HCR Update: Get Your HCR Law Brochure - Small & Large Group

Sep 08, 2010

September 3, 2010

The quintessential health care reform law brochure - get yours today!

Plan changes - coverage rules - benefit subsidies - oh my! When it comes to the health care reform law, there's a lot to know. And the more you know, the more you (and your clients) can get from the law's provisions. So, we made it easy for you to learn this law inside and out by creating a brochure with as many health care reform details as we could pack into it.

Inside this helpful brochure you'll find:

· A year-by-year look at the effective dates of the health care reform law provisions

· A chart outlining how the law affects different types of health plans

· Details on special programs and cost savings created by the law

· Definitions for significant health care reform law terms

For your convenience, we made a small group version and a large group version of the brochure. We're sure you'll want to give this useful resource to everyone you know, so watch future issues of this newsletter for an announcement on how to place a print order.

Small groups can use our tax credit calculator to add up savings

One provision of the health care reform law was written with small business owners in mind. Based on certain criteria, some eligible small businesses (25 and fewer employees) may get a tax credit of up to 35% (25% for tax-exempt eligible small groups) in 2010. To help you estimate a tax credit amount, we worked with H&R Block to bring you a small business tax credit calculator. Just plug in the requested information to get an estimate on potential health insurance savings under the health care reform law.

This calculator, powered by H&R Block, can help you understand the potential financial effects of the following health care legislation on small businesses:

Small business health care premium credit (effective 2010)

Requirements of provider coverage for employees (effective 2014)

Penalties for not providing coverage (effective 2014)

Excise taxes on high-cost health plans (effective 2018)

Navigate the calculator by clicking on the "Continue" button at the bottom of each section, or you can skip around by selecting the blue bars for the different sections.

Letting members know about certain re-enrollment rights

This week, we sent letters to our fully insured members, fully insured employers and ASO employers to explain re-enrollment rights under two health care reform provisions: removal of lifetime dollar limits on benefits and adding dependents under the age of 26. We sent you copies of those letters in last week's update. Please note that insured funding groups were not included in the mailing.

Getting to the bottom of your health care costs

Did you know: Big employers are expecting a 2011 health cost hike?

The National Business Group on Health released findings in August showing that its members say they expect costs to rise more than the 7% increase they expected on average this year. Sixty-three percent of employers who responded said they planned to increase the percentage employees would have to contribute to their premiums. The report was based on the responses of 72 companies with more than 5,000 employees that provide their own insurance through a health insurance administrator.