Do you have any employees in your practice that are Medicare eligible or that soon will be and are on the SCDA group medical plan?  If so, there is a two pager that consists of some information that you need to present to them prior to November 15th.  Click here to open and view this document.  Simply print and give to the eligible employee for them to review and to keep in their personal files.  This document explains that the drug coverage under the SCDA medical plan IS creditable.
 
You will also need to complete a survey on the Medicare services website that can be found by clicking here.  This survey needs to be updated once per year.

Staples has received a lot of requests from our members wanting to know how they can receive the SCDA contacted/discounted prices if they go to a local Staples store vs. ordering office supplies online.  In the past this has not been possible, but Staples has now created a website that will allow you to do just that.
 
Visit this link to register your credit card for use in a Staples store and the next time you visit a Staples store, you will receive the SCDA member discounted price just as if you were ordering it online.  It's secure because credit card numbers are not passed through non secure media, email or mail and they are converted to an alias number prior to being reviewed by Staples' associates. The alias number is what is stored in Staples system once registered.
 
And what's even better is if the store happens to be having a sale and the sale price is lower than our contracted price, then you get the lower of the two.  I guess it's true..."that was easy!"

You may recall reading in previous e-grams, Bulletin articles, etc. that the federal government is requiring group medical plans such as the one the SCDA offers its members to collect all dependents' social security numbers by the end of the year.  While many members and their staffs have sent these in to us, we still have a ways to go. 
 
In the past, when an individual signed up for the insurance the only social security number that was requested was that of the policy holder, but this has now changed.  Anyone who is covering a dependent on their medical plan, whether it is a spouse, child(ren) or all of the above, must submit the dependent's social security number to the insurance carrier.  If you have yet to do this, please take the time now to follow this link to print out a change form listing your dependents' social securities numbers, (if covered under your policy) and send it to the SCDA office either via fax at (803) 750-1644 or via mail at 120 Stonemark Lane, Columbia, SC 29210. 

By now you most likely have heard about the subsidy signed into law stating that if an employee was let go from your practice they can continue their medical coverage and pay only 35% after the appropriate paperwork has been completed and submitted to BlueCross.  BlueCross is responsible for covering the balance until they can get reimbursed by the government sometime down the line.
 
What you may not be aware of is that BlueCross will not retro any refunds back to the dental practices in which an involuntarily terminated employee fails to pay their 35% to the practice.  What this means is this - if you have an employee you had to let go for any reason other than gross misconduct and they decide they would like to keep their coverage for a max of 6 months, you need to be sure you have their 35% in hand prior to remitting the office's total premium back to the billing department.  The medical billings are always due one month in advance, i.e. your October bill needs to be paid by September 25th.  In this scenario you may wish to ask that the past employee have their October portion to you no later than September 15th.  This gives you plenty of time to remit the full amount and you already have their cash in hand which means you can't get stuck for the 35%.  If you don't receive payment by that date, you cancel their insurance due to non payment of premium. 
 
You may wish to send them a letter informing them of when their portion is due and notifying them that their coverage will be cancelled if monies are not received by that date.  Be sure to make a copy of this and keep if in their personnel file.  If you can get them to sign a copy of this notice recognizing they have read it and/or mail it to them certified with receipt...that's even better.
 
You can download and print the appropriate paperwork by clicking here.