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    A Three-Step Process to Get More Small Group Clients

    May 25, 2018
    In our last couple posts, we explained that CMS has extended the transitional relief for small employers until the end of 2019, giving healthier small group clients an opportunity to save on premiums for another year and avoid some of the rules applicable to ACA metallic plans. We also explained that taking advantage of this option may require these small groups to continue renewing their same plan year after year without the option of tweaking their benefits at renewal/re-issue time. For employers looking for greater flexibility in plan design, self-funding provides a great alternative; small-business employers with self-funded plans often save money by avoiding the modified adjusted community rating rules, and they have multiple plan options to choose from.
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    Self-Funding Can Provide Relief for Small-Business Employers

    May 18, 2018
    On April 9, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that individuals and small employers can continue their transitional policies to the end of 2019; previously, these “grandmothered” plans were set to expire at the end of this year.
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    Differences in A & B Effective Dates when Medicare Enrollment is Delayed

    May 6, 2018
    A weird situation came up the other day that we wanted to tell you about. One of the agents we work with received a call from a 68-year-old client who had not signed up for Medicare when he was first eligible. He was not yet receiving Social Security checks, so he was not automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A when he turned 65. Instead, the client kept the individual health plan that covered himself, his wife (who is under 65), and his eight-year-old granddaughter who he has custody of.
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    IRS Lowers HSA Family Contribution Limit

    May 3, 2018
    For the first time since HSAs were introduced nearly 15 years ago, the Internal Revenue Service has retroactively reduced the HSA contribution limit. In a recent press release, the IRS announced that it is lowering the maximum family contribution to a Health Savings Account for 2018 from $6,900 to $6,850. The change comes as a result of the new tax bill. The self-only contribution amount remains $3,450.
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    Transitional Plans Extended One More Year

    April 18, 2018
    On Monday, April 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that the transitional plans in the individual and small group markets, also known as “grandmothered” plans, will be extended one more year through the end of 2019. This is welcome news for clients who currently have a transitional policy, but it does feel a bit like the government is crying wolf. Every year, clients worry that they will need to search for another solution since they are likely to see their rates increase if they are forced to move to an ACA-compliant metallic plan, and every year they learn that they can hang on to their current coverage a little longer. This year is no different.
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    4 Great Reasons to Help People (even if you won’t receive commission)

    April 9, 2018
    We all work for a paycheck, and most of us can’t afford to do a lot of pro-bono work. That said, there can be some real benefits to helping people even when you won’t be paid for the sale. Below are just a few examples, and all point to the fact that when you focus on taking care of the client, the money will take care of itself.
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    Short Term Plans May Soon Be Longer

    April 5, 2018
    On February 20, 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services issued proposed regulations that would extend the maximum coverage period for short-term plans from three months to twelve months. The rule change comes at the request of President Trump, whose October 12 executive order encouraged the Secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to “consider proposing regulations or revising guidance, consistent with law, to expand the availability of STLDI” (short-term, limited-duration insurance).
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    Overcoming Consumer Apathy when Selling Health Insurance

    March 23, 2018
    Here’s a question: How much time should agents spend trying to convince people that they need health insurance?
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    New Medicare Cards are Coming Soon!

    March 16, 2018
    Have you heard the news? Medicare beneficiaries will soon be receiving new Medicare cards with a new Medicare number. A 2015 law requires CMS to remove Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019 and replace them with a new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). The new cards will be sent out over a 12-month period beginning this April.
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    CHIP FINALLY Gets Reauthorized

    March 5, 2018
    The Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, has been in the news recently as lawmakers debate the future of this popular safety net program for children of lower-income families. The program, which has been around since 1997, has enjoyed nearly universal bipartisan support from the beginning, but that support has come into question recently as Congress allowed funding for CHIP to expire four months ago and seemed to be in no hurry to reauthorize it. As worried parents waited to see what our lawmakers would do, CHIP reauthorization took a back seat to tax reform.
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