Members would be well advised to keep an eye out for a new wrinkle in provider billing – facility fees, resembling resort fees often tacked on to daily room charges at upscale hotels. These fees, being charged by some hospital-owned clinics in addition to the charge for physician services, are said to be the result [...]
In August of 2017, Massachusetts passed H.3822 “An Act Further Regulating Employer Contributions to Health Care”. The purpose of the act is to reinforce the finances of the Commonwealth’s Medicaid and Children’ s Health Insurance (CHIP) programs (MassHealth). Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many states have seen health coverage shift from private [...]
In March, due to the new inflation-adjustment calculations required under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill Act, the IRS announced in revenue ruling 2018-27 that the previously released (in May 2017) $6,900 family contribution limit would be reduced to $6,850. Since excess contributions are subject to a 6% excise tax, many employers and individuals who [...]
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place on Saturday, April 28th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, especially medications including opioids such as codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine or fentanyl, to safely dispose of [...]
The Society of Actuaries reports that nearly one in five Americans in their early 70s are still working. A big reason cited is that the age at which people can claim full Social Security benefits is currently 66. With actuarial tables showing that a 65-year old male can expect to live an additional 20 years, [...]
As a Third Party Administrator, employers and plan members count on us to make their health benefits work. While that sounds easy enough, it can be anything but easy when ordinary working families are forced to face exorbitant hospital bills. One couple recently found themselves confronted with a very difficult situation when their son needed [...]
It Could Be Your Path to Value and Transparency! Direct financial relationships between individuals or employers and primary care physicians are gaining in popularity – and for good reason. In contrast to the traditional fee-for-service payment arrangement, where physicians are reimbursed according to the volume of services they provide, direct primary care (DPC) shifts the [...]
Financial wellness, standing desks and other wellness strategies are high on the list of benefits trending upward in 2018. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a growing number of organizations are offering programs to help employees improve their financial well-being. Some companies are providing debt counseling and help with repayment of student loans. [...]
This article was published on April 06, 2018 on CTViewPoints, written by Steve Kelly. For the New Haven parents of one young boy who needed a tonsillectomy, the news was grim. Not because his diagnosis was risky or complicated, but because the family’s hospital rejected their health insurance and demanded $9,000 up front for the [...]
If It Helps to Control Costs...We Say Have At It! While many healthcare providers and insurance carriers are raising concerns about the recently announced partnership by these mega employers, I say Thank You! That's right – thank you for caring enough about runaway healthcare costs to do something disruptive. For making a commitment to get [...]
