The Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA) has partnered with Companion Life to sponsor a comprehensive package of standard Group and Voluntary Life and Disability Products designed for the needs of all association members, from the smallest to the largest.

Key features the MBPA – MFBA Companion Program are:

Group Term Life

• Generous Guarantee Issue Options for all Size. Groups – Even One Subscriber Groups.
• No Ineligible SIC Codes.
• AD&D Coverage Included with Group Life Programs.
• Entry Level Rating provides stable rates and helps employers contain cost.
• Extensive Dependent Life programs.
• Accelerated Benefits for insured’s with terminal illness.

Voluntary Term Life

• Generous Voluntary Life Maximums and Guarantee Issue Limits.  Employees up $500,000 and Spouses up to $150,000.
• Dependent child benefits options from $2,500 to $10,000.
• Rates are based on Entry Level Age Bands. Enrollment Age Freeze.
• No Ineligible SIC Codes.
• Waiver of Premium if totally disabled.

Short Term Disability

• Available to all size Businesses – Even One Subscriber Groups.
• All business SIC codes are eligible for coverage.
• Rates are based on Entry Level Age Bands.  Enrollment Age Freeze.
• Wide selection of benefit percentages, waiting periods, benefits maximums and payment durations.
• Partial Disability Benefit available.

Voluntary Short Term Disability

• Includes $10,000 AD&D coverage at no additional cost.
• All business SIC codes are eligible for coverage.
• Rates are based on Entry Level Age Bands.  Enrollment Age Freeze.
• Eight different plans and 13 benefit levels to choose from.
• No Evidence of Insurability if employee is at work on the effective date of coverage.
• Voluntary Buy-up Plan can be combined with employer paid STD plan.

Long Term Disability

• Available to all size Businesses – Even One Subscriber Groups.
• All business SIC codes are eligible for coverage.
• Two Year Rate Guarantees.
• Wide selection of benefit payment maximums, elimination periods and benefit duration periods.
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Workplace Modification Benefits.

Our service team is ready to help you at 888-277-6464.

Come visit the MBPA team at MDAHU’s Benefit Expo on May 2nd.

Click here to register for the event!

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.
 

Under Sections 1311 and 1413 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must develop and provide each state with a single, streamlined enrollment application form. States also may elect to develop and use their own application, with approval by CMS.

On January 29, 2013, CMS published the draft online and paper applications for the Individual Marketplace and the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).

What is the Individual application process?
CMS is designing the online application to be a dynamic process that will tailor the required data to the applicant’s individual circumstances and responses to specific questions. As provided in previous rulemaking, individuals will be able to submit an application online, through the mail, over the phone or in person.

The goal is to solicit enough information during the application process so that in most cases no further inquiry will be needed. The Marketplace will begin taking applications for coverage when open enrollment begins on October 1, 2013.

How is the online application intended to work?
The online system will be designed to catch inadvertent errors instantly and verify most information immediately. It will also allow individuals to save information through a unique user account and access instant help resources.

The length of time it takes to complete the application will vary depending on whether a person is applying for Marketplace-only coverage or coverage in an Insurance Affordability Programs (e.g., Medicaid, CHIP and advance payment of the premium tax credit).

Do applicants have to apply online?
Individuals are encouraged to apply online, but there will also be a separate paper application. Applications can be submitted without all required information. The instructions indicate that an eligibility determination will be available within one to two weeks of submitting the application.

The application includes a reminder about the availability of financial assistance, highlighting that a family of four with an annual income of $92,000 may qualify for help.

What is the Employer Coverage Form?
An Employer Coverage Form is available to help applicants obtain necessary information about access to employer-sponsored coverage, which pertains to eligibility for Insurance Affordability Programs (Medicaid, CHIP and advance payment of the premium tax credit). This form can be taken to an employer, who will provide information about the employer-sponsored coverage (e.g., eligibility for coverage; minimum value standard; cost of lowest cost plan).

In addition to the information identified above, CMS plans to develop online help resources such as pop-ups and links to explanations. CMS believes these resources will help individuals successfully complete the online application. This information is expected to be developed in the next several weeks.

How does the SHOP application process differ from the Individual process?
While much of the information for the Individual application process aligns with the SHOP guidance, some things differ greatly, for example, for SHOP:

• Eligibility application does not contain questions about employee finances.

• Brokers cannot use the paper application, so employers who choose to use a broker will apply online.

• Employers are required to attest that they are offering coverage to all full-time employees and to submit an employee roster.

• Employers will receive a follow up notice on their eligibility within 3 to 4 weeks of submitting a paper application.

• The Employer Coverage Form does not apply at all for the SHOP.

Comments on these draft application materials are due February 28, 2013.

Where can I find more information?
You can view two YouTube videos – one for an individual and one for a family of three – demonstrating the online application experience. In addition, the draft online and paper applications for the Individual Health Insurance Marketplace and SHOP are available at:

• Individual Application for Eligibility and IAPs

• SHOP Employer Application

• SHOP Employee Application

You may have heard the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) previously referred to as the Exchange. The Health Insurance Marketplace is the official name adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and BCBSM/BCN. The Blues agree this is a more consumer-friendly term.