Now that the merger between HIP and GHI is complete, EmblemHealth has become the #1 health provider in the tri-state region. EmblemHeatlh now serves over 4 million customers and has a network of physicians and specialists of over 92,000 in 150,000 locations.

With the consolidation of these 2 companies and their increased "buying power," EmblemHealth has been able to negogiate higher quality health care services with lower pricing. They have just introduced 2 new "in-network" (EPO) plans starting at $350.00 per single member and under $1,000.00 per family. These new health plans are also what they call, "family friendly," offering $0 co-pays for child(ren) visits and $0 co-pays for generic prescriptions.

If your group health insurance renewal is coming up soon you can expect about an 18% increase in your rates this year. You might want to consider looking into EmblemHealth's new health care programs to keep your rates more reasonable. Give us a call today for more information. 

• Premium Reduction/Subsidy: For workers who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, the government will subsidize 65% of their premiums under COBRA for nine months. This subsidy also applies to healthcare continuation coverage if required by the state.

• Special Election Period: For workers who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and the day the stimulus Law goes into effect, and who did not sign up for COBRA, will get an additional 60 days to do so and receive the subsidy.
   
• New Notification Period: Within 60 days of enactment, the Employer or COBRA Administrator shall provide an additional notification to any Assistance Eligible Employee who became entitled to elect COBRA before enactment of this Law.

• Tax Credit for Employers: To offset the employer’s expense, the employer may take a full tax credit for its expenditures out of its payroll taxes including both income tax withholding and FICA.

• High Income Exclusion: If the modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of a participant exceeds $125,000 a year, or a family’s AGI exceeds $250,000, their income tax will be raised by the premium reduction amount – effectively removing the subsidy.

• Plan Enrollment Option: Qualified Beneficiaries (QBs) under the stimulus will have the option to change plans to another product offered by the Employer with the following requirements:
  • Employer agrees to allow QBs to enroll in different coverage
  • The selected plan does not exceed the premium for coverage in which the individual was enrolled at the time the qualifying event occurred
  • Plan cannot be Dental, Vision, Counseling, Referral or FSA
  • Coverage is also offered to active employees

• Send a notice to involuntarily terminated employees since September 1, 2008 with a description of their rights and obligations regarding the subsidy.
• Update all COBRA forms and enrollment materials to reflect the changes.
• Or, if currently working with a COBRA Administrator, coordinate with the Administrator to send notices and update forms.
• Take a full tax credit out of their payroll taxes for its expenditures associated with the subsidy.

If you would like to read the full in-depth detail of the plan, you can download the PDF here.

As President Obama signed the Stimulus package into law yesterday, the voices of Wall Street could be heard loud and clear in a 300 point decline in the stock market. Instead of the Stimulus bill instilling confidence, it seems it is just giving us more reasons to doubt that the Government is not getting this right. Here's a thought for our Government leaders and I haven't heard a word about this coming from Washington.

There are about 17,000 large corporations in the United States. If everyone of those corporations decided to hire 10 new people this month, they would create 170,000 new jobs. On the other hand, the are over 46,000,000 small businesses in the U.S. If only 10% of our small business owners hired just one new employee this month, they would create 4,600,000 new jobs. Unemployment problem solved.

I did not hear or see anything about stimulating the small business owner in the Stimulus Bill. All I hear about is bailing out the large corporations. Our Government fails to notice that it is the small business owners of America that drive this economy, not the large corporations. The small business owner has been pushed to the side and forgotten. Washington just doesn't get it.   

Here comes the future! Hold on to your seats! The health insurance companies are finally entering the 21st Century. Well at least Aetna is embracing the future of technology, but maybe the other's are soon to follow.

Now when you sign up with Aetna for small group health insurance in New York and several other states, you can trash the 30+ pages of applications and miscellaneous, annoying paperwork that comes with signing up for health care. Aetna has introduced, "Aetna Enroll" a secure online benefits management tool.

According to their announcement yesterday, you can now go online and sign up new employees, delete terminated employees and run several in-depth benefit reports regarding your health care program. Aetna says, "your clients no longer need to submit and mail paper applications to us but we advise that they keep the applications for their records anyway." Huh?

If you would like more information about Aetna's online enrollment tool, feel free to contact us. 

Are you looking to hire a college graduate? Get ready, most are not searching for the highest paying jobs anymore. What they are looking for is security and benefits. Yes, I said benefits. According to a recent study, College job seekers are looking for these benefits in a new career.

1. Medical Insurance
2. Yearly Salary Increases
3. Retirement Plan
4. Dental Insurance
5. Life Insurance