Eligible individuals with self-only coverage under a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) may contribute an annual maximum of $3,000 to their Health Savings Account (HSA) for 2009. Eligible individuals with family coverage (coverage for two or more individuals) under a HDHP may contribute up to $5,950 to their HSA. Individuals age 55 or older who are not enrolled in Medicare may contribute more to the account per year. In 2009, an additional $1,000 contribution will be allowed. In 2008, the catch-up contribution was $900.
To be considered qualified for an HSA, the HDHP must meet certain IRS regulations. For 2009, to qualify as a HDHP:
The minimum deductible amount must be $1,150 for self-only coverage and $2,300 for family coverage; increased from 2008 requirements.
The out-of-pocket maximum must be no higher than $5,800 for individual or $11,600 for family coverage; increased from 2008 requirements.
The HDHP must be set up with a combined medical/pharmacy deductible. This deductible must apply to the out-of-pocket maximum; no change from 2008 requirements.
All medical and pharmacy services must be subject to deductible and out-of-pocket maximum except for preventive services.
Contact Grouphealthflorida.com for accurate current Health Savings Account information 1-800-873-5713 Ext 101 .
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( 3 / 49 )As we struggle to contain costs we should also accept that using the best technology in more efficient ways can save money and lives. Ask your physician to refer you to a cardiologist that utilizes the GE 64 slice Coronary CT Scan .
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... ine-bottom
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( 3 / 53 )http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf
Some individuals in early 2008 recieved 1099 distribution documents from HSA credit card vendors for qualified medical expense distributions in 2007. The intent of these 1099s is to determine whether the distributions were qualified or non-qualified . Although we feel this is duplicity we do not practice law or accounting , please call your CPA or Tax Attorney for advice .
We also would like to refer you to the attached Publication 969 . Please call us anytime at Grouphealthflorida.com if you would like to discuss this item.
We also highly recomend Jorge Valiente CPA at (813) 254-1040 .
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( 2.9 / 36 )www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/faq_basics.shtml
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( 2.9 / 31 )Did you know?
50-70% of all diseases are associated with modifiable health risks and are therefore preventable.
Better diet and exercise could reduce cancer rates 30-40% or by 300 million cases worldwide.
Obesity affects 59 million Americans, 31% of all adults and 15% of children.
The cost of obesity to U.S. businesses-for health care, sick leave, and life and disability insurance-is estimated at $12.7 billion.
At Grouphealthflorida.com , we are committed to helping you and your employees improve your total health and well-being. That is why we are so pleased to to introduce Grouphealthflorida.com Wellness from Ceridian - a free and comprehensive service which implements your carriers wellness programs on-site and online.
Please contact us at (800) 873-5713 to set up a wellness planning and implementation meeting.
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( 3 / 35 )Grouphealthflorida.com is pleased to introduce BankAtlantic as our Health Savings Account HSA prefered partner . BankAtlantic is open 7 days a week and offers HSA in the bank . Grouphealthflorida.com offers the Qualified High Deductible Health Plans HDP that are required to deduct the HSA contribution .
For more information about the BankAtlantic program call ,
Juan Godina
Health Savings Account
Treasury Management- Implementation
BankAtlantic- Corporate Center
2100 W. Cypress Creek Road
Fort Lauderdale, Fl., 33309
954.940.5223 (Office)
954.940.5280 (Facsimile)
BankAtlantic.com
jgodina@bankatlantic.com
“Yeah, We’re Open!“
Treasury Management Customer Service Department 1-800-220-5712 (available Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:30 pm)
https://www.hsaservicecenter.com/hsasc/default.aspx?Orgnbr=33176
www.grouphealthflorida.com
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( 2.7 / 37 )Monday, May 5, 2008 - 1:46 PM EDT
Wal-Mart expands prescription program
South Florida Business Journal
Wal-Mart Stores said its Neighborhood Market and Sam's Clubs will now fill prescriptions for up to 350 generic medications at $10 for a 90-day supply at their pharmacies.
It's an expansion of a discount program Wal-Mart began in Tampa in September in which the company offered 30-day supplies of certain generic drugs for $4. Wal-Mart later implemented the program in 49 states.
Wal-Mart also is adding some medications to the program. Alendronate, a generic version of Fosamax, used to treat osteoporosis, will be sold for $9 for a 30-day supply or $24 for a 90-day supply. Medications to treat breast cancer, menopause and hormone deficiency were added to the $9 list of women's medications.
Additionally, Wal-Mart Stores and Neighborhood Markets are beginning a new program of selling more than 1,000 over-the-counter items priced at $4 or less without a prescription, the release said.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) said the discount prescription program has saved customers $1.16 billion since its inception, including $81.4 million for Florida customers.
www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=546834
www.grouphealthflorida.com
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( 3 / 31 )SUMMARY AS OF:
4/25/2007--Passed House amended.
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 - Title I: Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance - (Sec. 101) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of genetic information.
Prohibits a group health plan from requesting or requiring an individual or family member of an individual from undergoing a genetic test. Provides that such prohibition does not: (1) limit the authority of a health care professional to request an individual to undergo a genetic test; or (2) preclude a group health plan from obtaining or using the results of a genetic test in making a determination regarding payment. Requires the plan to request only the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the intended purpose.
Allows a group health plan to request, but not require, a participant or beneficiary to undergo a genetic test for research purposes if certain requirements are met, including: (1) the plan clearly indicates that compliance is voluntary and that noncompliance will have no effect on enrollment status or premium or contribution amounts; (2) no genetic information collected or acquired is used for underwriting purposes; and (3) the plan notifies the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it is conducting activities pursuant to this exception and includes a description of the activities.
Prohibits a group health plan from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information: (1) for underwriting purposes; or (2) with respect to any individual prior to such individual's enrollment in connection with such enrollment (provides that incidentally obtains such information is not a violation).
Applies such prohibitions to all group health plans, including small group health plans.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z ... mm2=m&
www.grouphealthflorida.com
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( 3 / 30 )Share your ideas about health care, Florida!
What's important to you about health care?
How has having - or not having - health care coverage affected you?
What should we change to help you and your family,
or your business and employees?
www.thepowerofthehumanvoice.com/#
www.grouphealthflorida.com
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( 3.1 / 36 )Medication therapy management seen as promising path to Rx efficacy, savings
by Bruce Shutan
Critics of the U.S. health care system have long lamented the clinical disconnect among hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, health plans and patients, especially when it comes to treating those who are most in need of prescription drugs for chronic conditions.
But Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI), a leading pharmacy benefit manager with a network of more than 62,000 retail and mail-order pharmacies, is leading the way toward more efficacious Rx treatment programs that ultimately will result in improved pharmaceutical care and savings in both Medicare Part D and commercially insured populations.
About three years prior to the 2006 enactment of the Medicare Part D program, WHI recognized that a sea change was expected in the PBM industry and used this as an opportunity to develop clinical and technology benchmarks for medication therapy management (MTM). Medicare would use these programs to target seniors with multiple diseases on several maintenance medications who spent at least $4,000 a year on prescription drugs.
Targeting polypharmacy patients
Jim Langman, WHI's vice president, clinical services, says geriatric populations comprise the lion's share of so-called polypharmacy patients, who run the risk of developing adverse reactions and health events associated with taking multiple medications.
Complicating matters is that many of these patients have about half a dozen doctors and get their prescriptions filled at multiple pharmacies. These clinicians often may have an incomplete view of their medical history because e-prescribing and electronic medical records are not widely used. Moreover, sometimes patients don't remember or wish to share all of their information with every doctor.
MTM provides added safety and quality measures across all markets, particularly the small groups of high-utilizing claimants who are typically the sickest patients. A significant team of clinicians and scientists at WHI teamed up to overcome this hurdle. "We needed a holistic view of each patient, but once we had it, the challenge was how to take care of all those patients" Langman says.
In search of lasting solutions to these patient-management difficulties, WHI developed patented technologies: a merged claims database and analytic engine that brings together medical and pharmacy claims, regardless of which provider is the source of that information. The claim-merging process includes assessment of the therapeutic treatment prescribed for individuals instead of only using demographic factors, which historically contain the most errors.
The integrated data is then analyzed by a proprietary utilization management system that features more than 100,000 rule sets on pharmacy data and nearly 2,500 additional rules available to govern over medical claims. The analysis encompasses disease states, drug interactions, treatment guidelines and other factors that can affect care.
On average, polypharmacy patients, who account for roughly 4% of the population, are responsible for about 30% of total drug spend and receive more than 100 prescriptions a year. WHI's model for coordinating the care of these complex patients is to leverage technology and highly trained MTM pharmacists to deliver a personal medication record and medication action plan directly to patients and their personal pharmacists. To ensure the remaining non-MTM patients are receiving optimal care, WHI provides a second service, MedMonitor®, to keep close tabs on the other 96% of the population. MedMonitor® is an enhanced capability beyond traditional retrospective drug utilization review tools.
WHI also offers extensive support and resource materials to facilitate MTM-related interactions with pharmacists, prescribers and patients. These steps include a comprehensive implementation manual for the pharmacists in more than 15,000 pharmacies participating in WHI's MTM network.
Pharmacists and technicians can also access the Walgreens continuing education Web site, which is available free of charge and includes the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists' geriatric-patient series.
2.5:1 ROI
The multi-pronged effort has yielded an impressive return on investment (ROI), despite its relative newness to the marketplace. A year ago, WHI published results for 2006 in peer-reviewed literature demonstrating more than $600 a year in pure pharmacy dollar drug savings for polypharmacy patients, with a 2.5:1 ROI in the program's first year.
"We want this service to be done in community pharmacies, not just Walgreens or by a clinical call center, but all pharmacies where personal, point-of-care service is provided directly to patients," Langman explains.
www.grouphealthflorida.com
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