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Employee Benefit News for School, City and County Employers

Steve Smith

Steve Smith, Employee Benefits Consultant for National Insurance Services, has his energy level permanently set at “high.” His maxim is “work hard, play hard.” Steve’s an expert in getting groups of people working together for a higher cause. Minnesota schools, cities, and counties rely on Steve’s unique and creative ideas of engaging employees in their own health and wellness to lower utilization trends. He has 20+ years in the health insurance field doing compliance, cost mitigation, utilization, analytics, wellness plans, and strategic planning. Steve is a licensed insurance agent and holds the designations for Managed Healthcare Professional (The Health Insurance Association of America), Certified Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Professional (National Association of Health Underwriters), and Group Benefits Disability Specialist (Hartford School of Insurance). He specializes in Employee Benefits Consulting for Minnesota schools, cities, and counties including fully insured, self-insured, and stop-loss plans.

Recent Articles by Steve Smith

Action Taken to Eliminate Medical Debt Impact on Credit Scores

1.5. minute read

The Biden Administration has announced a plan to ban medical debt from credit scores. Currently, having a low credit score can make it more difficult for a person to rent an...

2024 Open Enrollment Benefit Notices

3.5 minute read

Employers should be providing certain benefit notices to their employees at open enrollment time. This includes the summary of benefits and coverage (SBC). Other notices must be...

2024 Open Enrollment Checklist

1 minute read

For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, employers should be aware of legal changes affecting the design and administration of their plans. It’s important to communicate...

Navigating Health Plan Compliance: Fully Insured vs. Self-funded

3 minute read

When deciding whether to move from a fully insured health plan to a self-insured health plan (or vice versa), employers should consider the different compliance requirements for each...

Some Americans Skipping, Delaying, or Reducing Their Medications

1 minute read

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Health Interview Survey found that 8.2% of Americans aged 18-64 skipped, delayed, or reduced the amount of their...

Categories

Employee Satisfaction Levels: HDHP vs. Traditional Health Plans

1 minute read

A recent survey found that consumers with high deductible health plans (HDHPs) were less satisfied with their coverage than those with the traditional plans. Only around 50% of HDHP...

New ACA Reporting Filing Rules for 2024

1 minute read

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created reporting requirements under IRS Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056. The rules state certain employers must provide information to the IRS about...

Pharmacy Benefit Managers Scrutinized

1 minute read

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have been under investigation recently. PBMs negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers on behalf of a health insurance plan. Earlier this year,...

2023 Employee Wellness Trends

3.5 minute read

Employee well-being will be a primary focus for employers this year. Now more than ever, employees want to feel that they belong in a workplace and feel recognized, appreciated, and...

Loss of Medicaid Eligibility Increases HIPAA Special Enrollment Requests

1.5 minute read

Starting April 1, 2023, states that maintained continuous Medicaid enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic can start terminating coverage for those individuals who are no longer...