
I am still waiting to see an alternative to the Affordable Care Act that would be acceptable to conservatives as well as liberals…or even something that would only be acceptable to the conservatives that would not cost any more than the ACA costs individuals at this point in time and would cover just as many, if not more, Americans.
Important dates for enrollment are November 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016. The first day you are eligible for enrollment in a 2016 Health Plan is January 1, 2016. New or continuation of existing plans and prices will be available by the end of October 2015. The last day you can enroll in new or existing plans to begin on January 1, 2016 is December 15, 2015. If you enroll in a new or existing plan after December 15, 2015, you will not be eligible for coverage until February 1, 2016. If you enroll after January 15, 2016 in a new or changed plan, it will begin on March 1, 2016. Please remember that the last day to enroll for any coverage in the 2016 calendar year (unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period), is January 31, 2016.
Another thing to remember….a little late but as they say, ‘better late than never’…if you qualified for tax credits in 2015, you must file an income tax return for the 2014 calendar year no later than October 15, 2015….which has already passed. If you haven’t already done so, please do so for it may affect your ability to obtain tax credits for the 2016 calendar year…and we want to maintain that, at the least, 90% of insured Americans.
As of this writing complete data is not available for the change of pricing of health insurance plans across the country. A few states have come through with marked increases showing up in Minnesota at a 28.7% increase, however, in Washington state, there is a marked decrease of 10.4%. As of today’s date, only 14 states have reported the changes in the pricing of health care plans. The Kaiser Family Foundation, www.kff.org, is the premiere analyzer of all health care plans and programs in the country (there is another link on this website for the Kaiser Family Foundation), and the types of plans that have been analyzed in the 14 states are the Silver and the Bronze plans. The costs are also broken down by smokers and non-smokers, which, as we all know, is a major distinction when it comes to determining Health Insurance rates.
I will have a few more BLOGs out at the beginning of the open enrollment so I I will am hoping that those of you that are in need for information, will contact me via email at info@scbhrserv.com or via phone at 484-798-1236 at your earliest convenience If I am unable to help anyone, I will direct those of you in need to the correct agency.
I will update information for employers and the Affordable Care Act in my BLOG on November 3rd and I will be back to posting at least twice per week, if not more often from that point forward.
In the next month I will be recapping the HEDIS situation again this year and I am anxious to see if I receive any additional, nasty or threatening emails from former ‘employers’ …it is tough attempting to provide a service (recommendations of good HEDIS contract agencies) when one knows how certain ‘service providers’ actually manage their business. As of January 1, 2016, SCB Services, LLC will be offering both Medical Record Review (MRR) and HEDIS services. Watch for website changes and more information.....