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Shirazi Notice

September/October 2011

Register now, and pass along to your employees so they can register for a free biometric screening at our 1st Annual Wellness Fair & Expo! 

Please click here for more details on where the event will take place and how to register.

Please pass this information along to your employees and encourage them to participate. At a value of $41 for the biometric screening, this is a great opportunity to be informed about your overall health; including cholesterol and blood pressure 

AT NO COST.

The Department of Labor has prepared a Reporting and Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans that is intended to be used as a quick reference tool for certain basic reporting and disclosure requirements under ERISA.

This document contains every required employer notice.

You can click here to open the entire document.

Each year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require that employers who offer prescription drug coverage must disclose whether their group health plans offer creditable drug coverage. Each employer who offers prescription drug coverage must complete a Creditable Drug Coverage Disclosure by October 15, 2011.

Click here to complete the form online.

Each employer must also send out a letter to each Medicare eligible employee every November letting them know that the group health plan either offers creditable or non-creditable prescription drug coverage. 

Click here to view a sample notice. You can either copy and paste this into a Word document to fill out the employer specific information, or email your Account Manager for a template already in Microsoft Word.

We know COBRA is confusing and is very extensive. Did you know the Department of Labor has published An Employer's Guide to Group Health Continuation Coverage Under COBRA?

This document covers everything you need to know about COBRA, including: 

• an introduction and overview, 
• who is entitled to continuation coverage, 
• COBRA notice and election procedures, 
• benefits and duration of continuation coverage, 
• summary of qualifying events/qualified beneficiaries/maximum benefit periods, 
• paying for continuation coverage 
• and more.

 Click here to read the entire document.

All health insurance carriers in the state of Colorado are required by law to help pay the expenses of the CoverColorado program. However, not all insurance carriers have the same procedure when it comes to paying the assessment fee. 

We've done the research for you and have broken down how each insurance carrier will collect this money:

Anthem

Anthem's CoverColorado assessment amount is based upon three factors: (1) the annual assessment amount calculated by CoverColorado, (2) the total amount of CoverColorado assessments collected by Anthem in prior years and 

(3) Anthem's projected membership.  Anthem neither makes nor loses money in this role as collector of CoverColorado fees.  It is simply a pass through. 

• For 2012, the monthly fee is $4.36 for each eligible Colorado contract holder covered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
• Anthem will bill this fee to employers as a separate line item.  

CIGNA

The annual assessment will be charged as part of the April 2012 billing cycle. You will receive a letter in March with a reminder of this. The total amount of the assessment is based on the total number of employees residing in CO and active on the plan as of January 31, 2012. The amount of the assessment by the state for 2012 will be $45.48.

Rocky Mountain Health Plans

RMHP collects their assessment from their commercial group and individual SOLO Members and sends the funds to CoverColorado. Beginning January 1, 2012, they will be collecting $3.79 per subscriber per month (PSPM).