Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits — Parity Requirements
The Affordable Care Act has literally turned benefits upside down. While we spend lots of time discussing the challenges the ACA affords employers, it has forced insurance carriers to provide more coverage with respect to Mental healthcare. The Mental Health Parity Act – part of the 2010 benefit changes to all health insurance plans continues…
Potential Dramatic Changes for Medicare Products Offered in the Future
There are potential dramatic changes for Medicare Products offered in the future. CMS continues to look for ways to lower the cost of Medicare and to require Medicare Beneficiaries to pay more out of pocket expenses. Remember, some 78 million baby boomers will turn 65 in the next six years. The Medicare Access and CHIP…
Big Healthcare Marketplace Changes Anticipated in 2017
It will be a tough first quarter for insurance carriers in the Healthcare Exchange Market who will report their dismal earning and loss ratios in the new marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). United healthcare expects to lose nearly $1 billion on Obamacare policies, the nation’s largest insurer reported in January. While United…
April 2016 Health Spotlight – Alzheimers Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is currently ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, but recent estimates indicate that the disorder may rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people. At Muneris Benefits, we help thousands of Medicare Beneficiaries with managing their supplement and Part…
Many Blockbuster Drugs Going Generic by 4Q 2016
There is some good news on the horizon with respect to healthcare costs – many Blockbuster Drugs are going generic by 4Q 2016. Prescription drugs costs continue to dominate any employer, employee, or Medicare beneficiary discussion concerning health insurance and for good reason: they can be outrageously expensive. 2016 is a watershed year when many top selling brand…
High Blood Pressure Prevention – February 2016 Muneris Prevention Newletter
The CDC estimates that 46 billion dollars was spent in the U.S. in 2013 for high blood pressure related claims. About 1 of 3 U.S. adults—or about 70 million people—has high blood pressure. Controlling High Blood Pressure is relatively easy and inexpensive, as a wave of blood pressure medications have gone generic over the last…
Disability Income Protection for High Earners
The Super Bowl is now a distant memory, and the football fans must wait with bated breath on the future of Peyton Manning. Will he at the ripe old age of 39 decide to hang up his cleats and become an NFL broadcaster, possibly become an Offensive Coordinator, or maybe a College Football Coach? Quite…
Health Insurance Marketplace Deadline looms!
Health Insurance Marketplace Deadline looms! Coverage will begin Feb. 1 if you purchase a plan between Jan. 1-15. Coverage will begin March 1 if you purchase a plan between Jan. 16-31. If you are not enrolled in a health plan by Jan. 31, and remain uninsured for 2016, a penalty fee of will be required when you file…
Cadillac Tax Delayed
The $1.1 trillion budget deal that Congress approved Friday would delay the notoriously unpopular Cadillac tax for two years and put a repeal in reach of the congressional leaders and business groups who oppose it. The House voted 316-113 Friday to approve the omnibus spending deal that congressional leaders unveiled earlier in the week. The…
Subsidies in the Healthcare Marketplace and Medicare Eligibility
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the Healthcare Marketplace, whereby, some 9 million Americans have been successfully enrolled. At Muneris Benefits, we’ve helped hundreds of folks in Virginia and West Virginia secure valuable coverage. We want to remind our clients that once you become eligible for Medicare Part A (either by age or due to a disability); you…
The final piece to controlling costs in a High Deductible Health Plan World
More and more employers are offering High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) and the trend for total replacement continues to gain momentum as employers look to control costs and stay under the Cadillac tax that becomes effective in 2018. As insurance brokers, we have recommended HDHP plans or over 5 years and many employer clients have…
More Employer Compliance
Just when you thought the employer requirements pertaining to the ACA were subsiding, 2016 ushers in a whole new wave of employer responsibilities. More commonly known as the “ACA Pay or Play” provisions, the new rules require employers to validate whether they provide health insurance, who is enrolled, and if the plan is considered affordable. Lots of rules…