November 16, 2017
Compliance Recap | October 2017
October was a busy month in the employee benefits world. President Trump announced a new Acting Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Eric Hargan fills the position vacated by Tom Price, who resigned in late September 2017. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ...
October 19, 2017
Advocacy in Action | Claims Assistance with Emergency Room Bills
A member received two bills from an emergency room service provider totaling $844. One bill was for the emergency room facility charges and the other was for the emergency room physician. The member did not know what to do and contacted Purple Card for assistance. Her Patient Advocate reviewed ...
October 11, 2017
IRS Releases Final Forms and Instructions for 2017 ACA Reporting | Brinson Compliance
Background Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals are required to have health insurance while applicable large employers (ALEs) are required to offer health benefits to their full-time employees. Reporting is required by employers with 50 or more full-time (or ...
October 10, 2017
IRS Releases Draft Forms and Instructions for 2017 ACA Reporting | Brinson Compliance
Background Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals are required to have health insurance while applicable large employers (ALEs) are required to offer health benefits to their full-time employees. Reporting is required by employers with 50 or more full-time (or ...
October 4, 2017
Medicare Part D Non-Creditable Notice Sample
Important Notice About Your Prescription Drug Coverage and Medicare If you or any of your eligible dependents are eligible for Medicare, or will soon become eligible for Medicare, please read this notice. If not, you can disregard this notice. Please read this notice carefully and keep it where ...
October 3, 2017
Medicare Part D Creditable Notice Sample
Important Notice About Your Prescription Drug Coverage and Medicare If you or any of your eligible dependents are eligible for Medicare, or will soon become eligible for Medicare, please read this notice. If not, you can disregard this notice. Please read this notice carefully and keep it where ...
September 19, 2017
Stop Handing Out Your SSN Like Candy
Social Security numbers (or SSNs) used to be tied just to your Social Security benefits. Now, that number is tied to just about everything used to identify you. In this age of identity theft, your Social Security number is one of the most valuable, if not THE most valuable, identifiers you ...
September 19, 2017
Get Moving… To Live!
The phrase: “If I’m lying, I’m dying” should be changed to: “If I’m sitting, I’m dying” even though it doesn’t rhyme. If you haven’t heard by now, sitting for long periods of time increases the chance that you’ll die early, regardless of your race, gender, age, body mass index (BMI), or even if ...
September 19, 2017
A Not-So-Quiet Little Problem
There are places where you expect things to be noisy, such as a rock concert, and places where you expect it to be quiet, like an office. And while nobody likes being “shushed,” there are few things more annoying than trying to work when someone else is talking in the background. The ‘80s music ...
September 19, 2017
Moments of Clarity: Being Transparent
Aristotle was right when he said, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” Companies and politicians like to say that they’re transparent, when in fact, they’re often the opposite. And, as in nature, in the absence of facts, people will often fill their minds with what is perceived. If you’re working at a ...
