Direct Billing Archives - Page 2 of 2

Brett Flanagan joins NueSynergy as Western Regional Director

by daziumdesign@gmail.com | Sep 10, 2018

Given the growth and geographical expansion of NueSynergy, the company has created a Western Regional Director position that will be held by Brett Flanagan. Based in Phoenix, AZ, Brett will be responsible for retaining existing clients and developing new partners within the region.

Brett Flanagan is a respected expert with over 20 years experience in the benefits administration space. Always driven to succeed, Brett expanded his previous employer from a regional to national player – largely thanks to his tremendous understanding of employee benefits.

“This is an exciting time for NueSynergy and Brett is a great fit for this position. I’m confident his experience, along with the relationships he’s developed over the past two decades, will help grow our client base and drive our company goals. We are delighted to have him on board,”” said Josh Collins, president of NueSynergy.

Since 1996, NueSynergy has been an innovative leader in providing full-service administration of consumer-driven and traditional account-based plans. The company has grown into one of the largest benefit account administrators providing Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA); in addition to COBRA, Direct Premiums Billing and Consolidated Billing services to employers of all sizes and sectors including state and local governments as well as private and publicly traded companies.

With the addition of Brett, NueSynergy will be able to offer the following administrative services to the Western United States:

– Flexible Spending Arrangements
– Health Savings Accounts
– Health Reimbursement Arrangements
– COBRA
– Direct Bill
– Consolidated Billing

NueSynergy will also bring into the region its in-house expertise and integrated technology to help employers maximize operational efficiencies and control rising health care costs. The company’s commitment to outstanding client service ensures employees have the tools and resources to manage the financial aspect of their health care. With over 4 million benefits accounts administered on the company’s platform, NueSynergy’s investment in industry leading technology ensures that clients will always have secure and convenient access to their benefits account.

NueSynergy’s core purpose is helping people protect their quality of life and it is driven by a desire to provide superior customer service, while performing ethically and professionally. With the ever changing regulatory landscape, the company’s core purpose has continued to evolve as focusing on helping customers truly understand the value of their benefits account, while striving for even greater industry and product expertise.

ICYMI: NueSynergy announces partnership with Employee Navigator

by daziumdesign@gmail.com | Mar 27, 2018

As an innovative leader for over two decades in providing full-service administration of consumer-driven and traditional account-based plans, we’re always looking for new ways at NueSynergy to raise the bar in benefit value and overall experience for our clients and employer partners.

As part of these efforts, we’ve recently partnered with Employee Navigator, one of the fastest growing SaaS-based benefits and HR platforms in the United States.

Through this partnership, we will streamline the process of providing clients an array of capabilities ranging from consolidated billing services to traditional benefits administration and online enrollment. Employee Navigator is the preferred software provider for more than 18,000 companies and 2 million employees nationwide.

Below you will find a list of our products currently integrated with Employee Navigator and how they can benefit you and your company:

FSA, HRA, HSA ACCOUNTS

– Single system of record for all tax favored accounts
– Carrier integration for enhanced claim filing and substantiation
– Smart, intuitive debit card takes the effort out of managing funds
– True mobile app with AI feature
– Educational campaigns helping employees get the most of their benefits
– Dedicated account manager for each group

COBRA
– Custom Qualifying Event notice sent to employees, spouses and dependents informing them of ability to elect
– COBRA continuation of coverage
– Dedicated COBRA account manager
– COBRA premium payment management
– COBRA audit support

DIRECT BILL
– Invoice, collect and simplify paperwork associated with Leave of Absence (LOA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Retiree Billing and other billing needs
– Flexible, non-COBRA employer-directed premium billing and collection processing
– Improved employer cash flow through increased accuracy, timely billing and access to back-up documentation

CONSOLIDATED BILLING
– Receive initial and ongoing group enrollment information via Employee Navigator
– Pull monthly statements from each carrier once authorized by employer
– Audit carrier bills against our system of record for accuracy
– Single bill for all carriers with detailed report on enrollees, elections and premium amounts
– Remit payment in the amount due to each carrier
– Initiate one ACH debit for total amount due to all carriers

Employer Mandate Penalties Increase for 2016

by daziumdesign@gmail.com | Nov 6, 2016

As most employers know by now, companies with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees are required to offer affordable health coverage that provides minimum value to their full-time employees starting in 2015 or face a significant penalty. Those that don’t offer coverage to at least 95% of their full-timers pay an “across-the-board” penalty of $2,000 per full-time employee with the first 30 excluded. Those that do offer coverage pay a $3,000 on each full-time employee that actually receives a tax credit.

What employers may not know, though, is that the penalty amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. In 2016, the across-the-board penalty increases from $2,000 to $2,160 per year while the per-employee penalty increases from $3,000 to $3,240.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has created a great flowchart to illustrate how the penalties work.

A Self-Funded Option for Unhealthy Small Employers

by daziumdesign@gmail.com | Nov 6, 2016

Are you a broker who’s been recommending self-insured, level-funded plans to your small group clients? If so, you’re not alone – more and more small employers, in an effort to keep premiums under control, are bailing on the small group market and taking advantage of one of the many self-funded options being offered to companies with as few as two employees. In the past, most brokers wouldn’t have even considered self-insuring a company with fewer than a hundred workers, and many would have set the cutoff point even higher. So why now?

The short answer is that the Affordable Care Act changed all of the rules. Younger, healthier small groups, which historically have been rewarded with below-average premiums for their relatively low claims risk, can expect their costs to go up under the new modified adjusted community rating rules. The community rating guidelines do not permit medical underwriting in the small group market, so healthier companies are being forced to pay more in order to offset the costs of older, sicker groups. It’s not fair, but it is reality.

Self-funded plans offer a great alternative: healthy companies are able to dodge the new rules and might even get a refund if they have a good year. Still, not everyone is sold on self-funding, and some companies won’t actually benefit.

For instance, a company with 25 employees might have one worker with a serious medical condition. Under a partially self-funded arrangement, the employer would cover a portion of the cost for that employee, up to a stop-loss amount, at which point the reinsurance would kick in and cover the remaining amount. Unfortunately, the expected claims costs for this employee will be reflected in the rates, so the company will pay a higher monthly amount if it’s not declined altogether.

There is another option, though. The employer can purchase a fully-insured plan in the small group market, where it won’t pay more for the sick worker, and “self-insure” a portion of the out-of-pocket costs with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). Sure, the employer will incur some predictable HRA claims on that one employee, but if the rest of the company’s employees have a good year the employer could still come out ahead. Perhaps it will help if we put some numbers to it. We’ll keep the math easy.

Assume the company has these two options: stick with its existing $3,000 deductible HSA-qualified plan or purchase a higher-deductible plan and use a portion of the premium savings to lower the exposure for the employees.

This is an actual quote, and it’s a great example of one where the math just works. Let’s assume the employer is paying 100% of the premium. That means the company will save $146 per employee per month, or $1,752 per year. Multiply that by 25 employees, and the company would save $43,800 per year by moving to the $6,000 deductible plan.

One option would be to sink the premium savings into the employees’ HSAs. Sure, the employees would have more exposure than with the lower-deductible plan, but they’d also have some money for first-dollar coverage, which isn’t a bad trade-off. Unfortunately, the employer wouldn’t save any money with this option.

Another approach, though, would be to use the premium savings to pay for a Health Reimbursement Arrangement. The employer could reimburse claims between $3,000 and $6,000, making the plan “feel” to the employees like a $3,000 deductible plan. It would still be HSA-compatible, and since the employer is covering 100% of the premiums, the employees could certainly contribute some of their own funds to a Health Savings Account.

The administrative cost for this plan would be approximately $2,500, leaving the employer more than $40,000 to pay HRA claims. We already know that the one sick employee will use the full $3,000, but if the other 24 employees have a relatively good year, the employer can save quite a bit of money, but let’s not assume the best-case scenario. Instead, suppose that five of the 24 employees end up hitting the full $6,000 deductible, which is unlikely because that would total almost 25% of the group. Even so, the employer would end up paying $2,500 in administrative costs and $18,000 in claims for a total of $20,500. The net savings to the employer is $23,300, and that’s with a sick employee that would have killed the self-funding option. Clearly, this is a strategy worth considering.

One final thought: This is not necessarily the way we at NueSynergy would have designed the HRA (we would have been a little more creative), but this example does illustrate that there’s still a place for HRAs in a community rating environment. By self-funding a portion of the deductible, a company can reduce its fixed monthly premium while maintaining a great health plan for the employees.

If you have a client you’d like to consider an HRA for, we’ll work with you to structure it in a way that will minimize employer risk while maximizing employee satisfaction. Contact us today and let’s take a look at one of your toughest clients.

What happens to your HSA after employment ends?

by daziumdesign@gmail.com | Oct 26, 2016

This article provides an overview of the impact to your Health Savings Account “HSA” upon termination of employment. It is not a comprehensive reference and should be reviewed in conjunction with your employer’s benefit materials and plan documents. In the event of any conflict between the official benefit plan documents, benefit contracts, and this document, official information will govern. Benefit terms and conditions are subject to change.

Since your HSA is owned by you and not your employer, your HSA remains available to you even after termination. This means that you can continue to use your HSA for qualified expenses even after your termination. Your ability to continue contributing to your HSA will be dependent on whether you choose to enroll in an HSA qualified health insurance plan either through your new employer or through an individual policy.

Termination of Employment

Upon termination of employment your HSA will be separated from your employer’s sponsored HSA plan. This will require you to create a new online username and password.
All future salary redirections will end.
Future contributions can be made to your HSA outside of payroll by selecting the “Fund My HSA” option which allows you to transfer funds from your personal bank account into the HSA. These contributions are also tax deductible.
Any admin fees previously covered by your employer will be withdrawn directly from your HSA the 1st of each month.
Your current NueSynergy HSA debit card will be turned off and a new one will automatically be issued to you at the physical address associated with your account.
Please be sure to update the contact information associated with your account. Often times during open enrollment work email and phone are provided as a preferred method of contact.
The account and routing number associated with your HSA will remain the same. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your NueSynergy support team at 855-890-7239.

Next Entries »

Brett Flanagan joins NueSynergy as Western Regional Director

ICYMI: NueSynergy announces partnership with Employee Navigator

Employer Mandate Penalties Increase for 2016

A Self-Funded Option for Unhealthy Small Employers

What happens to your HSA after employment ends?

Understanding IRS Rules: The Importance of Substantiating Health FSA and DCAP Claims