CMS Publishes Proposed Registration Process for Exchange Agents and Brokers

 

The Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA) want to keep you up to date as new information pertaining to the federal healthcare law is released that affect the agent community. You can count on us for dependable and accurate information.

 

In hopes of registering agents and brokers on the federal exchange around July 1st, 2013 the managers of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act want to promote the agents by publishing lists of individual exchange producers starting in August of this year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the proposed registration procedures for Agents and Brokers to represent and sell qualified health plans on the Individual and Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Federal-Facilitated Exchanges.

 

The proposed registration process includes Agent-Broker personal identifying and contact information and, professional producer licensing information. CMS has also proposed a training curriculum comprised of four modules: ACA Basics, Individual Market, SHOP Market and Access and Navigating the Web Based Individual and SHOP Exchanges. The training program could take 1-3 hours to complete through an online training course, and would include modules on topics such as allowable premium variations, eligibility and enrollment, eligibility for Medicaid and privacy provisions.

 

These new procedural guidelines are open for comment, and are posted for review in the Paperwork Reduction Act* area of the CMS website. Please contact our MBPA offices with any questions, by phone: 586-393-8800 or email: BBochniak@michbusiness.org

 

*For additional information regarding the exchange producer registration process go to the CMS Website under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 area, subject Agent/Broker Data Collection Federal Exchanges.

Colonial Life’s new Group Accident Insurance is now available, which completes our comprehensive portfolio of group and individual voluntary benefit plans. Composite rates and a two-year rate guarantee are just a few highlights of this guaranteed-issue product, which offers four Health Savings Account-compliant plan options. Group Accident also features additional employer-optional benefits that can further expand coverage for employees:

 

• Hospital Confinement Due to Covered Sickness pays additional benefits if a covered sickness results in a hospital stay.
• Health Screening benefit pays one of three employer-selected benefit amounts if an insured has a covered screening test.

 

With this simple, affordable coverage solution, you can give your clients the options they need to offer a strong benefits package with out the cost of providing one. Learn more about our newest product by checking out the Group Accident flier. Talk to your local benefits representative Evette Kendzierski 586-243-6100 today about adding it to your clients’ benefit packages. Let’s set up an appointment to review in greater detail how these innovative benefit solutions can help you, your clients and their employees.  
 

To help member businesses reduce their costs, the Associations are providing complimentary services such as Section 125 Plans and Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD) documents to all dues paying members in good standing.

 

The adoption agreements are now compliant documents reflecting ALL the Health Care Reform Law changes as of January 2013. These documents are FREE to our members. The cost to non-members is $50 each.

 

New Summary of Benefits Coverage (SBC) Option:

• Simply send us your clients SBC and MBPA-MFBA will make a combined SPD/SBC customized document.  This service is available to all Association Members who have BCBSM insurance through MBPA or MFBA.  
• MBPA-MFBA will create a combined document in its original DOL mandated form with no alterations, as permitted pursuant to the DOL final regulations.
• MBPA –MFBA will issue this combined document with a letter containing clear disclaimers about differences in distribution requirements for SBC’s and SPD’s, consulting their own legal counsel, etc…

 

NEW Material Modification Sheet Available:

• Now Available for Summary Plan Description by request. Please contact the Membership Service Team at 888-277-6464 or info@michbusiness.org

 

What’s Different about MBPA-MFBA’s Summary Plan Descriptions?
The Employer Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) guidelines make it mandatory for all businesses with 2 or more employees to provide employees with a Summary Plan Description. We continue to take a leading role in informing and helping our members meet their obligations under ERISA.

 

Types of benefits covered by Summary Plan Descriptions include: Medical, Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life/AD&D and freestanding Dental/Vision.

 

The MBPA-MFBA SPD is a comprehensive document that satisfies the all Department of Labor (DOL) requirements for SPDs.

• The MBPA-MFBA SPD can be tailored to cover all of an employer’s employee benefit plans, and is not limited to only insured medical or medical/vision bundled programs.
• The MBPA-MFBA is essentially a “wrap plan SPD” under which an employer can combine all of its benefits into one plan and one plan document for ease of administration and for purposes of DOL reporting requirements (e.g. Form 5500s) for those employers subject to such reporting.
• The MBPA-MFBA SPD can be used for both insured and self-insured benefits.

 

Section 125 Document:
The Section 125 Plan has a separate adoption agreement from the Benefits Wrap SPD adoption agreement. The Benefits SPD adoption agreement is one compliant document rather than creating 5 different forms for different types of plans.

 

For Section 125s: 1) Download the adoption agreement from our Agent Pavilion; 2) complete it IN WORD FORMAT and return it to us at info@michbusiness.org with your complete contact information, 3) we will complete the materials and return them to you within two working days.

 

NOW, Two Easy Ways to Get Your Client’s SPD for Active Members:

 

1.  Let Us Do It For You:

• Access an SPD adoption agreement from our Agent Pavilion
• Complete it and e-mail it back to us IN WORD FORMAT at info@michbusiness.org, being sure to provide your complete contact information
• We complete and return the documents within two working days.

 

2.  Create Your Own On-Line (NEW):

• Go to our Agent Pavilion and click on Summary Plan Description on the main menu.
• Follow the instructions to create your client’s plan…..you can save it in your client’s ‘library’ for their/your future use.

 

We look forward to continuing to provide you and your clients with the most up to date and easily accessible services in this important area.

 

If you have questions or are in need of assistance, please contact our Member Services Team at 1-888-277-6464 or 1-586-393-8800.