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Another big boost for Obamacare In another sign that the politics of Obamacare continue to shift, the Medicaid expansion is now all but certain to come to another big state whose Republican governor had previously resisted it: Pennsylvania. Click here to read more. Pa. Medicaid expansion alternative is approved The feds have approved a "portion of" the Healthy Pennsylvania Medicaid expansion alternative plan, Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett announced this afternoon. The approved plan has two parts: Reforming the current Medicaid program and offering the Healthy PA Private Coverage Option for eligible Pennsylvanians. It does not include work requirements Corbett initially sought. Click here to read more. Healthy PA FAQ's Healthy Pennsylvania is a Pennsylvania-specific plan that reforms Medicaid, protects taxpayers and provides increased access to quality, affordable health care coverage. It is built upon common sense reforms that provide coverage options to our most vulnerable citizens in a flexible and sustainable way that brings financial stability to the state’s Medicaid program. Click here to read more.
Correction on BCNEPA's Network Maps In the last Broker e-Bulletin, we featured the following article: Understand BCNEPA's network differences. We wanted to make you aware of an error listed in the Custom PPO and Tiered Custom PPO Network Maps. Easton Hospital should not be included in the list of participating hospitals located just beyond our 13-county area. Click here to read more. Highmark BCBS Channel Insights - News for the Producer Community - July/August 2014 Welcome to the July/August edition of our electronic newsletter Channel Insights - News for the Producer Community. Inside you will find valuable information to help you successfully serve your customers and grow your Highmark book of business. Click here to read more. Highmark Blue Shield Channel Insights - News for the Producer Community - July/August 2014 Welcome to the July/August edition of our electronic newsletter Channel Insights - News for the Producer Community. Inside you will find valuable information to help you successfully serve your customers and grow your Highmark book of business. Click here to read more. Highmark's transition plan to Pennsylvania Insurance Department clarifies network and consumer protections and launches new member resources in advance of UPMC contract termination With the goal of reducing customer confusion about its members' access to UPMC facilities and doctors, Highmark Inc.'s final transition plan today was posted on the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website and will be implemented immediately by Highmark. Click here to read more. Highmark files suit to safeguard cancer patients from irrational billing practice Highmark Inc. today filed a suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas regarding overbilling for infusion chemotherapy drugs. The cost of oncology drugs has tripled as treatment provided in a physician's office is being billed as a higher-cost hospital outpatient service. Click here to read more.
URL Insurance Group is once again offering Certification Support Sessions for the 2015 Federally-Facilitated Marketplace required testing. The sessions will enable you to sell market plans for Individuals, Families, and Groups for the balance of 2014 and for all of 2015. Click here to read more. PrimePay Broker Webinar Series - September 2014 We have spent the last few monthly broker webinars discussing how you can better mitigate compliance risk for your clients - COBRA, ACA, ERISA, HIPAA, etc. Now, as we are entering the 4th quarter, let's turn our attention to strategy to help you guide your clients through their customized benefit offering. Click here to read more. Find Opportunities Outside of ACA Enrollment The window may be closed, but we're about to open doors. Did you know options exist for those that missed the enrollment deadline and for those that are struggling with high-deductible exchange plans? Click here to read more. Weekly PPACA Update Conference Call In a continuing effort to assist our agent-partners in getting the information needed to flourish within the under 65 group and individual markets in Pennsylvania, we are holding weekly live webinars. They will serve as a place to get your questions answered and discuss topics and strategies that will lead to your continued success in the health insurance market. Click here to register. Weekly PPACA Conference Call Archives Click here to view the archived recordings of the PPACA Conference Calls.
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Submit your certifications for completing the 2015 FFM and FF-SHOP trainings to Highmark through the Sales Sentinel site. Click here to read more. Highmark Blue Shield Submit your certifications for completing the 2015 FFM and FF-SHOP trainings to Highmark through the Sales Sentinel site. Click here to read more. UPMC Health Plan 2015 FFM Certificates of Completion can be emailed to producerrelations@upmc.edu. Geisinger Health Plan 2015 FFM Certificates of Completion can be emailed to GHPBrokerLicensing@thehealthplan.com. Capital Blue Cross Producers who have completed the training and registration process to sell on the Marketplace should email copies of their certificates and their FFM User ID to cbcproducerlicensing@capbluecross.com or fax them to 717-540-2282. Producers who need to complete the training and registration can reference the Producers in the Federally Funded Marketplace attachment. Blue Cross Northeastern PA Producers who have completed the FFM certification will receive a “Certificate of Completion.” E-mail a copy of that certificate and the National Producer Number (NPN) that was used to register with CMS to Broker.Submission@bcnepa.com and Kerri.McKeown@bcnepa.com. Banet's Bullet: 2015 IBC Commercial Sales Sentinel program for David M. Banet & Associates
High Health Plan Deductibles Weigh Down More Employees Anita Maina was working on an arts and crafts project she found on Pinterest — creating a table out of wood and cork — when she ripped off a fingernail while removing staples from a piece of wood. Click here to read more. Obamacare rates are rising once again Supporters of President Obama’s health care law have been touting proposed insurance rates for 2015 — arguing that they aren’t as high as some of the dire warnings of the law’s critics. Click here to read more. PPACA’s smoking gun In a year awash with news regarding the myriad aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, from coverage of state exchange issues to the brouhaha surrounding the Supreme Court decision regarding contraceptives, there’s been silence about one particular component of the PPACA. Click here to read more. Employers fail to meet key ERISA requirements There are two ERISA requirements that, for the most part, employers are just not meeting. That's the word from 71 percent of brokers who say their clients aren't maintaining plan documents or providing employees with summary plan documents—two major requirements under ERISA, according to an HR360 survey. Click here to read more. What Happens When Health Plans Compete As a candidate in 2008, President Obama promised that health reform would reduce family premiums by up to $2,500, equivalent today to about a 15 percent reduction from the 2013 level. Click here to read more. Health insurers could be as lucrative as tobacco Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysts are assuming that health insurance provider excise taxes created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will be a good moneymaker for the U.S. Treasury over the next decade. Click here to read more. Are we heading toward a single-payer system? There are other reasons to suspect that PPACA — or something like it — will stick. Anne Lennan, president of the Society of Professional Benefit Administrators in Chevy Chase, Maryland, thinks that the scrambled technology that marred the exchange debut showed the public just how complicated it is to manage third-party health-benefit plans. Click here to read more. IRS Increases 9.5% Affordability Threshold—Or Did It? On July 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released three Revenue Procedures (2014-46, 2014-37, and 2014-41), which provide guidance to individuals on their obligation to maintain minimum essential coverage (MEC) under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) so-called “individual mandate.” Click here to read more.
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