Group Benefit Updates

BCBS of South Carolina

• Fitness Benefits for Medicare Supplement Members
  • Access to no-cost fitness center memberships and home fitness programs through our Silver&Fit^® program. Click Here.

• Machine Readable File Link and Information:
  • Please click here to learn more. The machine readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data.

BlueChoice HealthPlan

• Machine-Readable File Link and Information
  • Please click here to get the machine-readable files that are made available on BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina’s website. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to access and analyze data more easily.

• Small Group Members Always Have Access to Care
  • Click here for more information.

Allsavers

Click here to view this carrier’s COVID-19 website

Allstate

Click here to view this carrier’s COVID-19 website

Cigna+Oscar (TN & GA)

• $3 Prescriptions
  • Did you that Cigna + Oscar members pay the cost of their prescription OR the copay, whichever is less? In addition, there are almost 300 covered drugs at just a $3 copay. Click here for the list!

• See All of Your Stuff in One Place
  • Did you know that members have access to their benefits, ID card and dedicated care team in just a few clicks? Click here to share information with your groups on how to download their app and create an online account.

• Tennessee:
  • Cigna + Oscar added Sumner Regional Hospital and Synergy Healthcare into their LocalPlus Network effective 5/1. Check out their updated TN LocalPlus Nashville hospital listing here.
  • Effective 7/1, they are expanding LocalPlus nationally to both in and out of area employees who live and work in one of the LocalPlus service areas across the US will be able to enroll in Cigna + Oscar LocalPlus plans, as long as they and their family members live in eligible service Ares. Click here for more information.
  • Looking ahead to 2023? Join Cigna + Oscar for one of their upcoming webinars to learn more about their 2023 product portfolio and network. You can register here to save your spot.
  • Did you hear about the Cigna + Oscar TN Q4 – 1/1 Broker Bonus offering? They are offering a tiered and compounding bonus offering for new groups with 4+ enrolling employees with either 12/1/22, 12/15/22, or 1/1/23 effective dates of coverage. Brokers can earn up to $1,750 in bonus money. Check out the flyer with full details here.
  • Do your groups currently have a Telemedicine program in place? Cigna + Oscar members are able to take advantage of 24/7 $0 Virtual Urgent Care (there is a cost share for HSA plans) by simply logging into Oscar smartphone application! Members can talk to a board-certified physician in as little as 20 minutes!

• Georgia:
  • As a reminder, Cigna + Oscar allows new members to apply their previous group health plan’s calendar year deductible and max out-of-pocket credits to the new Cigna + Oscar plan. This information needs to be forwarded to Cigna + Oscar no later than 30 days after their effective date. Here is the form, contact your dedicated TCG rep for more information!
  • As we move into peak season, please be reminded that Cigna + Oscar does not offer 4th quarter carry over, but they do provide prior carrier deductible and maximum out of pocket crediting within the SAME calendar year. Please keep in mind that they need this information no later than 30 days after the effective date.
  • Looking for 2023 plan information? Here are some quick links:
    • View sold case forms, SBCs, etc.
    • View 2023 Plan Grid, Rates
    • View 2023 Forms
  • For the best onboarding experience, please be sure that groups pay their binder premium via ACH. They do not have to remain on ACH, however, the binder payment effectuates the coverage (including eligibility) and triggers the production of ID cards.

• New Plans in 2022
  • Cigna + Oscar has added several new plans to our 2022 TN & GA  product portfolio including women plans with Virtual Primary Care. Virtual Primary Care comes with several benefits including convenience, $0 labs, a vitals monitoring kit and $0 to the first specialist visit when recommended by the Virtual Primary Care Physician. Check out our 2022 GA plans HERE.  Check out our 2022 TN plans HERE.

• Georgia and Tennessee:
  • Learn more about Cigna + Oscar’s differentiated customer service model, simple and easy broker tools, and the post-enrollment process. You can learn more by watching some quick webinars at THIS link and selecting your state.
  • Planning for 2023? Join Cigna + Oscar at one of their upcoming webinars to hear about their small group plan offerings. Click here to register to save your spot!

Companion Life

Click here to view this carrier’s COVID-19 website

• Partnership with Employee Navigator
  • Companion Life Insurance Company is pleased to announce its partnership with Employee Navigator! Their products are now eligible to sync with the Employee Navigator Data Exchange. The Navigator connection assists with enrollments and may eliminate billing errors by pushing all changes in Navigator directly into Companion Life’s system. Updating both systems will no longer be needed! Additionally, Employee Navigator supports all Companion Life insurance products.

• Ward’s 50 Life-Health Companies
  • The business consulting firm, Ward Group named Companion Life Insurance Company one of its top 50 performing life and health insurance companies for the eleventh consecutive year. Cincinnati-based, Ward Group, a provider of benchmarking and best-practices services to the insurance industry, annually analyzes the financial performance of hundreds of life and health insurance companies in the United States to identify the top performers. It recognized Companion Life for achieving results in the areas of safety, consistency, and performance.

• Companion Life Leaders Conference
  • Click here to learn how to experience Florence, Italy

• Companion Life 2024 Leaders Conference
  • Companion Life is pleased to announce the location of their 2024 Leaders Conference: Athens, Greece! For your sales of Companion Life products, you and a guest will enjoy six days and five nights at the ultra-luxurious Four Seasons Astir Palace Athens. Mark your calendars now! The trip is June 23 – 28, 2024. Join them for the experience of a lifetime as they explore one of the oldest and most spectacular cities in the world.

• Partnership with Beacon Benefits Solutions
  • Companion Life Insurance Company now has a direct data feed connection with Beacon Benefits Solutions (Beacon) – a benefits administration platform used primarily in the 2-100 employee arena.
  • The integration allows data to flow from Companion Life to Beacon without manual intervention. This connection is typically defined as “single-client”, meaning that data may be reviewed and processed more efficiently without Companion Life making manual changes before the data reaches the Beacon platform.
  • Agents selling Companion Life insurance products have access to near virtual real-time eligibility review, processing, and implementation for groups varying in size. Talk to your local sales rep today about the array of Companion Life insurance products available and how Beacon may facilitate the process!
• New Portal Enhancements
  • Companion Life’s portal now includes a “Chat Now” feature that connects users to a member of their service team. It’s a simple way to get answers to questions regarding an enrollment, bill or ID card. Try it out today!

Guardian

• STD/Supplemental Health Claims Integration

Humana

• Dental Benefits with Humana
  • Humana is making leaps and bounds over what is standard in the market:
    • 3 cleanings per year instead of just 2
    • 4 Periodontal cleanings per year in Preventative as opposed to market only 2 per year and in basic
    • 9,999,999 Max available
    • Extended annual max in place of carryover account
      • Extended annual max can be used year 1
      • No thresholds or limitations are applied to this benefit

Kansas City Life

Click here to view this carrier’s COVID-19 website

Principal

Click here to view this carrier’s COVID-19 website

Sun Life

• Mployer Insights Benchmarking Report
  • As a Platinum MVP Broker, you are eligible for unlimited benchmark requests for your downstream brokers throughout 2022! Sun Life’s strategic partner, Mployer Advisor offers comprehensive cost-contribution benchmarking from everything from healthcare to employee priorities when purchasing benefits. Click here to see a sample report and to request a customized offering for your clients please bookmark this link and fill out form on request page. Only TCG reps should be using the link for benchmark requests.
  • Please watch their report overview video here. All requests are returned within 48 hours. If you have any questions please reach out to Marissa.eaton@sunlife.com
• New Partnership with TeleDentistry.com
  • Teledentistry allows dentists to consult with a patient on oral health issues when they can’t be seen in person. This new service is automatically incorporated into members’ dental coverage and provides a safety net for those who need dental care in emergencies, while traveling, or at night or on weekends. Click here to learn more or contact your Sales Representative.

• Legislative Updates
  • From webinars to shareable whitepapers, Sun Life focuses in on the important details you should be sharing with your clients. Bookmark this page as they are actively updating all changes.
• Get more with Sun Life’s Hospital Indemnity plan
  • Sun Life has expanded their Hospital Indemnity product to include even more features and benefits! Their plan still includes all the basics that are essential for coverage, but you now have the option to add on the following:
    • More coverage for pregnancy and childbirth – plans can now include routine well baby nursery care
    • More benefit options that cover a broader range of a hospital experience like intermediate step-down unit stays, inpatient surgery and emergency room treatment
    • More flexibility in high/low plan options for employee choice
    • More first day benefits
    • More benefits that can be paid on the same day

    Watch this short video to learn more about their expanded Hospital Indemnity plan. And, for even more details, check out their new brochure.

• Sun Life Onboard
  • Client onboarding just got easier. Sun Life Onboard is the new fully digital and centralized place for clients to complete implementations tasks and upload information securely, making it seamless to set up Sun Life benefits. Check out the demo experience here!
• Sun Life has enhanced the claims integrations process for Supplemental Health products. Currently they auto-notify today for Supplemental Health claims – so, if you file an accident claim and also have Hospital Indemnity, they will notify you that you also qualify for that product and start your claim. In November, the functionality will go into place for notification from an STD claim to file a Supplemental Health claim. For Stop Loss – if a cancer claim is received, they will notify a covered member that they should file their Critical Illness claim. To learn more about how they are streamlining the claims process with one claim to get paid faster click here or contact your local sales rep.
• Sun Life Disability Check Up
  • Sun Life created a disability check up to help consultants gain a deep understanding of the factors within a Client or Prospect that are necessary to design a disability plan that actually meets an employers needs.

United HealthCare

• Machine-Readable Files (MRFs) – UHC Approach
  • An employer may locate and view their Machine-Readable File information.  To do so:
    • Access transparency-in-coverage.uhc.com
    • Hit Ctrl-F on keyboard to bring up a search bar.
    • Type in the employer name and the associated MRFs will display.
    • Example:  2022-07-01_customer name_Choice-Plus_in-network-rates.json
      • Multiple files may appear
      • Select those with the specific company name, plan and area of interests (network rates, allowed amounts, etc.)
      • Files will be updated monthly in accordance with the requirements
• United HealthCare + Mineral
  • Looking to keep your business ready and resilient for whatever lies ahead? Mineral™ is included as part of your UnitedHealthcare plan to help you handle even the most complex compliance issues with confidence.
  • What can Mineral help you with?
    • Keeping track of new laws and regulations
    • Reducing your administrative burden
    • Operating successfully in multiple states
    • Addressing harassment, diversity and inclusion
    • Supporting and motivating your employees
  • For more information on Mineral, click here.

• UnitedHealthcare and WakeMed Agree to Multi-Year Contract
  • UnitedHealthcare and WakeMed have agreed to a new multi-year relationship that restores network access to WakeMed’s hospitals, employed physicians and specialists for people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored and Medicare Advantage plans. The long-term agreement is effective November 15, 2022, meaning people enrolled in employer-sponsored and Medicare Advantage plans can receive in-network care at WakeMed effective immediately.

Unum

• Unum Vaccine Verifier
  • Unum Vaccine Verifier will include solutions for both employers and their employees. The new digital product will go beyond a software-only system and help companies:
    • Verify employee vaccination status – Providing a self-service portal for employees to report vaccination status and upload documentation.
    • Manage employee vaccine exemptions – Handing intake of all medical and non-medical exemption requests, sensitive documents
    • Manage testing compliance – Managing test result documentation for employees who are not vaccinated, sending weekly reminders and employer notification.
    • Click here to learn more and contact your Sales Rep for additional information and pricing.

• Go Digital with Unum’s EOI Solutions
  • Fast
    • EOI doesn’t have to be a long and drawn-out process. Their fully digital and mobilized solutions allow for swift approval and transfer of information, with 85% of applicants getting a decision instantly – so they can get the coverage they need, painlessly.
  • Simple
    • They make things easy for plan administrators and applicants, no matter their size of their enrollment process. With three digital options to choose from, every one of their clients will find a simple, digital EOI solution that fits their needs.
  • Transparent
    • Their EOI dashboard provides quick and transparent information on decision status for plan administrators, and applicants receive clear information directly from their EOI portal when they complete their online statement of health.

• Unum’s Enhanced Supplemental Health Offering:
  • Unum’s supplemental health offering includes Accident, Critical Illness, & Hospital coverage. Health plans and disability insurance help employees in times of need, but this coverage may have gaps that lead to out-of-pocket expenses. Unum’s supplemental health benefits add financial protection for employees in the event of a serious health issue. The following enhancements are included in Unum’s offering:
    • Accident, Critical Illness, & Hospital:
      • Enhanced Be Well benefit: includes all existing screenings, annual exams by a physician (dental & vision visits qualify), child physicals, well baby visits, and immunizations
      • No cap in the number of child claims (3 children with 3 wellness claims = $150 payout)
    • Critical Illness:
      • New covered conditions: Dementia (including Alzheimer’s), ALS, Functional Loss (version of LTC rider), Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Infectious Diseases, and minor coronary artery disease are covered at 100%
      • Enhanced Cancer Coverage: Unum treats all stages of Breast Cancer as Invasive, resulting in a 100% benefit.
      • Recurrence Benefit: Paid at 100% with 6 month separation
    • Accident:
      • New covered benefits: x-ray, prescription drug, short stay hospitalization, knee cartilage (meniscus) injury, ruptured/herniated disc injury, injection benefit for tetanus, rabies, antivenom, dental filling/chip repair, general anesthesia, transfusion, and internal injuries
    • Hospital:
      • New benefits that are considered HSA-compatible: rehab unit, substance abuse facility, mental/nervous facility, lodging, and short stay

• Disaster Event: Florida – Hurricane Ian
  • Customers situated in Florida are being given special accommodations by Unum in the wake of Hurricane Ian, more details are included here around employee hours worked eligibility, grace period for payments, and additional support available.