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	<title>WGA InsureBlog &#187; Sara LaVallee</title>
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		<title>WGA InsureBlog &#187; Sara LaVallee</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com</link>
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		<title>The economic and strategic advantages of tiered network health plans</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2011/11/30/the-economic-and-strategic-advantages-of-tiered-network-health-plans/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2011/11/30/the-economic-and-strategic-advantages-of-tiered-network-health-plans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:02:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employee benefit plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiered health plans]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=3401</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Boston Globe ran an article this week on “Tiered health plans cutting costs, restricting options”. Tiered health plans, now offered by all of the local Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), are plans that stratify member cost-share by the providers used. The member generally pays a lower co-payment or deductible if they use a low-moderate cost healthcare facility [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=3401&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>W-2 reporting for employer-sponsored healthcare will start in 2012</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2011/10/24/w-2-reporting-for-employer-sponsored-healthcare-will-start-in-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2011/10/24/w-2-reporting-for-employer-sponsored-healthcare-will-start-in-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:22:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employee benefit plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employer-sponsored health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health insurance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=3241</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The IRS is holding an online webinar on October 31st which reviews the new requirement for employers to report the value of employer-sponsored healthcare coverage on employee’s Form W-2 beginning in 2012. The cost of health insurance coverage that is made available to an employee by an employer and is excludable from the employee&#8217;s gross income [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=3241&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>Grandfathering a health plan explained</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2011/03/16/grandfathering-a-health-plan-explained/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2011/03/16/grandfathering-a-health-plan-explained/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:25:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grandfathering a health plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=2288</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Grandfathering a health plan is an opportunity for employers year over year, provided the health plan can meet the guidelines. Despite what people may think, the ability for clients to &#8220;grandfather&#8221; a health plan does not expire in 2014, the law does not cite an end date to grandfathering. And there may be some confusion [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=2288&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>Exploring the nuance of &#8220;grandfathering&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2010/11/15/exploring-the-nuance-of-grandfathering/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2010/11/15/exploring-the-nuance-of-grandfathering/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:03:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employee benefit plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Advisory Corner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[This Week in Health Care Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=1694</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just when the concept of &#8220;grandfathering&#8221; seemed clear - there is always some nuance to keep us all on our toes.  Grandfathering a plan means to basically keep it the same, and in doing so, the employer gets to avoid certain mandates of the national healthcare reform law.  In some cases grandfathering is meaningful to employers and in some cases it [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=1694&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">Sarah LaVallee</media:title>
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		<title>Obama creates his version to keep healthcare reform alive</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2010/03/02/obama-creates-his-version-to-keep-healthcare-reform-alive/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2010/03/02/obama-creates-his-version-to-keep-healthcare-reform-alive/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:58:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[This Week in Health Care Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=620</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[President Obama has unveiled his own version of healthcare reform, a measure that blends the Senate and House versions into one with the goal of getting both chambers to pass it. The bill is said to extend health insurance coverage to 31 million Americans, raise taxes on the wealthy and hold insurers more accountable. The price [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=620&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">Sarah LaVallee</media:title>
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		<title>Taking a closer look at the manager&#8217;s amendment to the healthcare bill</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/12/23/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-managers-amendment-to-the-healthcare-bill/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/12/23/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-managers-amendment-to-the-healthcare-bill/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:36:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employee benefit plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[This Week in Health Care Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=467</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The final Senate Healthcare Bill was released earlier this week with a Manager’s Amendment. Taking a glass half full look at the amendment, a number of the changes have been identified as employer-friendly, such as the elimination of a public plan option, stronger penalties for non-compliance with the individual mandate (designed as motivation to find health insurance coverage) [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=467&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>Health care reform negotiations continue</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/12/11/health-care-reform-negotiations-continue/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/12/11/health-care-reform-negotiations-continue/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:28:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicare]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.wgains.com/?p=431</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It looked as though Senate Democratic health care negotiators agreed this week to replace a government-run insurance option with a scaled-back non-profit plan. The government-run plan, one of the biggest hurdles in the health care overhaul, would be replaced by a plan operated by private insurers but administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=431&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>CMS Medicare Part D Notification deadline is November 15th</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/10/23/cms-medicare-part-d-notification-deadline-approaching/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/10/23/cms-medicare-part-d-notification-deadline-approaching/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:04:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CMS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creditable Coverage Notice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medicare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Non Creditable Coverage Notice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[perscription drug plan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wgains.wordpress.com/?p=23</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) mandates that certain entities offering prescription drug coverage, including employer and union group health plan sponsors, disclose to all Medicare eligible individuals with prescription drug coverage if the current health coverage they have is &#8220;creditable.&#8221;  This information is essential to an individual&#8217;s decision whether to enroll in a Medicare Part [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=23&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<title>PWC Report: Insurance industry not optimistic on Health Care Reform</title>
		<link>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/10/20/pwc-report-insurance-industry-not-optimistic-on-reform/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.wgains.com/2009/10/20/pwc-report-insurance-industry-not-optimistic-on-reform/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:26:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sara LaVallee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Health Insurance Plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employee benefit plans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PriceWaterhouseCoopers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[This Week in Health Care Reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wgains.wordpress.com/?p=11</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As the Senate Finance Committee voted last week, a discouraging report was released from PricewaterhouseCoopers voicing new concerns from the insurance industry about the proposed health care reform legislation. A trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, sponsored the study and contends that some of the healthcare reform efforts being considered are poised to increase insurance premiums, more [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=blog.wgains.com&amp;blog=9867145&amp;post=11&amp;subd=wgains&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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