AHCP Blog | AHCP (23)

Expanded Short Term Plans

Published: September 20, 2018

By now you’ve probably heard the news: the Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Department of Treasury, has issued the final rule on the expansion of short-term, limited duration health insurance plans that the President called for in his executive order last October. The rule expands the length of short-term plans, which is a big deal for healthy individuals who do not have access to employer-sponsored coverage and who do not qualify for a premium tax credit.

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Can Employers Pay Their Employees’ Medicare Premiums?

Published: August 23, 2018

Can Employers Pay Their Employees’ Medicare Premiums? At AHCP, we’re starting to get this question more and more frequently from brokers. We believe there are two reasons for this:

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Changing from Marketplace to Medicare Coverage

Published: August 15, 2018

If you’ve been selling Marketplace plans for the past five years, then you probably have a number of clients who are currently receiving premium tax credits. As these clients approach age 65, it’s important to let them know that they will no longer be able to receive a premium tax credit when they sign up for Medicare. Both Healthcare.gov and Medicare.gov have pages devoted to educating consumers about this topic, but it’s unlikely that your clients will read this information unless you point it out to them.

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Selling Insurance All Year Long

Published: August 6, 2018

We’re getting more and more questions from agents asking what they can sell right now. We know that the fourth quarter is the busy time of the year, but the other nine months can leave brokers twiddling their thumbs.

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The Association Plan Final Rules Explained

Published: July 29, 2018

Back in October, President Trump issued an executive order that, among other things, asked the Department of Labor to re-write the rules for Association Health Plans. On January 4, the DOL honored that request and issued proposed rules. After a comment period, those rules were finalized on June 19. Because the final rules are 198 pages long, we figured we’d save you some time and give you the high points.

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HSA Limits for 2019

Published: July 13, 2018

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2019 deductible, out-of-pocket, and contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSA). Here they are:

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Want to Stand Out? Do Something Different.

Published: July 2, 2018

Salespeople who want to edge out their competition need some sort of hook, something they do differently than everyone else. In health insurance, that can be difficult to do since agents neither design nor price the products that they sell; the plans are the plans and the rates are the rates.

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How much do doctor visits cost?

Published: June 29, 2018

If you’re a fan of Health Savings Accounts, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of trying to explain to clients why a High Deductible Health Plan with no up-front copayments is a MUCH better deal than a traditional plan with copayments for doctor visits and prescriptions, only to have the client ignore your advice and select the more costly plan that will not allow them to pay with tax-free dollars.

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Insurance: Rocket Science or Basic Math?

Published: June 22, 2018

As you know all too well, most people find health insurance confusing. Very confusing. Otherwise intelligent people seem completely baffled by deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, and they frequently use the terms interchangeably. There have been surveys that find people would rather have a root canal than shop for health insurance—to them, it would be less painful.

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Making Sense of the New ACA Lawsuit

Published: June 13, 2018

You may have seen the news that the Department of Justice is no longer defending the Affordable Care Act against a challenge that, now that the penalty is being eliminated, the individual mandate is unconstitutional including certain protections for people with pre-existing conditions. We wanted to provide a quick explanation of what’s going on to help you better explain the developments to your clients.

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