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Issue: # 57August 3, 2010 

Special Notice Announcement
Tufts Reaches Agreement with Mass. Division of Isurance
 

Dear

Tufts Health Plan has reached an agreement for their 1-50 marketplace for groups with an effective date between April 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.   Check out the link to Boston Herald story.   The new guaranteed rates will be reflected in the September bills.  Groups that renewed or started coverage April, May, June or July will NOT get a retro-active bill for the difference. 

As always, if you have any questions email Bill or Vanessa.  We hope you find these newsletters helpful, please forward to anyone who may find this of interest, by using the forward link at the bottom of this e-mail.   To learn more about Worcester based Advantage Benefits, click here. 

Sincerely,


Bill Randell CLU,CHFC,        Vanessa Costa CLU,CHFC,
Advantage Benefits Group,
Carrier Summary
Approved rates
We track the major HMO's that our clients utilize. 
 
  • Blue Cross  (not settled) 
  • Fallon  (not settled)
  • Harvard-Pilgrim   (settled)
  • Tufts    (settled)
  • Neighborhood Health Plans  (settled)
 
Neighborhood Health Plans (June 1st)

Settled from April 1st through the end of the year.   This will go into effect June 1st.  Anyone who began coverage or renewed during the months of April or May would have seen the new higher approved rates in their June bills without retro-active billing.
 

Harvard-Pilgrim (August 1st)
 

Settled from April 1st through the end of the year.   This will go into effect August 1st.  Anyone who began coverage or renewed during the months of April, May, June or July would have seen the new higher approved rates in their August bills without retro-active billing.
 
 
Tufts (September 1st)
 
Settled from April 1st through the end of the year.   This will go into effect September 1st.  Anyone who began coverage or renewed during the months of April, May, June, July or August  will see the new higher approved rates in September without retro-active billing.
Dependents & COBRA
Clarification
In Massachusetts, previously a dependent was able to remain on their parent's health insurance through age 25 as long as they were:
 
  1. a full-time student
  2. a dependent on their parent's tax return the past two years
 
The new Federal legislation has replaced this to allow a dependent stay on their parent's health plan up to age 26 irregardless of either their student or filing status.  In a prior newsletter, we thought this meant through 26 years.

Please make note that the new Federal legislation will allow a dependent to stay on their parents' plan up to age 26!!!    It will end when they turn age 26, just like it does now, but their student status or tax status will be irrelevant.     
 
The COBRA subsidy was never extended past May 31st!!!   The last couple of months, we were starting to think that it would not be extended and this looks to be the case.  If an employee has terminated after that date (May 31st) from your business, they are still eligible for COBRA, but there is no subsidy.
Opinion Letter
Massachusetts Universal Health Plan problems
Interesting opinion letter regarding health insurance in Massachusetts from the Buffalo News.    Read this one section:
 
 
 Consumers in the state now pay 15 percent more in premiums than the national average and costs are increasing yearly. The state's division of health care policy and finance warned that "health care in Massachusetts is projected to cost $3,000 more per person by 2018 than the national average," and that costs could exceed a third of the average Massachusetts family's income by 2016.