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News
07/09/2021
For anyone who was on unemployment, Obamacare could be free the rest of 2021
Nancy Marshall-Genzer / MARKETPLACE / /
A new insurance benefit from the latest COVID relief bill kicks in Thursday: free Obamacare health insurance for the unemployed for the rest of 2021. Just about everybody who received unemployment benefits this year is eligible. So, what’s the rationale behind this new benefit, and how will it work?
If you received at least a week of unemployment benefits this year and sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage, also known as Obamacare, “you could actually get an insurance plan for free,” said Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University.
She said someone receiving unemployment who’s just enrolling in Obamacare would save more than $7,000 in premiums, regardless of their income. They’d still be on the hook for co-pays of around $5 and a low deductible.
05/04/2020
Coterie Advisors Expands their Fundamental Care Program with the Launch of Limited Benefit Indemnity Medical Plans for Employers
Their combined strategy of unique medical plan solutions, for different carve-out classes of employees, will offer benefit brokers something new and innovative for their employer group clients.
Coterie Advisory Group Inc., whose founding partners include some of the original founders of Star HRG (Starbridge) and Ternian Insurance Group, have announced the launch of employer-focused Limited Benefit Indemnity Medical Plans. Marketed under the Fundamental Care brand name, Coterie Advisors will now offer Limited Benefit Indemnity solutions for large employers with part-time, hourly and seasonal workers – an employee benefits marketplace they have decades of experience in.
05/05/2020
Humana to Waive Member Costs for all Primary Care and Behavioral Health Office Visits for Medicare Advantage Members, Delivers Safety Kits to Members
Attention Medicare Advantage members the insurance companies are waiving some copays, there is other carriers doing the same which is great news! Contact us if you want to know how this impacts your specific plan.
05/13/2020
Benefit Plan Deadlines Extended – COBRA, Special Enrollment, Plan Disclosures And More
Kelly Haab-Tallitsch, SmithAmundsen LLC / JDSUPRA
On April 29, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Treasury Department issued guidance extending certain timeframes related to employee benefit plans due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The agencies acknowledge that plan sponsors, participants and beneficiaries may have difficulty meeting the standard timeframes due to the national emergency and the extensions are intended to help maintain group health plan coverage.
Relief for Participants and Beneficiaries
A joint final rule issued by the DOL and Treasury provides that all group health plans, disability plans, other employee welfare benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) must disregard the period from March 1, 2020 until 60 days after the COVID-19 National Emergency ends (or such other date as the agencies announce), referred to as the “Outbreak Period,” in determining certain notice and payment deadlines.
This includes:
The 60-day COBRA election period;
Due dates for making COBRA premium payments;
The 30-day (or 60-day as applicable) HIPAA special enrollment period;
The 60-day period for participants to notify a plan of a COBRA qualifying event (e.g. divorce); and
The deadlines for filing a claim for benefits, an appeal, or a request for an external review of a denied claim.
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