advantage logo
Issue: # 19 July 29, 2008
78 pleasant
Greetings!
 
Keeping you informed of the latest developments in the employee benefit marketplace. 
If you have any questions, e-mail Bill or Vanessa.  To learn more about Advantage Benefits, click here.     Many of our clients have found these newsletters to be quite helpful and we have now set up a link to hold all the archived newsletters on-line that can be accessed at anytime. 
 
If you know anyone, who may find this information of interest, please forward them this newsletter (there is a link on the bottom), and they can subscribe themselves.  
 
Sincerely,
 

Bill Randell, CLU, CHFC             Vanessa Costa, CLU,CHFC
Advantage Benefits Group, Inc. 
New Group Supplemental Out of Pocket Expense Policy  
Filling the Gaps and covering co-payments
Each year employees face higher out-of-pocket expenses, besides the annual double digit increase. It has become more commonplace to see $1,000 hospitalization, $500 day surgery and $75 imaging co-payments.
 
How do employees pay for the additional expenses?    Employers may set-up a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), where employees defer monies tax deductible, but must use them by year end.  Although it is a great concept, employers with less than 100 employees are just not implementing the FSA accounts.
 
Some employers even pay all or a portion of the co-payments, but with prices continung to escalate, we even now see traditional deductible plans, where the employee must pay the entire deductible first, before coverage kicks in, gaining in popularity.  The bottom line is that more and more expenses will be passed on to employees.
 
We are pleased to introduce a a new insurance product to fill the gap of co-payments and deductibles.  The employer picks an annual benefit;  for example, $1,000 per year for hospitalization and 50% of that for day surgery.  Employees then pay a weekly premium for single, two party or family coverage.    There are no underwriting requirements, but, there are  participation requirements.  Premiums are eligible for Section 125 pre-tax deductions.
 
This plan is another alternative available to review at your next renewal.  We can help you determine if it is a viable option for your group. 
 
If you would like more info, send us an e-mail today. 
 
 
 Advantage Benefits Group Health Plan
 HSA Update
 
On May 1st, we switched to a $3,000 deductible PPO in order to implement a Health Savings Account with an initial tax deductible tax deferred deposit of $5,800. 
 
After three months, we have saved $221.13 in premiums & no claims, so our balance of $5,800 remains in tact.   The hope is to make another $5,800 deposit next year, increasing the balance to over $11,000. This $11,000 will allow us to look at even higher deductible plans and therefore save even more on the monthly premium.  The $11,000 serves as our cushion to cover any unforseen medical expenses.  
 
Health Savings Accounts will become more popular if priced more competitively from the insurance carriers.  For now most employees will not see the benefits and  be fearful of  a high deductible like $3,000.   Keep in mind, however, that the carriers will allow you to offfer multiple plans, so the owners can opt for the HSA while the rest of the employees stay with a  conventional HMO plan.
 

  
 
 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Health Reform Update -  Annual Employer HIRD filings
The first year of Health Reform has cost $625 million, versus the initial estimate of $472 million, a mere $153 million or 32% over-budget.   What does that mean to you and me?
 
  1. More Taxes:   Cigarettes were just assessed an additional one dollar per pack.  Whether the State will actually generate more revenues remains to be seen as the consumer will find other alternatives to purchase their cigarettes.   
  2. More Penalties:  The penalties for those who still do not enroll in a healthplan will increase.  Individuals penalized $219 last year, will be penalized $912 this year.  
  3. Minimum Employer Contribution:  Both the amount Employers pay and the penalty for noncompliance are scheduled for review.

Annual Employer HIRD Disclosure Filing:

It's that time of the year again. In September you will start to receive a letter from the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development regarding the on-line filing of the annual Employer Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure and Employer Fair Share Contribution.
 
For those employers needing assistance, just contact us for more help!