Category: Health Insurance
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Gag Clause Attestation Deadline
As the year comes to an end, a crucial compliance deadline looms for employers with health plans. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), health plans and insurance issuers must submit a Gag Clause Compliance Attestation by December 31, 2024. Since its enactment in 2020, this regulation prohibits health plans from including gag clauses—provisions that limit…
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Understand Your Spending Power: What You Can Buy with Your FSA, HSA, or HRA
Medical expense accounts can help you save on all kinds of healthcare costs. Here are some you may not know about yet. HSA, FSA, and HRA can typically be used for: Expenses that might be covered, but check your plan: Important Considerations: Additional Tips: By understanding the nuances of HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs, you can…
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Benefits 101: What Is an HDHP?
In today’s world of complex health insurance options, High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) have become increasingly popular. But with a name like “high deductible,” it’s natural to have questions. Let’s break down the basics of HDHPs: What is an HDHP? An HDHP is a health insurance plan with a higher deductible than traditional plans. This…
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Health Insurance Basics: Part 3
Insurance Costs Consumers typically pay the following types of costs when they have insurance. Premium: The premium is an amount of money a consumer pays for a health insurance plan. The consumer and/or their employer usually make this payment bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. The premium must be paid regardless of how many services, if…
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Health Insurance Basics: Part 2
Does a Health Plan Typically Pay for Services from Any Doctor? Not always. Some types of plans encourage or require consumers to get care from a specific set of doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical service providers who have entered into contracts with the plan to provide items and services at a negotiated rate. The…
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Health Insurance Basics: Part 1
What is Health Insurance and Why is it Important? Health insurance is a legal entitlement to payment or reimbursement for your health care costs, generally under a contract with a health insurance company. Health insurance provides important financial protection in case you have an accident or sickness. For example, health insurance may help to pay…
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Using a Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
If you have a health plan through a job, you can use a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to pay for health care costs, like deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and some drugs. They can lower your taxes. How Flexible Spending Accounts work A Flexible Spending Account (FSA, also called a “flexible spending arrangement”) is a special account…
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Benefits 101: Premiums, Deductibles, Copays, and Out-of-Pocket Maximums
Not understanding benefits terminology is near the top of the list of ways that open enrollment and benefits selection can stress you out. Open enrollment is coming quickly and soon you will be talking about benefit options. The world of benefits and insurance can be confusing. In-network, out-of-network, deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance? What? Let us…
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Why Health Insurance Matters
Health insurance may not be the most exciting thing to shop for but it’s one of the most important things that you can buy for yourself and for your family. Having health insurance has many benefits. It protects you and your family from financial loss in the same way that home or car insurance does. …
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Healthcare 101: Back to Basics
Getting sick can be expensive. Even minor illnesses and injuries can be very costly to diagnose and treat. Health care coverage helps you get the care you need and protects you and your family financially if you get sick or injured. We’re breaking down the health insurance basics. Because, when you understand it, you’re more…
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How to Make the Most Out of Open Enrollment
Choosing the right benefits during open-enrollment season is so important and can help save money. It can also give individuals and families broader support with their health. Benefits like medical coverage are particularly important with high inflation having such a big impact on people’s budgets. A survey by UnitedHealthcare found that nearly 40% of employees…
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Leveling Up Your Open Enrollment Game: Tips for Success
For most employers, employee benefits represent a significant portion of their overall budget and a critical part of their employee recruitment and retention strategy. Benefits vary from employer to employer but can range from medical or dental insurance to flexible spending accounts, life and disability insurance, and more. The annual process of renewing those benefits…
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5 Tips to Save Money on Health Care: Part 2
Smart spending can keep your health care from costing an arm and a leg. With costs rising on everything from gas to food, every penny counts. It pays to shop smart – that is why it helps to learn how to take steps to limit your out-of-pocket health care costs. Save Money on Prescriptions Go…
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Transparency Rules Require Plan Sponsors to Act Now Before July 1 Deadline
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the Departments) released Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rules in late 2020 that will require fully insured and self-funded plan sponsors of non-grandfathered group health plans to make important disclosures about in-network and out-of-network rates beginning July 1, 2022. To be ready to meet that deadline,…
