Provider News

Greetings Dr.   
August 20, 2010 - Issue 8

In this Article
 
 
 
 
Holiday Schedule
 
duplicateMeet Our Newest Board Member:
  Rebecca McManus
 
    Rebecca McManus, Owner and CEO of McManus Marketing LLC, has been named to the board of directors of ChiroCare. Rebecca will be chairing the marketing communications committee and also sits on the executive committee of the board.
     
    Through McManus Marketing, Rebecca provides strategic marketing solutions for organizations focused on building their brands for growth and customer retention. She has held leadership positions in both corporate marketing and marketing/advertising agency settings throughout her 30-year career, and has been instrumental in driving success for a wide spectrum of organizations.
     
    Rebecca is passionate about building the success of organizations that are committed to making a difference in people's health and well-being. She is a strong advocate for chiropractic care, health literacy and for engaging people in taking ownership of their health. Rebecca also champions having a strong, clear brand strategy, authenticity in communications; and brand integrity both outside and in.
     
    Prior to launching her own business earlier this year, Rebecca served as director of market engagement and communications for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, where she was responsible for developing and implementing strategies for the Blue Cross brand, consumer engagement, advertising, direct marketing and Web-based initiatives. The work she directed during her seven years at Blue Cross received numerous national awards and contributed significantly to enhancing the image of Blue Cross in the marketplace. 
     
    Before joining Blue Cross, Rebecca was marketing director for eBenX (now SHPS), a national health benefits administration company. She was also vice president at Hedstrom/Blessing advertising and marketing communications agency.
    She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.
chirocaresponsorHealth Care Reform: September Highlights

Several new health care reform provisions are being implemented next month and may affect your patients, and you as an insured member and/or employer.  These new provisions include adjustments to how insurers define member eligibility and benefit coverage. 
 
According to the law, insurance plans with an effective date of September 23, 2010 or later will need to comply with these changes and others. Plans already effective will need to comply after the group completes its next renewal cycle which is typically done annually. 
 
Below are some specific changes rolling out in September, 2010:
  • Patient Eligibility:
- Adult children up to age 26 will be able to receive dependent coverage with all individual and group policies.
- Insurers will be prohibited from rescinding or canceling coverage except in cases where the customer commits fraud
- Insurers will not be able to exclude children from coverage because of a pre-existing condition. They can however, define limited enrollment periods to ensure parents do not wait until a child gets sick to buy coverage. 
  • Benefits:
- Lifetime limits on the dollar value of insurance coverage will be prohibited. This refers to   how much insurance coverage pays out to cover claims.
- Restrictions will be placed on annual limits for coverage, a practice that will be prohibited in 2014.
- Insurers will be required to provide preventive care like immunizations or mammograms without charging co-pays or other forms of cost sharing.
According to Jennifer Tolbert, a health policy analyst with the Kaiser Family Foundation, "These early provisions of the new law focus in part on consumer protections.  It's basically improving the quality of coverage that people have."

For questions on how these changes may directly affect your insurance policy, please contact your health insurance broker/agent or health plan.

While there are a seemingly unlimited number of online resources offering various perspectives on the health care reform legislation and subsequent revisions, one option for information  related to the legislation and its provisions is  http://www.healthcare.gov, an informational web site published by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The law will continue to develop over the next several years and ChiroCare will continue to provide you with updates, tools, and key facts regarding the implementation of the health care reform and how it impacts you, your practice, and your patients.
 
gettoknowReserve Your Seat: ChiroCare's Business Development Seminar
 
September 23rd is quickly approaching and we want to make sure you benefit from this FREE information-filled and timely afternoon event. Topics to be covered at ChiroCare's inaugural Business Development Seminar, include:

                                Marketing tips/tools
                                The impact of health care reform
                                Medicare compliance

If you would like to attend this seminar and have not already done so, please RSVP by calling (651) 389-2006 or sending an email to info@chirocaremn.org. Emails should include the name of the attending provider(s), the name of an attending staff member (if applicable) and a contact phone number.
 
Please note that a reduced room rate of $119 is available to ChiroCare providers wishing to spend the night after the seminar. To obtain the reduced rate, please contact ChiroCare at 651-389-2006 for assistance once your reservation has been made.
 
We look forward to seeing you next month!
holidayHoliday Schedule:
 
In observance of Labor Day, ChiroCare's administrative and executive offices will be closed on Monday, September 6th. We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday. 
 
fastfactsFast Facts

 

July 2010

Performance Goal

Average speed to answer the phone

24 seconds

Less than 30 seconds

Volume of calls answered within 30 seconds

88%

Minimum of 80%

Call abandonment rate

2.6%

Less than 3%

Volume of all claims received electronically*

*Per MN Statute 62J.536 all providers in MN are to be submitting claims electronically as of 12/15/09

89%

Minimum of 90%

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To access some of the links and materials referenced above, your system must be able to open PDF documents. If you are not able to open PDF documents, you may download Adobe Reader for free by going to http://get.adobe.com/reader.
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