Health Connections Agent Updates

We are pleased to offer two new plans within the HC2 product suite for new and renewing business. Beginning January 1, 2008 for new business or upon an active group’s renewal date, we will offer two new plans:

POS $30/45 with $5000 combined inpatient/outpatient hospital & facility-based services deductible
POS $2,000 deductible plan

Both new plans are Point-of-Service (POS) Open Access plans, and have a pharmacy deductible of $100, followed by copays. These two new plans are available at competitive pricing and are a great option for your clients looking to benchmark their contribution off lower-cost plans. Please refer to individual plan summaries for further information.

Individual plan summaries:

POS $30/45 $5,000

POS $2,000

Information about Medicare Part D and
Notification Requirements for Creditable Coverage

Beginning January 1, 2006 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced Medicare Part D which offers prescription drug coverage to all Medicare beneficiaries. With this new program, employers are required to disclose the creditable status of their pharmacy plans to Medicare eligible enrollees (active employees and retirees) annually.

Coverage is defined as "creditable" when its actuarial value equals or exceeds the standard Part D prescription drug benefit. In general, the actuarial value of the benefit is determined by whether or not the prescription drug coverage is expected to pay out, on average for all participants, at least as much as the standard Medicare Part D coverage would pay in a calendar year. If the coverage does not equal or exceed the value of the standard Part D benefit, it is considered "non-creditable".

All Health Connections (HC and HC2) and CBIA/Aetna medical plans include pharmacy coverage so by November 15th it's necessary for your clients who participate in a CBIA medical plan to distribute notices to each of their employees and/or retirees enrolled in a CBIA medical plan, indicating whether the plan they have is creditable or non-creditable according to Medicare Part D and CMS guidelines.

Health Connections Creditable Coverage Status

All Health Connections (HC) plans are creditable.
All Health Connections 2 (HC2) plans are creditable EXCEPT for the following:

CIGNA HSA-Compatible $1500 PPO
ConnectiCare HSA-Compatible $2500 POS
OXFORD HSA-Compatible $2000 PPO

All CBIA/Aetna plans are creditable.

Creditable Coverage Notices & Distribution Requirements

To assist your clients in meeting their obligation, we are notifying those with medical coverage through HC, HC2 or CBIA/Aetna of the creditable status of their prescription plan(s) and making “creditable” and “non-creditable” coverage notices available on our web site. We recommend that employers distribute a copy of the applicable notice to ALL enrolled employees.

Visit cbia.com/credcoverage for further information and to download notices.

If employers wish to create personalized creditable and non-creditable coverage notices they can refer to the CMS Web site.

In the Future

CMS requires the distribution of a Creditable or Non-Creditable notice annually, no later than November 15. In the future, CBIA will send a notice in the bill to all employers as a reminder to distribute creditable coverage notices. Our web site will be updated annually for employers to determine which notices they need to distribute. You and your clients should refer to the information on our web site for the most up-to-date information for new hires, qualifying events and open enrollment resulting in enrollment changes.

Employer Protected Web site - New Online Transactions

The Employer Protected Web site now has the following new online transaction capabilities:

Add New Employee
Add/Term/Change Benefits
Add New Dependent
Reinstate Dependents

These enhance the existing online transaction capabilities, which include:

Change Employee Info
Change Dependent Info
Change Salary
Terminate Employee
Terminate Dependent

Please advise your clients of these new capabilities.

CBIA Debuts New Video on Health Care Reform

CBIA recently debuted a new video about health care reform in Connecticut at our Annual Agent Conference. It features interviews with prominent Connecticut business and health care professionals who discuss the direction health care reform should take in Connecticut and the potential impact of a government-run system on Connecticut’s economy.

View the video online and remember to send the link to your associates. We also encourage you to create a link on your Web site to this video and share the video with your clients.

REMINDER:
The Power of Choice is Now Available for Dental Products

New CBIA Health Connections dental suites are available now for new and renewing business. These new suites give your clients choice of dental plan and are sure to be a hit! Visit our Web site for more details.

If you have any questions regarding the contents of this Agent Update, please contact your CBIA Sales Team.

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Health Insurance Health Care Information Privacy Notice (updated April 2008)

Contents:

First Quarter Rate Sheets and Choiceware Rates are Available for CBIA Health Connections and CBIA Health Connections 2

New HC2 Plans for 2008

Information about Medicare Part D and Notification Requirements for Creditable Coverage