Roanoke, Virginia/July 25, 2011/ — United Benefit Advisors (UBA) (http://www.UBAbenefits.com), a member-owned alliance of the nation’s premier independent benefit advisory firms, announced today that it has increased the organization’s membership to 145 Member Firms.  Since its official launch only 10 years ago, UBA has grown to become one of the nation’s largest benefits advisory organizations.

“While UBA lends our firm strength and wisdom and the opportunity to work with other top benefit advisors throughout the county, we are an independent advisory firm.  UBA Members aren’t franchised or subsidiaries.  We are independently owned firms that understand the local marketplace and the unique challenges that individual employers face.  We can provide insightful, personalized service that our competition simply can’t match, backed by the knowledge and resources of UBA,” said William L. Kite, Jr., Employee Benefits Advisor, D & S Agency, Inc.

Membership in UBA is limited to 150 of the nation’s top independent employee benefit firms.  UBA’s roster is comprised of firms that have committed to adhere to the most stringent code of ethics in the employee benefits industry.

“UBA was founded on the premise that the collective wisdom, expertise and unique strengths of the top independent benefits firms could be cooperatively shared to create truly best-in-class solutions for our clients,” said Scott Rappoport, CEO of Benefit Sources & Solutions in Bound Brook, N.J., and UBA Board Chair.  “Our culture of mutual trust, sharing and support has allowed us to develop and provide the best possible services for our clients, while simultaneously enhancing the independence of our Member Firms, which is the cornerstone of their creativity and success.”

UBA Members provide employee benefits consulting, brokerage services and best-in-class products to  more than 36,000 private corporations and public employers.  As trusted advisors, UBA Members saved employers an average of 5.1 percent from the initial medical plan renewal offer in 2010, which translates to a staggering $1.1 billion in annual medical plan cost savings on behalf of more than 4.8 million employees and their families.

D & S Agency, Inc., chartered August 27, 1964, was founded as a subsidiary of Davis & Stephenson, Incorporated, a respected Roanoke Virginia property and casualty firm founded in 1902.  D & S Agency is an employee benefit consulting firm in Virginia.  Today D & S Agency represents corporate clients headquartered in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia.  Design and compliance of benefit plans with an emphasis on communication services to client employees separates D & S Agency from other advisory firms.

ABOUT UNITED BENEFIT ADVISORS – United Benefit Advisors is a member-owned alliance of the nation’s premier independent benefit advisory firms with 165 offices throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.  As trused and knowledgeable advisors, UBA Members collaborate with more than 2,000 experienced professionals to seek out ideas, expertise and best-in-class solutions that positively impact employers and make a real difference in the lives of their employees and families.  Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from our shared wisdom should visit UBA online at www.UBAbenefits.com to locate their local UBA Member Firm.

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tweaked a regulation concerning internal claims appeals and external review for health care claims in group and individual plans, trimming the time beneficiaries will have to prepare an appeal, from 120 to 60 days, according to a report in Kaiser Health News.

HHS also reduced the types of denials that can be challenged and the amount of information that insurance companies must provide when a claim is denied.

However, the agency left a few key features of the regulation stand, including the requirement that self-insured employer plans must use at least two independent review organizations when handling appeals to health care claims.

HHS also announced an end of waivers for limited, or “mini-med” health care plans after Sept. 22, according to Business Insurance.  Many of the plans do not meet the requirements of minimum dollar coverage amounts created by PPACA. Companies that have already received waivers can still file for extensions, provided they apply by Sept. 22. The waivers will last through the end of 2013, as long as plan sponsors meet certain requirements and keep the government and their employees informed about the plan.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor (DOL) made its own change to a PPACA regulation, reversing the requirement that health care plans must notify urgent-care patients of coverage decisions within 24 hours. The DOL decided to keep that requirement at the current 72 hours after it reconsidered the “cost and benefits” of the 24-hour deadline.

While agencies were busy retooling these PPACA rules, a federal appellate court in Ohio handed the Obama administration a key victory by ruling that the health care reform law’s requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance is not unconstitutional, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

While most experts think the Supreme Court will be the ultimate decider of PPACA’s fate, the decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals signaled a significant victory for the Obama administration because one of the judges who upheld the constitutionality of the law was a conservative and a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

In the court of public opinion — at least among employers — the full fallout from PPACA remains a mystery, and several conflicting studies released in June do little to clear the air.

Research published in the McKinsey Quarterly indicated that 30 percent of employers say they are sure or likely to end their employer-sponsored health plans after the main provisions of PPACA take effect after 2014, according to a FoxNews.com report.  That figure jumps to 50 percent among employers who are “very aware” of the law.

Reform supporters questioned the results, citing previous studies that showed a much smaller number of employers who expect to dump health care insurance. Also, a recent study by the Urban Institute suggested that PPACA might actually increase the number of small employers that offer coverage. The institute projects the law will generate a 10 percent increase in the number of employers with 100 or fewer employees that offer health care insurance because of tax incentives and stabilization of the health care market.

While employers can’t always control economic conditions and are sometimes forced to make these hard choices, they’re not powerless when it comes to boosting workplace morale, even in tough times, experts say.

One of the keys to employee morale is creating an atmosphere of fairness in the workplace, said Ben Dattner, author of “The Blame Game.”  In a recent interview with Human Resource Executive Online, Dattner noted that feelings of inequity often stem from differences in pay and benefits.

“Research shows, interestingly . . . that employees may be satisfied with less money if they feel that the decision-making was fair,” Dattner said.

The perception of fairness and good morale starts with employees’ relationships with their direct supervisors, a new study by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and Buck Consultants suggests. According to PLANSPONSOR.com, the research found that 44 percent of respondents said their direct boss had a very positive effect on employee engagement at their company, while 41 percent said their supervisor had a strongly negative impact on engagement. 

Employers also need to take heed of the demographics of their workforce. A new Deloitte survey finds that baby boomers are more dissatisfied with their employers than employees in other generations, and that can hamper engagement efforts, according to another HROE report.

“Many of [the baby boomers] have seen their colleagues downsized or forced into early retirement,” Susan Ruhl of OI Partners, a Tennessee-based consulting firm, told HROE. “They feel as if they’ve plateaued, career-wise, in a younger person’s world, and they’re not sure where to go next in their jobs.”

HR can refuel morale by offering more training opportunities for all generations. For instance, Ruhl suggests having boomers serve as mentors to younger workers. Mentoring programs can break down age barriers and make boomers feel valued in their jobs, she said.

Whether through a mentoring program, better employee communications or more perks, employers that step up efforts to boost morale in today’s economy will reap rewards later, according to Bob Carr of Buck Consultants.

“One of the key findings of [the IABC-Buck survey] is that enhancing the organization’s culture and work environment has become the respondents’ highest ranked goal for employee engagement,” Carr told PLANSPONSOR.com. “Organizations are committing themselves more deeply to effectively engaging their employees, knowing that this is the key to meeting their productivity, retention and overarching business goals.”

While the rule would create a burden for health care plans and business associates, it has an upside, according to Kate Borten of The Marblehead Group in Massachusetts.

“I think it makes good sense to add the new right to an access report,” Borten told HealthLeaders Media. “Many health care organizations already provide this voluntarily, and this report, which includes insider access (use, rather than disclosure), is commonly used to identify snoopers.”

The work started in late May when the IRS announced 2012 limits for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). The announcement includes figures for accounts attached to high-deductible health plans:

Annual HSA contribution limits: $3,100 for employee-only coverage (up $50 from 2011); $6,250 for family coverage (up $100 from 2011).

Minimum HDHP deductible: $1,200 for employee-only coverage and $2,400 for family coverage (no change from 2011).

Out-of-pocket maximums: $6,050 for employee-only coverage (up $100 from 2011); $12,100 for family coverage (up $200 from 2011).

Wellness

Source: PLANSPONSOR
02-May-2011

By Rebecca Moore

A retrospective study examined the changes in participation in verified fitness activities and the impact on hospital claims over five years among members of Discovery Health medical plan and found an increased frequency of gym visits was associated with a lower probability of hospital admissions. Two additional gym visits per week reduced the probability of hospital admission by 13 percent. 

According to a press release, the percentage of Vitality members using the gym one or more times a week increased by almost 23 percent. Over time, the percentage of members who joined the gym but were “inactive” decreased by 8 percent, and there was an increase in the percentage of members classified as “medium- and high-engaged” in fitness related activities. 

Members who consistently maintained or increased engagement with fitness-related activities had the best outcomes related to hospital admission and costs. Hospital costs were 6 percent lower in those members who were inactive and became active and 16 percent lower in those members who were active throughout the study compared with those members who remained inactive. 

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87 Members of the UBA family who met with Congressional staff, delivered client letters and presented PAC money for what Employee Benefit Advisor calls “Make It or Break It Time.”

Operation Full Throttle is more critical now than it was a week ago; Republicans are against rushing this legislation through; Senate proposals are more reasonable than House proposals; first-term Democrats, House or Senate, will listen to what you have to say; the Blue Dog Coalition of Democrats are so fiscally conservative that they are truly undecided on what to do. 

Keep following for updated information.

Bill Kite addressing the UBA Members at Operation Full Throttle