Effective October 1, 2012, Anthem will discontinue the Elements Hospital plan on employer's anniversary date. Anthem is discontinuing this product to new customers October 1st, and removing existing clients on the their anniversary date throughout the 12 months ending September 30, 2013.

 

For the employers on the Elements plan, Redwood Health Services is taking measures to assure a smooth transition to a similar Anthem product named Elements Hospital Plus. This product has a smaller deductible ($1,500) and Anthem covers physician office visits at 50%. Lab and X-rays are also covered at 50% but subject to the deductible.

 

RHS is developing the necessary educational documents to support the Elements Hospital Plus plan. The overall savings from the Elements Hospital Plus plan will be similar to your existing Basic Plus plan. 

 

Contact me with any questions about Elements Hospital Plus, Basic Plus, or our other products and services.

 

John Nacol, CPA, CEO

Redwood Health Services

The Internal Revenue Code Section 125 Premium Only Plan (POP) w/HSA Amendment saves employers and employees money by reducing payroll taxes. The Plan works by making one simple adjustment in the payroll process: Employees pay from their paychecks their portion of employer-sponsored insurance premiums and/or amounts to be redirected to a qualified tax-free health savings account (HSA) on a pre-tax basis rather than an after tax basis.

 

The Plan reduces the employer's taxable payroll by reducing their employees' taxable income. So both employer and employee pay less tax.

 

Benefit to Employee:

• Employees don't pay FICA, Federal, or where applicable, state or local taxes on money used to pay for their portion of employer-sponsored insurance premiums and/or HSAs.
• Employees' tax savings help to defray the cost of insurance premiums.
• Employees can increase their take home pay.
•  Benefit to Employer:
• The Plan reduces taxable payroll by the total amount of the premium and/or HSA redirection the employee contributes for the Plan. Lower taxable payroll means lower payroll taxes.
• Employer can increase employees' share of insurance premiums without negatively affecting their take-home pay.
• Depending on an employee's family income, paying for health insurance this way can save an individual approximately 25% or more of their total insurance premium. This benefit provides a tax savings and helps to defray the cost of insurance premiums.

 

Click here to view examples of savings and to calculate your own potential savings.

 

Contact Nancee Mertens, Director of HR/Benefits, at Redwood Health Services to find out who can sponsor a Section 125 (POP) Plan w/HSA Amendment and request the documents needed to establish the program.

At RHS, we strive to constantly improve the quality of our services. In 2011, RHS upgraded its claims processing system to an online system that allows for 24-hour employer and member access.

 

By logging onto our secure website, employers can view reports, and census information, as well as perform enrollment functions. Employees can access claims, view claims history, and print EOBs and temporary ID cards. Providers can check the status of claims payments.

 

Additionally, we are happy to announce that we are currently performing weekly claims check runs -- no longer every other week.

 

Expect continued improvements through the calendar year. As always, contact Sandy Sylvers 800-548-7677, Ext. 116, or ssylvers@rhs.org for whatever questions you might have.