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See How You Can Reimburse Yourself for Health Insurance Expenses

Are you a small business owner? Are you worried about what the Affordable Care Act will mean for you, your business and your family? Are you looking for a way to provide your employees with not just a qualifying health plan, but with a health plan that will truly benefit them and that won’t run your company into the ground? A THIRP may be just the solution you’re looking for.

What is a THIRP? THIRP stands for Tax-free Health Insurance Reimbursement Plan.

A THIRP is not a health insurance plan, but rather a reimbursement plan that will help your employees—both full-time and part-time—pay for their health insurance premiums.

Read the full article here.

Kaiser Permanente Extends Payment Deadline to Jan. 15 for Jan. 1 Effective Coverage Date

Kaiser Permanente has extended the deadline to Jan. 15 for receipt of the first month’s premium for a Jan. 1 coverage effective date. In addition, Kaiser Permanente has begun calling new members to inform them about the deadline extension and about the alternative to pay their premium online. The deadline extension is in response to consumer confusion about deadlines related to the Affordable Care Act.

Members who completed an application, but have not yet received an invoice, can still make appointments and receive care. “We want everyone who completed an application by the enrollment deadline to receive our high-quality care and services,” said Ken Hunter, senior vice president, Kaiser Permanente Insurance Exchange Operations.

In the last two weeks of December, the volume of enrollment applications increased substantially. Kaiser Permanente is still processing enrollment files and expects all invoices to be mailed by the end of next week. “Members should not be concerned if they haven’t received an invoice yet,” said Hunter. “As long as payment is postmarked or submitted online by Jan. 15, Kaiser Permanente will honor their membership retroactive to Jan. 1.”

Read the full report here.

Vision Insurance Offers A Look At Bigger Savings

There comes a point in many employees’ lives where the regular, life-long routine of eye examinations may not seem all that important anymore – perhaps they’ve had corrective lasik surgery, or they feel perfectly content with a reasonably good prescription for glasses or contact lenses.

It’s those exact folks that researchers say could probably benefit the most from more regular eye checkups, not only for their visual acuity, but also because regular eye exams also offer a quick overview of symptoms of a wide range of physical disorders, including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

A new study conducted by human capital risk management firm HCMS Group suggests that employers who offer vision benefits to their employees might be able to save as much as $5.8 billion in cost savings over a four year period, partly due to the preventative screening opportunities afforded by low-cost eye check-ups.

Read the full report here.

Second Wave Of Health-Insurance Disruption Affects Small Businesses

When millions of health-insurance plans were canceled last fall, the Obama administration tried to be reassuring, saying the terminations affected only the small minority of Americans who bought individual policies.

But according to industry analysts, insurers and state regulators, the disruption will be far greater, potentially affecting millions of people who receive insurance through small employers by the end of 2014.

Read the full report here.