had an article published in National Healthcare Reform Magazine. The article sights some methods of controlling health insurance costs now.
Click here for the article.
Click here for the article.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Employers and Brokers Find Tips at a National Conference
About a week ago I attended a national conference that was geared towards brokers and consultants as well as HR professionals. Although the speakers and topics were different for each group there were some relevant points in this ever evolving world of health insurance that we live in.
*A survey by the National Business Group on Health on how employers will deal with health insurance increases: 63% plan to increase payroll deductions, 46% plan to downgrade benefits - 61% will offer a Consumer Driven Health Plan like an HSA or HRA in 2011.
*Many larger employers are looking into Dependent Eligibility Audits. This procedure identifies dependents that should no longer be covered on the plan (a divorced spouse, a cousin, an aged out child or custody arrangement) and their coverage is terminated - saving the employer money.
*Under health care reform penalties now exist when employers discriminate with benefits for highly compensated employees. Giving these employees a separate richer benefit or paying more towards premiums could result in fines of $100 per day per individual discriminated against. In fact the public is invited to comment on this up until November 4th. use this e-mail address Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Include “Notice 2010-63” in the subject line.
*Experts suggested that employers increase waiting periods to at least 90 days for new hires, disclose the full cost of insurance premiums to employees, implement a Section 125 FSA plan and consider self funding health insurance with a third party administrator.
*Small employers should explore the small business tax credit that is a part of health care reform. In general the credit is available to small employers, less than 25 employees and pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees in 2010. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, businesses that use part-time help may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals.
*Health care reform allows children to stay on their parents plan up to age 26. This does NOT mean they are still considered dependents for tax reasons. perhaps they are 25 and married and live on their own - yet they are still on mom and dad's health plan. If so be careful if you participate in an H S A or FSA - you most likely cannot use these tax free funds on these "children" (are they really still children??) since they are no longer considered a "dependent".
Hopefully some of these strategies may benefit you and your business.
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
*A survey by the National Business Group on Health on how employers will deal with health insurance increases: 63% plan to increase payroll deductions, 46% plan to downgrade benefits - 61% will offer a Consumer Driven Health Plan like an HSA or HRA in 2011.
*Many larger employers are looking into Dependent Eligibility Audits. This procedure identifies dependents that should no longer be covered on the plan (a divorced spouse, a cousin, an aged out child or custody arrangement) and their coverage is terminated - saving the employer money.
*Under health care reform penalties now exist when employers discriminate with benefits for highly compensated employees. Giving these employees a separate richer benefit or paying more towards premiums could result in fines of $100 per day per individual discriminated against. In fact the public is invited to comment on this up until November 4th. use this e-mail address Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Include “Notice 2010-63” in the subject line.
*Experts suggested that employers increase waiting periods to at least 90 days for new hires, disclose the full cost of insurance premiums to employees, implement a Section 125 FSA plan and consider self funding health insurance with a third party administrator.
*Small employers should explore the small business tax credit that is a part of health care reform. In general the credit is available to small employers, less than 25 employees and pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees in 2010. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, businesses that use part-time help may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals.
*Health care reform allows children to stay on their parents plan up to age 26. This does NOT mean they are still considered dependents for tax reasons. perhaps they are 25 and married and live on their own - yet they are still on mom and dad's health plan. If so be careful if you participate in an H S A or FSA - you most likely cannot use these tax free funds on these "children" (are they really still children??) since they are no longer considered a "dependent".
Hopefully some of these strategies may benefit you and your business.
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
W-2 Health Costs Reporting is Optional
The IRS announced last week that it will defer the new requirement under Health Care Reform set to take place in 2011 that employers must report on W-2s the cost of health care coverage. The Treasury Dept and the IRS feel it is necessary to provide employers the time needed to make changes to payroll systems and internal procedures. Guidance from the IRS will be forthcoming. For 2001 the reporting of costs on w-2s is optional and a draft of that form exists for those employers wishing to do so. It can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/draft_w-2.pdf
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
September Newsletters Ready to Read!
Click the following links for new issues of our online newsletters.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
"If you like your health plan you can keep your health plan " ......Not exactly ....
At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire exactly one year a go, President Obama repeated a line he used many times. His statement is not exactly true. At a recent broker seminar held by Aetna in Delaware, the company announced some terrific changes coming in October. Among the changes, if you are a Delaware employer currently with Aetna you will have to change to one of their new plan offerings upon your renewal.
In an attempt to cut administrative costs, be more flexible and adapt to client needs Aetna is streamlining their products by reducing the number of plans available. These plans will be health care reform compliant and hopefully improve pricing.
All plans incorporate 5 key components of health care reform:
1) Remove Lifetime Maximums on all plans
2) Remove Annual limits where required
3) Preventive care 100% covered
4) Dependents covered to age 26
5) No pre-existing conditions for children under 19
Delaware employers can pick from 14 plan designs from Aetna.
How will the marketplace react to such changes ? Check back in a year and we will have a better idea. My thought is most employers will appreciate the simplicity - especially if it means better pricing. Aetna is making similar changes in Pennsylvania and my guess is they will in other states too. I doubt Aetna will be alone either. BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware and Coventry Healthcare of Delaware both have scheduled broker seminars for the month of August. I bet they have some changes coming too!
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
In an attempt to cut administrative costs, be more flexible and adapt to client needs Aetna is streamlining their products by reducing the number of plans available. These plans will be health care reform compliant and hopefully improve pricing.
All plans incorporate 5 key components of health care reform:
1) Remove Lifetime Maximums on all plans
2) Remove Annual limits where required
3) Preventive care 100% covered
4) Dependents covered to age 26
5) No pre-existing conditions for children under 19
Delaware employers can pick from 14 plan designs from Aetna.
How will the marketplace react to such changes ? Check back in a year and we will have a better idea. My thought is most employers will appreciate the simplicity - especially if it means better pricing. Aetna is making similar changes in Pennsylvania and my guess is they will in other states too. I doubt Aetna will be alone either. BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware and Coventry Healthcare of Delaware both have scheduled broker seminars for the month of August. I bet they have some changes coming too!
Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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