BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA NAMED ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES® FOR THE 11TH TIME

Ethisphere recognizes companies demonstrating exceptional leadership and a commitment to business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance, and governance practices.

Blue Shield of California has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2023 by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

For 11 of the past 12 years – the nonprofit health plan has received this designation. In 2023, Ethisphere recognized 135 organizations spanning 19 countries and 46 industries.

“Blue Shield of California’s ongoing commitment to ethical behavior is the foundation for our company’s values of being human, honest, and courageous,” said Venetia Marshall, vice president, chief risk, and compliance officer at Blue Shield of California. “It is how our more than 7,800 employees focus on ‘doing the right thing’ in serving our members, customers, and communities.”

Blue Shield is a nonprofit health plan driven by its mission of providing access to quality health care that’s sustainably affordable for everyone. The company and its employees also continue to be at the forefront of responding to major health and social issues. Continue reading…

MEDICARE

Medicaid Redetermination Announcement

Applied General Agency is committed to ensuring that this process goes smoothly for your clients. We want to ensure that our agents are aware of these changes and their impact to Medicare beneficiaries with Dual coverage (Medicare & Medicaid).

This act includes provisions that requires states to conduct a redetermination of Medicaid eligibility for all enrollees at least once every 12 months, starting in April of 2023. This means that all Medicaid enrollees will need to reapply for benefits and provide updated information about their income, assets, and other eligibility criteria. Continue reading here:

GROUP BENEFITS

Group Health Brokers–Need to Know

The Covered California Small Business Tax Credit can save Employers who qualify thousands.

Covered California Small Business (CCSB) can be a great fit for many Employers. Group health professionals need to take another look at the CCSB plans and features for both clients and prospects. Adding a quote for your clients can cover this viable option and reduce the chance your client sees the quote from a competitor. CCSB is becoming more popular and Employers will appreciate the work their broker does to show them all options available. Including CCSB provides brokers the ability to cover a complete market option approach and leave no holes open when showing options to their clients.

One of the great options in the CCSB is that it includes the Tax Credit. This tax credit is only available to Employers with the CCSB package. To promote the program to Employers, brokers can use the Tax Pro flyer CCSB provides as it is geared specifically towards CPAs. Brokers looking to prospect and differentiate themselves, they can reach a largely untapped market and open doors with the tax credit. Helping business owners and their CPAs understand how to take advantage of the CCSB tax credit will separate yourself. CCSB can help you show both business owners and CPAs the advantages of the credit and the CCSB forms are very helpful as well. To learn more Click to see the “Tax info sheets”

By Phil Calhoun Group Health Professional

Can employee benefits provide a solution for long-term care?

We’re living in what many are calling a “care crisis.” If you’re a benefits broker, you know exactly what I’m talking about: the discussion around long-term care. Over the past few years, demographic, legislative and economic factors have come together to force tough conversations among clients, brokers and financial consultants. Continue reading here.

COMPLIANCE

CAA 2022 PRESCRIPTION DRUG DATA COLLECTION (RXDC) REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH PLANS – DUE JUNE 1ST, 2023

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) Rx Data Collection (RxDC) component requires health plans/issuers to produce and file reports on prescription drug and health care spending for the 2022 calendar year by 6/1/2023. These reports are due annually and will be due by June 1st each year thereafter. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a RxDC Reporting Instructions Guide to help facilitate reporting.

Carriers in the fully insured space are doing most, if not all, of the reporting for their group health plans. However, each carrier has a slightly different approach and may be contacting employers to confirm plan information, so it can be reported accurately. Review Word & Brown’s original Rx Data Collection column for full background on the reports due to CMS annually here.

Employers turn to voluntary benefits to rein in health care costs

The 2023 Benefits Broker: Rising Healthcare Costs and Increasing Competition Set the Tone.

New benefits offerings focus on financial concerns. Sixty-four percent of brokers saw an increase in clients adding voluntary benefits, up from 58% in 2021. The top three most added benefits remained the same from 2022: accident insurance (71%), critical illness (68%), and hospital indemnity (39%). Employees and employers seem to be increasingly focused on income protection: respondents reported that interest in disability almost doubled (from 18% to 34%) and life insurance tripled (30% combined for group and whole life, up from 10%), while pet insurance (19%, down from 28%), ID theft (13%, down from 20%) and legal protection (11%, down from 20%) all saw declines as compared to the 2022 survey. Story continues here.

COMMISSION COACH

INFOTECH

Keep your emails out of the spam folder

If it seems as though your email inbox is getting bigger every day, you’re not mistaken.

The number of emails sent and received keeps increasing each year and is expected to reach 347.3 billion in 2023. That’s an increase of 4.3% from last year, according to Oberlo, an online shopping platform.

Email marketing can be effective, with every dollar spent on email generating an average return on investment of about $42, Campaign Monitor reports. But email also can be a source of frustration. The average businessperson receives 120 emails a day, and 55% of them are spam, Oberlo said. In addition, email can be a time suck. The average professional responds to only 25% of emails in their inbox. Story continues…

FEATURED EVENT:

LAAHU’S ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM is one of the largest in the state. attracting well over 500 attendees.

Professionals working in the Southern California health insurance sector have access to the best networking and educational opportunities.

Come to connect with others and gain knowledge from renowned speakers.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN :

LAAHU 2023 Annual Symposium –

Pasadena Convention Center. April 25, 7am to 5pm PST
Info: 800-676-1628. Register here.

PRICES GO UP $20.00 AFTER MARCH 31ST

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

2023 CAPITOL SUMMIT

May 8-10, 2023

CAHIP’s Capitol Summit is the leading event for health insurance agents, brokers, general agents, consultants, and Medicare specialists. This event brings health insurance professionals from all over the country to take part in educational sessions and collaboration, networking, and exposure to many exhibitors with cutting edge products and services. This event is the pinnacle of the hard work that the CAHIP Legislative Council does all year long to help our Legislature understand the needs of the health insurance professional community and our clients. We always have an exciting schedule packed with great speakers and vendor partners to enjoy over the two days culminating with visits to our legislators. Register here.

FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

CA Senator Susan Eggman (Senate Health Committee Chair)

Mike Madrid (Political Consultant)

INDUSTRY CALENDAR

March 23, Leadership & Development Monthly webinar www.nabip.org
March 28, 9:00am, Covered California for Small Business (CCSB), WEBINAR: New Blue Shield Plans, Join the Covered California for Small Business (CCSB) sales team as they discuss the launch of new Blue Shield plans effective 7/1/2023. Register for the Webinar:
March 31, 10:30 AM PST, White Wing Insurance National Meeting to announce a new partnership with UnBlinded Co-Founder Sean Callgay Learn more here: https://www.whitewinginsurance.com/unblinded Register here.
April 10, 9:30 am PST CAHIP Orange County 26th Annual Charity Golf Classic. Contact CAHIP-OC at (714) 441-8951, ext. 3 or at orangecountyahu@yahoo.com
April 19, LPRT Masterclass, www.nabip.org
April 25, LAAHU 2023 Annual Symposium, 25, 7am to 5pm PST,Pasadena Convention Center. April Info: 800-676-1628. Register here. here.

CONFERENCES

April 10-12, MedicareCon, Las Vegas,NV www.medicarecon.com
April 11-14, Virtual Fourth National Medicare Advantage Summit by Global Health Care, Virtual/Online Live Video; Media Partners: Harvard Health Policy Review, Health Affairs and Inside Health Policy. Contact: (800) 503-0078. Registration@hcconferences.com, Register
May 8-10, CAHIP Capitol Summit Sacramento. Registration is NOW OPEN. Register Here
May 18, CAHIP-Desert Cities Health Care Summit, Palm Valley Country Club Palm Desert, CA Register Here Commission Coach_2023
June 5-7, Q4LIVE, San Diego,CA www.q4live.q4intel.com