September 2016
Stay Current Newsletter
A2December Renewal Reminders

Approximately 85% of employee benefit plans now renew on December 1. The BDR team is working in advance to ensure we are able to complete all processing in a timely fashion, and have provided several reminders for you and your employees. 

Open Enrollment Processing - The insurance carriers experience longer than normal processing times October through December. It can take three weeks from the time we submit your open enrollment for the carriers to process your changes. 

Billing Updates - It may take several billing statements for your plan changes to be updated. Please audit your bills and notify us of any discrepancies immediately. 

ID Cards - You may get duplicate ID cards. Insurance carriers will often automatically produce and send out member ID cards 90 days prior to a renewal. This causes confusion because these "new" cards will have the members previous year plan election. The correct ID cards will be sent out as soon as the carriers process plan changes.  

Prescription Refills - We recommend you refill any maintenance medication prior to December 1. This will help avoid any surprises with cost or availability. 

Appointments - If you are changing carriers avoid scheduling any elective or non-urgent medical appointments the first week of December.

As always, the BDR team is standing by to help you and your employees through this process. We are grateful for your business and will continue to keep you current.  


A3Health Coverage under the SCA or DBA 

Are you subject to the SCA or DBA? If so read the below article. Applicable large employers must meet all of the Acts.   

A4Bringing the Fun Factor to Work  

Ben efits Done Right strives to be a fun workplace every day of the week. We recognize that even during our busiest season it is invaluable for our team to have fun and break up the busy workday! A few of the fun things we do: 
  • Casual Friday's
  • Bring your dog to work
  • Games in the break room 
  • Spirit Days (wear your favorite sport teams jersey)
  • Fitness movers (yes, these are fun!)
  • Impromptu drinks, snacks and games

If you want to bring the Fun Factor to your team and need ideas, feel free to reach out to us for more details on what we do! 

 
A5CA Sick Leave Requirements             

Local ordinances passed new local sick leave requirements and/or expanded current ordinances. Is your company compliant? Read our most recent blog on  HR Done Right for all the details.  
 
A6Question of the Month 

Q:  If an individual is enrolled in his or her employer's high deductible health plan and accompanying health savings account (HSA), what happens if that individual's spouse is enrolled in a flexible spending account (FSA) through the spouse's employer? 

A:Unless the FSA is a limited use account (covers only dental and vision), the employee with a high deductible plan would lose HSA eligibility in any month the employee's spouse was enrolled in the FSA, regardless of the tier of coverage either individual is enrolled in (including employee-only coverage). This is because the individual with the FSA is permitted to spend the money in the FSA on his or her spouse, even if the employee is enrolled in employee-only coverage, and even if he or she doesn't actually spend the money on the spouse. The ability to have expenses paid from the FSA renders the spouse with the high deductible heath plan HSA-ineligible. 

A7Save the Date: Compliance Seminar

Please mark your calendar for our 2017 compliance seminar, to be held January 19, 2017. You will want your entire executive team to attend. More information to follow. 

A8BDR - Employee Continuing Education

Our office will be closing at 1:30 PM on Friday, September 30, 2016, for a company-wide employee education program.  

We will process and respond to all email, faxes and voicemails promptly when normal business hours resume at 7:30 AM on Monday, October 3, 2016. 

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