Humana – Quoting Made Easier for 51+ Groups

Humana is rolling out a new quoting process available 7/1/18 for all underwritten new business with 10-99 enrolled, fully funded or level funded, requesting effective dates of 9/1/18 or later. With this new Quoting Process, Humana intends to shorten the time it takes to obtain an underwritten quote by eliminating the requirement of a base quote and reducing the documentation needed.   For groups enrolling 10 or more lives, Humana has eliminated the need for employee applications, the current carrier bill, the Risk Assessment Form and the current carrier claim report. This quoting method is available for groups with total of 51+ employees and: Has less than 100 eligible employees Enrolling 10-99 employees Groups enrolling less than 10 employees will still need to provide employee applications space space Information required to obtain quote: Agent Name and contact information Legal Name of Group Full Address and phone number SIC code Total number of employees on wage and tax/Number of eligible employees/Number enrolled Total average number of employees including full time, part time, union and seasonal employees on average in the prior year. Number of different prior group [...]

2018-10-30T14:20:08-05:00Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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New, Revised Group Quote Request Form for All Products

MIBS Has Released a New Group Quote Request Form   To simplify your request to quote group benefits through MIBS, we have revised our paper group quote request  form to allow agents to use one form for all group health products including, small group and non-regulated small group (51+), medical, dental, life, disability and vision. Important!   If you are requesting quotes for medical and any ancillary product, use this new paper quote request form. Currently, the electronic quote request form on our website only allows quotes for medical and will automatically ask for the appropriate information for the market segment based on the employee counts entered. This new paper quote form is fillable, with drop down menus to easily select the options you want and color coding to highlight those data fields that need to be completed for specific products.   The form also has a tab at the bottom with instructions on how to fill the form out. This form was created in Excel so there are three tabs on the bottom: Group Information Tab Group Census Tab Directions for Use Tab Group Information Tab space space [...]

2018-10-30T14:19:32-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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National General Insurance Update June 2018

Recently, National General Insurance representatives visited MIBS and offered some interesting ideas to consider for your potential groups.  In case you are not aware, National General Insurance offers Level Funded health plans for group benefits.  These plans are made up of three components which are seen in the quote: Administrative fees Claim Fund Account (estimated total of annual claims divided by twelve and included in monthly premium) Stop Loss plan (In the event total claims go over the stop loss amount, this plan starts paying the medical claims) These plans are medically underwritten and not guaranteed to issue so only eligible groups should be considered for these plans.   But for those groups who are eligible for level funded plans, they could benefit from low premiums and the potential to receive premium back if there is a balance in their claim fund account at the end of the plan year.   Once the plan is in place, the employer will only be required to pay their set monthly premium regardless of claims.   They will never owe more than that monthly premium.   In the worse case scenario where the group experiences high [...]

2018-10-30T14:18:19-05:00Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, MIBS Updates, Patty's Perspective|
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Dearborn National Group Benefits with BCBS IL

Dearborn National Group Benefits   Recently, Dearborn National held a seminar here at MIBS and discussed not only their products but also how employers and members can best use them.   Although Dental and Vision are easy to use, Term Life and Disability may be unfamiliar to your employer and employee.  How life insurance and disability insurance works with employees who may not be actively working was new information for me and I felt this was important for agents to know.  I have included this topic toward the end of this blog. Dearborn National is the ancillary carrier partnered with BCBS IL but their products can also be sold stand-alone without medical benefits.  Their products include: Life Insurance Short Term Disability Long Term Disability Vision Critical Illness Accident Contracted agents have access to the Producers Corner on the Dearborn National website where you can see your business and much more. Benefits that might be unique with Dearborn Life include: Dearborn Cares:  provides an advance payment of the life insurance benefit to help beneficiaries cover their immediate expenses without a death certificate.   The remaining balance will be paid after the [...]

2018-10-30T14:17:33-05:00Ancillary, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Streamline your BCBS IL group enrollment with DocuSign

BCBS IL and DocuSign   Imagine a world where all you need is your portable electronic device and you can complete the enrollment paperwork for a business to apply for a BCBS IL small group health plan.     Recently, BCBS IL presented the DocuSign enrollment tool to the staff at MIBS.   We were all impressed and played at being agents, sending out enrollment paperwork and filling it out too.  I was excited to see how easy and fast it actually was.   Each step of the process is designed to save time, increase accuracy of entered data and provide legible electronically signed documents to the group, the agent, and your MIBS CSR without printing forms, hand writing information, scanning or faxing. Ok, I know some of you will jump on this like, “Patty, tell me how!”   And there are those of my friends who will groan and sigh and say, “I can’t do that technology thing.”   Well, it really is not that hard. In an effort to make this as easy as possible, MIBS created a guide with step by step instructions on how to use Docusign.   You [...]

2018-10-30T14:14:32-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Medical, Patty's Perspective, Uncategorized|
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Don’t Forget About Humana for Group Benefits

Although BCBS IL still has the market share of business in Illinois, don’t forget to consider Humana as well.  This blog will discuss where Humana might fit your group’s specific needs. Recently, Humana came to MIBS to present Humana for 2018.   Key points that were covered include: Humana Dental and Vision still strong in today’s market (Check out the Humana Bundling Bonus at the end of the Dental Vision section) Humana’s Level Funded Product is strong and competitive (Check out the Humana Level Funded Premium Bonus at the end the Level Funded section) Humana’s CCN HMO network provides a workable solution to contain premium costs space space Humana Dental Next to medical costs, dental expenses can create a serious strain on an employee’s budget.   Groups offering dental not only assist the employee financially, but also increase the health of that employee as regular dental exams screen for many medical conditions increasing chances of early detection. Eligibility for Humana Dental Groups with 2-100 enrolled are eligible for dental coverage. Humana does not enforce contribution requirements for dental plans Participation requirements for employer sponsored is 50% participation after [...]

2018-10-30T14:14:04-05:00Ancillary, Marketing & Sales Ideas, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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BCBSIL Required Individual Under 65 SEP Training

Do Not Lose Commission Opportunities for New 2018 Individual Business.  Complete SEP Training now! BCBS IL will pay commissions on new individual under 65 policies submitted during the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) if agents complete their 2018 SEP training by Feb. 15, 2018. Writing producers/subproducers selling any policy as a result of an SEP must complete BCBSIL-sponsored annual SEP training and affirm completion no later than Feb. 15, 2018 Below is the link to the SEP Training which will have instructions at the end on how to affirm completion which is found on Blue Access for Producers. Click here for BCBSIL 2018 SEP Training 2018 SEP Training is available until Feb. 15, 2018 and must be completed by this date. For currently contracted agents, once you have completed the training, log into Blue Access for Producers under your writing agent producer number (not the Agency producer number), and click on the Producers Services tab (shown with red underline). The screen below will appear. Click on the SEP Training Affirmation link (shown with red underline) and click submit.   You will receive a confirmation number when [...]

2018-10-30T14:10:47-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Group Health Insurance for 2018

Here is What is New for Group Health in 2018 With a large percentage of health groups renewing 1/1/2018, I thought it would be good to talk about Group Health Insurance for 2018.   With a little preparation, agents can assist their current group health accounts as well as place new group business during this upcoming busy season. Group Health Goals Assist current group health plans to make plan changes to stay with BCBS IL for a 1/1/2018 effective date. Place new BCBS IL group health business Find those businesses who wish to place group health during the Group Open Enrollment Period 2018 Group Changes BCBS discontinued all 2017 group plans and now offers different 2018 plans.  Groups renewing in 2018 will notice these plan changes in their renewal.  You can click on the links below to see the 2018 product charts. Click Here for the 2018 (1-50) Product Overview Click here for the 2018 (51-150) Product Overview If your group has had plan changes for their 1/1/2018 renewal, remember that the group is required to provide the SBCs for any [...]

2018-10-30T14:10:07-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Medicare for 2019

Baby boomers will continue to become eligible for Medicare in 2019 making Medicare products a great product to sell. Although MIBS only works with BCBS IL for Medicare products, selling them provides decent commissions and excellent retention. BCBS IL’s Medicare Products are available to Medicare A & B enrolled clients and include: Medicare Supplement Plans - guaranteed to issue and no certification required Part D Prescription Plans - requires annual certification MAPD Plan (Medicare Advantage) - requires annual certification MACRA Confusion? In April 2015, the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) was signed into law. There has been confusion around what this means for Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans F and C. Some Medicare beneficiaries currently covered with Plan F or C are concerned that these plans will no longer be available after 2020.  Here is the scoop: Medicare Beneficiaries who currently have a Plan F or Plan C policy will be able to continue to keep and/or renew their plans even after Jan. 1, 2020. In a sense, they are grandfathered and are able to keep their plans as long as they continue to pay [...]

2019-05-23T01:35:37-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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Travel with Confidence with GeoBlue

GeoBlue Travel Insurance is Now Available MIBS agents can now offer GeoBlue International Medical Coverage to your clients traveling outside of the U.S. With GeoBlue, expatriates, business and leisure travelers can trust that care is available to them no matter the town, country or time zone.  Through an elite network of providers, innovative mobile and online tools, and a high touch approach to customer service, GeoBlue provides peace of mind to members anywhere in the world. Why do you need GeoBlue? The U.S. is one of the few countries that does not require payment before receiving medical care. Travelers needing medical care outside of the US could be subject to Full cost of medical care which is required to be paid prior to service Full cost of emergency medical transportation Insurance coverage from US has very limited coverage out of the country. Repatriation – In the event of death in a foreign country Difficulty getting through the red tape of moving the body back home Customs negotiations Costs associated with transportation of the body In the event of illness or accident, dealing with language barriers and procedures Difficulty [...]

2018-10-30T14:05:07-05:00Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Medical, Patty's Perspective|
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