Question of the Week

 

What Information Must the COBRA Election Notice Contain About Health Care Reform?

 

Answer

 

  

  

It has been announced by Premera Blue Cross and LifeWise Health Plan of Washington that Harborview Hospital in Seattle, as well as all of UW Medicine, and Swedish will be in the value networks serving their metallic Individual and Small Group members starting January 1, 2015. The Premera Heritage Signature and LifeWise Connect networks will have the following facilities and their physicians in-network:

• Harborview Medical Center (new)
• Northwest Hospital & Medical Center (already in-network)
• University of Washington Medical Center (new)
• Valley Medical Center (already in-network)
• UW Neighborhood Clinics (new)
• UW Physicians (new)
• Swedish Hospitals (new)
• Swedish Practitioners (new)
• Swedish Medical Groups (new)

Regence Small Group Plans Will Be Replaced in 2015

 

Regence will be sending letters about the change to small groups and subscribers renewing on Jan. 1, 2015:

• Letters to group administrators will be mailed by the end of September.
• An insert is included in group letters, answering frequently asked questions and offering an overview of the new 2015 plans.
• Letters to subscribers will be mailed early October.

Regence will continue to mail these notifications to small groups and their subscribers at least 90 days prior to renewal in 2015. Please note that Regence was required to include the estimated monthly premium in the discontinuation notice. It will be an estimate based on the 120-day census of the group. The final renewal rates will be based on the 90-day census, per state law. Therefore, the estimated monthly premium quoted in the discontinuation notice may differ from the final renewal rates.

Exchange Notice Reminder-FSLA

As you may recall from last Fall, PPACA requires all employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide notices to current employees and new hires about the health insurance exchanges and subsidies that may be available through the exchanges for qualified individuals. The question we keep getting is: If we sent notices to all employees last year, do they have to provide exchange notices again? The answer is for existing employees that got a notice last year-NO!

 

For any new employees, YES, and actually, for new employees you should be doing it at the time of hire.  According to the Department of Labor (DOL), employers are required to provide the notice to each new employee at the time of hiring beginning October 1, 2013. For 2014, the DOL has issued guidance indicating it will consider a notice to be provided at the time of hiring if the notice is provided within 14 days of an employee's start date.

 

Here is the link for notice for employers who offer health insurance. Please download this form, complete page 1 and 2 (3 is optional), and deliver to employees via first-class mail or electronically (only an option if all employees have access to a computer station at work).

 

The IRS has set the HSA contribution limits for 2015 as shown below. The IRS has released the 2014 cost-of-living adjustments affecting HSAs. The HSA contribution limits and HDHP out-of-pocket maximums will increase slightly, while the HDHP minimum required deductibles remain unchanged. Here are the details:

• HSA Contribution Limits. The 2015 annual HSA contribution limit for individuals with self-only HDHP coverage is $3,350 (a $50 increase from 2014), and the limit for individuals with family HDHP coverage is $6,650 (a $100 increase from 2014).
• HDHP Minimum Required Deductibles. The 2015 minimum annual deductible for self-only HDHP coverage remains $1,300 and for family HDHP coverage remains $2,600.
• HDHP Out-of-Pocket Maximum. The 2015 maximum limit on out-of-pocket expenses (including items such as deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance, but not premiums) for self-only HDHP coverage is $6,450 (a $100 increase from 2014), and the limit for family HDHP coverage is $12,900 (a $200 increase from 2014).

For the full IRS version of this release, Click Here

Health & Wellness