December 2013

Telehealth /Telemedicine

The next time your employee thinks he needs to go to the doctor’s office, emergency room or urgent care center, wouldn’t it be more convenient and cost-effective to call the doctor first? Seventy percent of office visits aren’t necessary and eliminating unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office reduces total employee healthcare costs – studies show a range from 5 to 40%.

MedCallAssist  is a company created to helping people in remote areas who had little or no access to emergency care.  From there the concept was introduced to groups, companies, self-insured groups, families and individuals who lived in urban areas. MedCallAssist provides immediate around-the-clock access to physicians – Immediate Care for employees and your business. A Doctor is always On Call: No appointments, no waiting, no deductible, and the doctor can write a prescription.

The company can also provide a Prescription Medical Kit:  A doctor’s tool kit, in your hands, to help you navigate hundreds of common medical situations, like infections, cardiac arrest, pneumonia, and more. The Ultimate Prescription Medical Kit even provides prescription-grade medicine – it’s all in the bag!

2014 Waiting Period Limit – 3 months is not the same as 90 days

Effective for the plan year beginning on or after Jan 1, 2014 the new federal maximum 90-day waiting period limit applies to all group health plans, fully insured and self-funded, grandfathered and non-grandfathered. (States may mandate shorter waiting periods.)

Compliant waiting periods include: 

  • No waiting period
  • Date of Event: 1 to 90 calendar days; 1 or 2 months
  • First of Month: Following the event, such as date of hire, 1 or 2 months or 1 to 60 calendar days.

We anticipate most employers declaring the eligibility to be ‘first of the month following…’, to minimize (if not eliminate) partial billing, with wording ‘not to exceed 90 days’.

2014 HSA Contribution Limits

A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged savings account available to those who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), funds roll over and accumulate year to year if not spent. HSAs are owned by the individual.

HSA 2014 annual contribution limits
HSA annual contributions limits – Single $3,300 / Family $6,550
HSA catch-up contributions – $1,000 for an accountholder age 55 or older

Plan Design Requirements
Minimum deductible  –   Single $1,250 / Family $2,500
Maximum out-of-pocket expenses – Single $6,350 / Family $12,700

(Other HSA-eligibility criteria apply including: cannot be enrolled in Medicare, have received VA medical benefits in the past three months, or be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.)

Back to top

Submit your Feedback

      Sending...
x