May 26 Webinar: How Blue DirectionsSM Drives Employee Engagement
Employees who are actively involved in their health care decisions often save themselves – and their employer – money.
Join the webinar: Discover how Blue Directions can help your clients’ employees with their benefit decisions (available to groups with 51 or more employees). Get all the details.
Reminder: Last Week to Participate in the Producer Satisfaction Survey
Your success is extremely important and BCBS would like to know how well they are serving your needs. If you are selected to receive this survey, please complete it to tell BCBS how they are doing.
What it is: The online survey only takes about 10 minutes to complete and is conducted by SPH Analytics. Feedback is appreciated, and your participation will help continue to provide the best service in the industry.
Reminder: Upcoming Off-exchange Member Email to Share Subsidy Information
Off-ex member email: Last week you were informed of an upcoming email to the off-exchange Marketplace members about financial assistance available as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act. It’s scheduled for delivery next week. The member email suggests they use the tax credit estimator tool to see if they qualify for on-exchange subsidies. Review last week’s article for tips when contacting your clients about the email.
Resources for you: Get the latest SEP producer resources . Access CMS and HHS materials, read the FAQs and download special enrollment marketing pieces designed for you.
The Medicare Supplement Bonus Program Returns for 2021
Take advantage of the opportunity to help the growing population of adults who need Medicare coverage. And earn a bonus for your efforts. You could make up to $100 per new policy sold through the Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan 2021 Bonus Program.
The details: The bonus program begins May 15 and runs until Oct. 1, 2021.
- Sell just 5 to 20 new policies: your bonus is $50 per policy
- Sell 21 to 30 new policies: your bonus jumps to $75 per policy
- Reach 31 or more new policies sold: your bonus hits $100 per policy. For example, if you sell 31 policies, your bonus will be $3,100. The total payout maximum is $100,000.
- These must be new policies, as rewrites will not be counted. Review the flier for more information.
TruHearing® Offers Hearing Benefits to Blue Medicare SupplementSM Members
A direct mail campaign is targeting all Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Blue Medicare Supplement members to promote new hearing benefits included with their plans.
What it is: Through the relationship with TruHearing, members can get a no-cost full hearing examination and discounts on hearing aids if needed. The mailing includes a letter with a referral card for TruHearing and subsequent fliers/brochures.
Update: CMP Certification Site
The certification website is now back online as of Monday, May 10.
Please Note:
- There is a lag in transferring user transcript data to the new platform. These are mostly producers’ AHIP Part 1 completion dates.
- You will need to change your password to log in. Use the “Forgot Password” feature to change the password on your account.
Term Notice Sent to Oakbend Medical Center
In December, the hospital in Fort Bend County was notified that they need to update the BCBS contracts. BCBS is hopeful that a mutually beneficial agreement will be reached. However, if an agreement isn’t reached by June 15, 2021, Oakbend will no longer be in the provider networks.
The details: Learn which networks would be affected and member impact.
Texas Legislative Digest, Issue 17, 2021
As the Legislature races to beat end-of-session deadlines, it received good news – the state comptroller now estimates there will be an additional $725 million that can be applied toward the 2022-23 biennium budget. The revised estimate now projects $113.88 billion in revenue available for general-purpose spending.
Lawmakers in both chambers are burning the midnight oil debating bills. The last day of the 87th Legislature regular session is May 31. Meanwhile, an interesting tidbit: The town of Celina is vying to become the official Halloween Capital of North Texas. Over the years, the town of 28,000 north of Dallas has become the end-of-October destination for an assortment of ghosts, witches, mummies and other costumed revelers.
Read the latest update in the Texas Legislative Digest.
This is neither legal nor accounting advice. If you have questions, please consult a lawyer or accountant. The information included in this post was provided by the entity referenced herein.
