The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee is a fee on issuers of health insurance policies and plan sponsors of self-insured health plans that helps to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which was established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The institute assists, through research, patients, clinicians, purchasers and policy-makers, in making health decisions by [...]
The Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form is a new state reporting requirement in Massachusetts beginning in 2018. This form differs from the original HIRD form that was passed into law in 2006 and repealed in 2014. The 2018 form is administered by MassHealth and the Department of Revenue (DOR) through the MassTaxConnect (MTC) web [...]
Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) permits a state to apply for a State Innovation Waiver to pursue innovative strategies for providing their residents with access to high quality, affordable health insurance while retaining the basic protections of the ACA. Recently several states have applied for waivers and have been approved. Among these is the State of [...]
Diversified Group is celebrating the season of giving and will be holding a food drive for our local food bank, the Food Bank of Marlborough, Connecticut. Please consider donating this holiday season as this is the time of year when food banks are in the most need. Donations will be collected until December 13th. The [...]
Controlling Health Plan Costs Is Everyone's Responsibility Recent trade publication articles have featured tales of large carriers offering bonuses and quarterly incentives to advisors who agree to move their clients from a self-funded health plan to fully-insured. After managing self-funded health plans for more than 50 years, we’ve seen just about every scheme you can [...]
Studies show that regardless of age, few employees consider financial wellness in terms of retirement, leaving them vulnerable to serious financial difficulties in later years. When surveyed, employees of all ages named “freedom from financial stress and debt, enjoying life and being prepared for emergencies” as their ideal state of financial wellness. While the definition [...]
For the first time in years, Americans took more time off from work in 2017. A survey of 4,400 workers conducted by the travel industry showed that on average, 17.2 days of vacation were used last year. This was more than a full day greater than in 2014. While more vacation time was enjoyed, work [...]
Modern Healthcare and other news publications have recently written about a free mobile patient app, Belong, that is providing a platform for cancer patients to connect and explore ways of improving quality of life. The American Cancer Society and Colorectal Cancer Canada are using the app to connect with patients, which was launched in 2015 [...]
This article was published on October 8, 2018 on BenefitsPro, written by Dan Cook. From online consultations to take-home self-diagnostic kits to remote specialist networks, telemedicine is suddenly everywhere. Photo source: BenefitsPro Five years ago, when talk turned to telemedicine or telehealth, the word “potential” either preceded or closely followed the discussion. In [...]
In late June, the Department of Labor introduced final rules on Association Health Plans (AHP), which will allow bonafide associations to offer healthcare plans to member companies. While we had hoped for a different approach to regulating these plans, association health plans will be regulated by states as MEWAs. According to the final rules, an [...]
