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In This Issue
Employee Benefits Article Clipping Now Available
BBCG has now provided a public RSS feed which allows our clients and colleagues to access our industry related clipping work directly. See frame below.
BBCG Establishes Its Own Syndication via RSS Feed
In addition to clipping the work of others, BBCG has syndicated portions of its web site, archives of this newsletter, and a blog of pertinent and timely benefits issues. BBCG welcomes submission of blog topics you would like to see discussed. Just send us an email at blog@bocabenefits.com. See second frame below.
Breaking News via Today's Headlines Button
While we had our head under the tech hood, we built one more resource for benefits professionals. The Today's Headlines icon at the upper right corner of this page will connect you to a page on our web site which captures and displays the most current industry news available from numerous sources. It refreshes every 10 minutes when left open.
Broker Selection
We have also included a reprint of the importance of selecting the right broker. See third pane below.
Lastly, Some More Free Stuff
Meritain Health continues to provide resources related to incentive programs used by plan sponsors to achieve desired results.See fourth pane below.
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 New Services
RSS Feeds
BBCG Provides Benefits
News Clipping |
We have begun to clip from dozens of sources various news pieces pertaining to benefits and insurance. We have now made that clippings feed public to RSS subscribers. You can add the below feed to your news aggregator and have direct access to our clipping work. Various online, desktop and mobile aggregators are available. If you are not using RSS yet, you might want to consider Google Reader or NewsGator. Both are free services.
 Clippings Feed:
http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/svc/ClippingsRSS.aspx?uid=2005848&fid=15226519
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| New Services
Proprietary BBCG RSS Feed
Items from Web Site,
Newsletter Archiving,
and Blog |
In addition to the Clipping Service described in the above article, we have also established a "Boca Benefits Consulting Group Feed" for RSS users. We will periodically post different topical portions of our website. We also will have archived all our past The Insight newsletters and make them publicly available via the RSS feed. Lastly, we will be updating a blog from time to time with information that, from our years of experience, we think will be valuable to you. The current blog is a first iteration. We will be updating to Wordpress blog software shortly. We are up and running with this feed now. Use the below XML link to subscribe.
Boca Benefits Consulting Group Feed:
http://bocabenefits.com/rss/bbcg.xml
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| Importance of Broker Selection
The 2008 Renewal Season Will Be A Tough One For Many Employers Five Action Steps To Consider
 1. Don't leave any money on the table with your carrier at renewal time. Utilize a broker with proven tough negotiating skills.
2. Recognize that all insurance brokers are not created equal and leverage the depth of experience of those who can most effectively negotiate on your behalf via their honed underwriting expertise.
3. Be ready to be proactive with changes and alternative benefit offsets to your present plans, especially new employee paid options.
4. Keep your eye on the ball - the admin services you feel you are receiving for free from that newly established broker may actually come at a very tangible cost if your renewal is not aggressively and knowledgeably handled.
5. Be cautious when being offered reduced or free pricing on "hard cost" items - your soft claims costs can be a quantum factor more important.
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Free Stuff
Free Materials Related to Employee Incentives Programs
Meritain Health has agree to continue to provide copies of their proprietary white paper entitlted "Employee Incentives: What You Need to Know to Achieve Maximum Results" to readers of The Insight who request it. This is a relatively comprehensive piece with excellent information for corporate decision makers.
Please contact us via email at whitepaper@bocabenefits.com to request a copy. Please include in your email your name, title, company, phone and shipping information.
New: electronic version of the whitepaper can now be sent to you as an email attachment in addition to the hard copy. Makes internal distibution to benefits decision makers more convenient.
If you have a group for which you need a speaker and/or multiple copies of the above white paper, please email us at speakerbureau@bocabenefits.com and provide us with details.
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About Boca Benefits Consulting Group, Inc.
BBCG, Inc. has been providing brokerage and consulting services to Florida employers since its formation in 1996. Its principal consultant, Robert W. Murphy, has 28 years of insurance carrier management and consulting experience. He holds an advanced financial degree and four of the most prestigious financial services designations in the industry (REBC, ChFC, CLU, RHU). He has been a panelist/speaker at a national conference on the future of healthcare and was a participant at a Harvard University executive program entitled "Skills for the New World of Health Care."
Please click here for additional contact information.
Please click here for a proposal request or contact by BBCG.
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Blocking and Tackling
Just A Little On the Fundamentals As We Approach The Fall Renewal Season
In our July 11, 2008 issue of The Insight we keyed on the challenges employers will face during the upcoming 2008 benefits renewal season. We emphasized four key points:
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The critical importance of broker/consultant experience in renewal negotiations when an economy slows down. An experienced broker-negotiator can be invaluable.
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The end of the pea and the shell game associated with "free" ERISA compliance and similar services as employers get back to benefit plan management fundamentals.
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The need for employers to consider benefit alternatives as the employee share of costs continues to rise faster than incomes.
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Protecting key employees through voluntary employee paid offerings. Don't give it away. Make sure there is a return on that investment. The enrollment and communications alternatives should be provided to you at no cost.
With as much as 28 years of experience, BBCG brokers have negotiated many difficult year-end renewal positions on both sides of the table, at times representing carriers and soley employers for the last 18 years.
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Government & Regulatory Issues
New 2009 HSA Plan Limits Released by IRS
(Reprinted from The Insight Issue: 08.9.3 / IRS 2009 HSA Regulations / July 31, 2008)
1. Eligible individuals with self-only coverage under a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) may contribute an annual maximum of $3,000 to their Health Savings Account (HSA) for 2009.
2. Eligible individuals with family coverage (coverage for two or more individuals) under a HDHP may contribute up to $5,950 to their HSA.
3. Catch-up contributions. Individuals age 55 or older who are not enrolled in Medicare may contribute more to the account per year. In 2009, an additional $1,000 contribution will be allowed. In 2008, the catch-up contribution was $900.
To be considered qualified for an HSA in 2009, the HDHP must meet the following IRS regulations:
1. The minimum deductible amount must be $1,150 for self-only coverage and $2,300 for family coverage.
2. The out-of-pocket maximum must be no higher than $5,800 for individual or $11,600 for family coverage.
3. The HDHP must be set up with a combined medical/pharmacy deductible. This deductible must apply to the out-of-pocket maximum (no change from 2008 requirement).
4. All medical and pharmacy services must be subject to deductible and out-of-pocket maximum except for preventive services.
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