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LinkedInJanuary BCBSM and BCN bills and invoices have been mailed to group customers. As communicated earlier, these bills and invoices now include the new Michigan Claims Tax.
We have worked hard to determine the best way to report to our customers about the claims tax and help them clearly understand the new state tax liability. To achieve this, we made the following billing adjustments.
MOS bills and invoices
While we have provided the new tax as a separate line item on the summary page, on the detailed page we’ve changed the Total Charge column to reflect both the premium and tax. This change ensures the accuracy of the bill or invoice when membership changes are made – especially with customer refunds.
Customers that are still on the local billing system will not see this change until they are migrated to the MOS system.
We’ve illustrated how both the summary and detailed charges are reported inpaper (PDF) and eBilling ( PDF) examples.
Tax calculation on Local and MOS bills
For groups on the local billing system, the tax assessment for January and February will be calculated based on current charges. This will ensure we do not include taxes on any 2011 membership adjustments. Starting in March, the tax assessment will be based on total billed to accommodate 2012 membership adjustments.
For groups on the MOS billing system, the tax assessment will be calculated based on current charges and membership adjustments starting with the January 2012 bill. Any 2011 membership adjustments will not be subject or calculated into the tax assessment.
On September 20, 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed into law the Health Insurance Claims Assessment Act, S.B. 348, which will impose a new one percent (1%) tax on paid health care claims.
This tax, which takes effect on January 1, 2012, will be paid by insurers that provide fully-insured plans, and by third party claims administrators in the case of self-funded plans. The tax is intended to help fund Michigan’s Medicaid program, and will be paid quarterly, beginning April 30, 2012.
This one percent tax replaces the current six percent use tax applied to Medicaid managed care plan services, which state officials believe could jeopardize federal funding for Medicaid under Health Care Reform.
While all insured Michigan residents will be impacted by this new legislation, it remains unclear how insurers will reflect the additional cost in their statements. At this time, we understand that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will include it as a line item on member bills, but other carriers may opt to build the tax into their rates.
The new tax applies to most health care claims, but not all. According to the statute, some of the exempt claims include:
- Services for Michigan residents received outside of the state
- Cost-sharing requirements (deductibles, copays and coinsurance)
- Reimbursements under a flexible spending arrangement, health savings account, Archer medical savings account, Medicare Advantage medical savings account or other health reimbursement arrangements authorized under federal law
- Claims paid under a federal employee health benefit program
- Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D claims
- TRICARE (military-CHAMPUS and the United States Veterans Administration claims)
- Workers’ compensation and long-term care claims
The tax is intended to generate $400 million in annual revenues for the state of Michigan. If the revenue collected exceeds that amount, insurers and third party administrators would receive a credit against their assessments due the next year. Barring any legislative intervention, the tax is set to expire January 1, 2014.
Other states have similar taxes.
By Allison Bell
Article From: National Underwriter
Federal agencies have unveiled proposals for a glossary and a summary of benefits as well as a coverage template that are supposed to make health coverage easier for consumers to understand.
The agencies – the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – are preparing to publish draft benefits summary and uniform glossary regulations Monday in the Federal Register.
The agencies also will be publishing a request for comments on the benefits summary template and the proposed uniform glossary in the Federal Register along with the draft regulations.
The agencies are developing the standards to implement Section 2715 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), which requires the parent departments of the IRS, EBSA and CMS – the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – to develop benefits summary standards and a glossary. read more…
By Allison Bell
Article From: National Underwriter
Federal agencies say major medical plans should include coverage for well-woman visits, contraception, screening for the viruses that cause AIDS and human papillomavirus, and breastfeeding support in the basic package of preventive health services benefits.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the women’s preventive services package today and based the required services on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Washington.
In addition to services such as well-woman visits and contraception, group plans and individual policies must cover screening for gestational diabetes, sexually transmitted infection counseling, breastfeeding supplies and counseling, and domestic violence screening and counseling, HHS officials say. read more…
PPACA Interactive Timeline
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Interactive Timeline: From Employee Benefit News
The following is a guide to the recently passed health care reform law as its provisions are defined and implemented in the coming years.
Click Here to visit Employee Benefit News for the interactive timeline.
By Lynn Gresham
Article from: Employee Benefit News
Open enrollment can be a great time to showcase your wellness program and link it to your overall health management strategy. However, some experts caution against introducing a new wellness initiative at this busy time of year.
“Many employers tend not to communicate often enough throughout the year, then wind up bombarding employees with too much information during large campaigns, specifically around annual enrollment,” says Foy Curley, Jr., senior associate in communications with Employee Benefits Solutions in Houston. “Employees already spend too little time reviewing enrollment materials; mixing the communications messages across two important initiatives will likely alarm some employees into ignoring everything and cause others to focus on one campaign or the other, not both.”
If you do roll out a wellness initiative in conjunction with open enrollment, careful planning is essential. Here, we share a few EBN readers’ success strategies for maximizing wellness program participation, both during OE and throughout the year. You’ll find more advice in the Wellness Programs supplement on our website. read more…
By Lynn Gresham
Article From:
For this year’s Preparing for Open Enrollment series, EBN asked you, our readers, to give us your advice for improving this perennial event. Here is the first of three articles featuring your responses, which deals with enrollment communications.
Below are submissions from HR/benefits practitioners telling what’s worked for them. These are just the tip of the iceberg, however. Many more are available in a PDF. You’ll find common themes reflecting time-tested wisdom along with fresh thinking to incorporate in your 2011 enrollment communications strategy. Our sincere thanks to all who responded.
CREATE A NEWSLETTER FOR EACH BENEFIT TYPE
The key to running a successful open enrollment is to plan ahead, clearly communicate plan design and changes, and provide the information in an easy-to-read format.
No one wants to read the complicated and confusing SPDs. Adding supplemental information sheets that explain the carrier communications in layman’s terms makes it easier for members to review. One way we’ve done this is through pre-open-enrollment newsletters. The newsletters highlight the changes in plan design that will most affect the members, so they can formulate their questions prior to the meetings. Keeping the newsletters short and grouped by benefit type (i.e., medical, dental, vision, voluntary benefits) prevents employees from getting overwhelmed or distracted by information that may not apply to them. We’ve done both electronic and hard copy. When we are in a time crunch, we go with electronic; it is a good way to keep the newsletter shorter, too.
Also, packaging the open enrollment information into one booklet allows employees to get through it more quickly and with less confusion. The enrollment booklets ensure that information isn’t lost and that the members can easily flip from one benefit type to the next. I always include a medical plan comparison chart outlining the differences between the various plan designs. We highlight only the most highly utilized benefit types to keep the information to a manageable level. read more…
By Lynn Gresham
Article From:
Employee Benefit News
Simplify, customize and integrate
Jim Gemus,vice president, product development, Prudential Group Insurance
With more companies trimming traditional benefit packages, voluntary benefits have emerged as an increasingly important tool for employee recruitment and morale. But employers need solid participation to make such offerings worthwhile and cost-effective, and that means making the enrollment process as smooth and engaging as possible. How do you achieve that goal? Here are some tips:
* Avoid information overload. Focus on one or two benefit plans in your overall package each year, not the whole range of options. You want to educate employees without overwhelming them during open enrollment periods. Some elements, such as life insurance, can be touted outside of regular enrollment periods to give the offering higher visibility during a less hectic time.
* One size doesn’t fit all. Don’t expect the same message to resonate for all employees, since they find themselves at a variety of life stages. Someone just starting out in a career will have different needs and priorities than a mature worker readying for retirement. New hires and employees going through significant life changes – marriage, divorce, the birth of a child – may have concerns that don’t fit neatly into regular enrollment periods.
* Plan ahead. Companies that command the best participation in voluntary benefit programs are those that view the process as a long-term proposition. Map out employee education initiatives as a multiyear program, rather than a contained cycle that begins and ends with open enrollment. And remember, a key part of successful planning is the smart and creative use of data. Analyzing current participation trends will help you identify and close gaps in coverage. read more…
Changes coming to member ID cards-BCBSM
In response to requests from our participating providers and members, Blue ID cards will feature reminders of members’ basic out-of-pocket liabilities when they receive care.
Members will eventually see three pieces of information printed on the front of their new ID cards:
- Their copayment or coinsurance amount for routine physician office visits
- Their emergency-room visit copay or coinsurance
- The date the card was issued (expressed in mm/yyyy; for example, 06/2011)
We’re slowly rolling out the new cards over the next few years. The first wave is going out this month to groups newly migrated to MOS and will contain only the issued-on date. Later batches will list all three pieces of information.
The changes don’t apply to groups enrolled in Blue Care Network, Medicare Advantage or Federal Employee Program plans.
This change is intended as the first of many changes planned for the near future to enhance customer experience and bring value to Blues health plans.
Article from Inc Magazine
It’s a new year and kick starting your wellness program is a way to help your employees achieve one of their new years resolutions—to be healthier.
By Lauren Lastowka | Jan 11, 2011
Wellness programs are linked to greater productivity, less absenteeism, and a reduction of long-term health care costs. Are you doing enough to ensure the health of your workforce? Even if you don’t have the resources to implement a complete wellness program, there are several things you can do that show your employees you value their health. read more…
