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The Blues hope this will clear up any confusion regarding the similarities between the Rate Renewal Certification and Medical Loss Ratio surveys.

Rate Renewal Certification (RRC) Surveys have begun to go out to groups renewing in December 2015 and January 2016. RRC surveys for groups renewing in February 2016 will be mailed beginning on April 17, 2015. Last year, these groups received their RRC Survey at approximately the same time as their Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Survey. Because the surveys ask for similar information, many groups assumed they were the same survey and only submitted one.

In an effort to alleviate the confusion this year, Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Michigan and Blue Care Network made the decision to send RRC surveys out earlier than usual for groups that renew in December, January, and February. These groups will receive the RRC surveys in April, and their MLR surveys in May.

The completed December RRCs must be submitted by June 10, 2015, January 2016 RRCs must be submitted by July 8, 2015, and February RRCs must be submitted by August 12, 2015. You can check the status of your groups’ RRC surveys under Renewal Status at www.actionbenefits.com. Action Benefits has not yet received a due date for the MLR survey, but they are expected to be mailed to groups at the beginning of May. As additional details become available, we will be sure to forward them on to our agent partners.

If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Action Benefits Rate Renewal Certification Team at 248-356-8585.

Action Benefits is an Authorized Managing Agent for Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Michigan and Blue Care Network. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

By Michelle Andrews
Jun 20, 2014

Here is a Question & Answer “Provided by Kaiser Health News.”

A Reader Asks: Can Our Plan Kick Off Our Daughter Because Her Job Offers Coverage?

Q. My 24-year-old daughter was covered under her father’s health insurance, which is a grandfathered plan. She started working and was offered coverage through her employer. My husband’s employer said she had to sign up for her employer’s insurance and could not stay on his policy. Is that true?

A. Not anymore. Under the health law, health plans that offer dependent coverage have to allow adult children to stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26 under most circumstances, even if the young adults are married or financially independent. The law initially allowed one major exception for grandfathered plans—those that were in existence before the health law passed in March 2010 and hadn’t changed substantially since then. Those plans could refuse to cover adult children if they had an offer of employer-based coverage elsewhere, such as through their own jobs. However, starting last January, that exception no longer applies. A 24-year-old such as your daughter should be able to remain on her father’s plan until she turns 26, even if her own job also offers health insurance.

The original provision, which went into effect six months after the law passed, was likely intended to ease the transition to new coverage rules for employer group plans, says Sara Collins, vice president at the Commonwealth Fund.

Attention FFM Agents: What You Need to Know for Plan Year 2015
Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released some important information for agents and brokers planning to sell on the federal exchange in 2015. As a reminder, in order to participate in the federally facilitated marketplace, agents and brokers must go through CMS training annually. The 2015 training will be released by CMS in July. CMS put together this helpful chart, click here, which highlights the upcoming important training dates and training requirements for each marketplace.

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