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Issue: # 79June 28, 2012
 

  

  

Greetings!    

 

 

We are sending this e-mail as soon as the Sureme Court verdict comes out!  In addition there is a great new program from Blue Cross called Healthy Actions.  IF you have Blue Cross now, it will be available at your next renewal.  If you have Blue Cross and you are not a client, why hasn't your broker told you about this?   E-mail us today.    Rest assured,  it is very likely that the other carriers implement a similar program at some point.  Stay tuned. 

 

   health actions  

 

 

The verdict is out, the individual mandate has been upheld as being constitutionally as a tax (6-3), click here.  Insted of thngs being clearer, however,  there seems to be more confusion ?  Will states be able to opt out of this law?    It looks like that is the case, but nothing clear right now.  

 

Bottom line watch the news the rest of the day to see if states are able to opt out of this law or not, without being penalized?     

  

If you have a question, send an email to  Bill or Vanessa today.

 



Bill Randell CLU,CHFC,     

Vanessa Costa CLU,CHFC,

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Cross Healthy Actions

  

At A Glance
Healthy Actions is a unique wellness program for small group employers with 10-50 employees. This program rewards employees for taking an active role in their health. And based on employee success and participation rates, employers get rewarded with up to 5 percent of their premium. With Healthy Actions, everybody benefits.

How Healthy Actions Works
With Healthy Actions, employees have the opportunity to receive up to $300, in the form of a Visa debit card, just for being healthy. To get started, they just need to follow the two simple steps below.

  • First, employees must complete an online health risk assessment.
     
  • Second, employees need to ask their doctor to fill out a Clinician Health Review form. This form documents key health measures, such as weight, blood pressure, smoking status, and records preventive screenings.

 

If the doctor determines that the employee:Then after submitting the form, the employee:
Is healthyReceives a $300 Visa debit card
Needs to improve their health (for example, lose weight, take medication to lower cholesterol, etc)Receives a $100 Visa debit card
  • Then the employee needs to work on the health goal set by his or her doctor within a set timeframe
     
  • And, if the employee meets the goal and submits a second form before plan renewal, he or she will receive an additional $200 Visa debit card

 

Employer Rewards & Cost
The financial reward employers receive depends on the percent of employees who complete the program by earning the full $300 reward.

 

Percent of employees who earn the full $300 rewardEmployer's reward is...
20-49%1.25% of current year's premium
50-79%2.50% of current year's premium
80-100%5.00% of current year's premium

 

Employers can purchase this program for a 0.3 percent increase in premiums. To learn more about how Healthy Actions can help your clients achieve a healthier workforce, contact your account executive today.

Co-operative Purchasing of Health Insurance 

 

Two groups, the Chamber of Commerce and the Retailers of Association of Massachusetts (RAM), have been approved to sell insurance.  We can sell both of these groups but have found the plan offerrings are very limited (RAM only offeres Fallon), and the rates are the same if you went direct to the carrier.  Why join either of these groups?

 

They do have a wellness program whereby you and your employees  MAY be entitled to refunds if you meet certain goals.   Now that Blue Cross has come up with Healthy Actions and we expect the other carriers to follow, we do not see a material advantage with either of these Co-ops.   We will get into more details on the coops in the next newsletter.

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