Healthcare reform: What you need to know about the individual mandate

Healthcare reform: What you need to know about the individual mandate

Q: What is the individual mandate? A: The individual mandate (also called “individual shared responsibility”) is a provision of the federal healthcare law that requires you, your dependent children, and anyone else you claim as a dependent on your federal income taxes to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. This health insurance must be a certain type of health coverage specified by the federal government as “minimum essential coverage.” Q: What is minimum essential coverage? A: Minimum essential…

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Changing the rules for Flexible Spending? Not now …

Changing the rules for Flexible Spending? Not now …

You may have heard recently about a federal announcement giving Flexible Spending participants the option to carry over up to $500 of their unused balance to use for eligible expenses during the next plan year. But after careful review, we’ve decided to maintain our current plan design that provides a two-and-a-half-month grace period for 2013 Flexible Spending balances not used by December 31, 2013. So if you’re participating in Flexible Spending, this allows you to spend your entire unused balance—rather…

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DMBA nabs top ranking in 2012 consumer satisfaction survey of Utah health plans

DMBA nabs top ranking in 2012 consumer satisfaction survey of Utah health plans

We’re pleased to report DMBA ranked #1 in six out of eight categories and #2 in the other categories in the State of Utah’s 2012 Consumer Satisfaction Survey! We strive every day to be the best-of-class benefits administrator our participants deserve, so we’re exceptionally proud to know we were ranked #1 in overall health-plan satisfaction. We scored almost 20 points higher than the next closest health plan! The Utah Health Data Committee released the report that measures how satisfied each health plan’s…

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Lend a hand to help stop healthcare fraud

Lend a hand to help stop healthcare fraud

On its surface, healthcare fraud may seem like a victimless crime. But nothing could be further from the truth. Fraud costs you and insurance companies billions of dollars each year. It can also push up your premiums, reduce your benefits, and threaten the quality of care you receive. What is healthcare fraud? Healthcare fraud can take a variety of forms. Here are some examples: A doctor submits claims for services he did not provide. An employee conceals a spouse’s coverage…

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Healthcare fraud: 10 ways to avoid hospital overcharges

Healthcare fraud: 10 ways to avoid hospital overcharges

Some experts estimate hospitals overcharge their patients up to $10 billion a year, with an average of $1,300 per hospital stay. Others say overcharges make up approximately 5% of hospital bills. How can you avoid getting stuck with these unnecessary charges? Protect yourself by following these 10 steps: If your hospital stay isn’t for an emergency, find out in advance what your medical plan will cover and how much it will pay. Call the hospital billing department and ask what…

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