Universal Benefit Plans Blog

Every time a major change occurs, a good chunk of people will almost always stand in vehement opposition. We all witnessed the angry headlines, modern day tea parties and all sorts of related backlash that happened almost immediately after President Obama signed the health reform bill into law. So, if all of these people are so angry your employees must be furious, correct?

When it comes to cutting health plan costs, many organizations out there are getting just plain radical. A new study released by the National Business Group on Health and Towers Watson reveals that 83% of businesses have changed or plan to change their health care program strategies.  Some organizations are making only moderate changes while others have taken measures that are quite aggressive.

A few of the more aggressive measures are as follows:

Great news for anyone on FCHP’s deductible plans: keeping track of health care costs just got easier. Up until recently, plan members got an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) document in the mail each time they received covered health care services.

Moving forward, they'll receive monthly Health Benefit Statements instead of EOBs. The new statements still explain how members’ recent health care services are paid for—like EOBs—but are now easier to read with helpful charts.

We’ve all heard that U.S. workplaces are going paperless, here’s another reason to believe this trend. A recent study from the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America revealed a 165% growth rate in the proportion of employees who used some combination of web technology to enroll in their benefits.

Under the new health reform law, certain small employers could qualify for a tax credit on their contributions to employee health coverage. For tax years beginning 2010-2013, qualified employers can claim a maximum 35% credit on their employer premium contributions.

Whether you’re presenting a new wellness initiative, adding a supplemental health plan or introducing a tax-saving instrument such as an FSA or HRA, the first thing you need to do is get upper management’s stamp of approval. Here are 3 simple steps to secure buy-in from the top on benefits-related matters.

On April 15, President Obama signed the Continuing Extension Act of 2010 (HR4851). Among other provisions, the law extends the ARRA Act COBRA subsidy eligibility period through May 31, 2010. This law takes effect immediately and is retroactive through April 1, 2010. This means that Assistance Eligible Individuals (AEIs) whose eligibility terminated March 31 will have the subsidy restored retroactively (which will probably cause a few administrative headaches for employers).