Don’t Get Bit by Mini-COBRA. Understanding Your Obligations as a Health Insurance Plan Sponsor.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, known as COBRA, is a federal law that requires certain employers to allow former employees to continue health insurance coverage for a specified length of time. While the coverage is at the former employee’s expense (plus up to an additional 2% admin fee), employers have certain obligations to remain […]
Think Twice Before Going Straight to the Emergency Room. Why Telemedicine, Convenience Clinics and Urgent Care Are Financial Lifesavers.
Going to the emergency department for healthcare services is expensive, and health insurance carriers are clamping down on what they will and will not reimburse. Depending on a patient’s symptoms, illness or injury, it’s the right place to go for care in many instances. But it’s still overused, and it’s costing health plan members, employers […]
Why Voluntary Benefits Aren’t Really So Voluntary for Today’s Employers.
Attracting and retaining top-notch talent is the number one reason employers provide competitive benefit packages. Interestingly, Mercer found that 89 percent of employers are now including voluntary benefits as part of their comprehensive benefits offering. Simply put, employees are used to seeing these options in their new-hire paperwork, and the trend isn’t likely to change […]
Everyone Wins When Employees Use Preventive Healthcare Services.
All Affordable Care Act health plans include 21 preventive care services that are covered 100 percent by health insurance as long as you go to an in-network provider. That means no copay, no deductible and no coinsurance. Examples include cancer screenings, annual physicals and other screenings that help minimize long-term health risks and/or focus on […]
