Happy Holidays from MedBen!
MedBen will be closed beginning at 12:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 24 through Christmas Day, and reopen at 8:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, December 26. For the New Year's holiday we will be closed on Wednesday, January 1, and reopen at 8:00 a.m. EST on Thursday,...
Last Call For 2019 FSA Purchases
Just a reminder that if your plan offers a health flexible spending account (FSA), plan members need to use their tax-free contributions by December 31, 2019 before the remaining funds are forfeited... unless your plan offers a grace period or allows members to carry...
IRS Extends 1095 Form Deadline
Happy holidays from the IRS! While many of us are hard at work preparing for the Holidays and getting last minute tasks done at work, the IRS has been thinking about the first quarter of 2020. As we all know, if you're a self-funded employer, January is the time to...
Rising Care Costs Require Smart Strategies
Benefit News reports that more than 80% of employers will increase their health and wellness spending this year. And while some sources state that a lack of access to actionable data is one blame of the increase, MedBen Analytics has worked in employers’ favor to...
Heart Medication Therapy Can Be Just as Effective as Surgery
At the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, researchers reported that patients who received drug therapy alone did not experience more heart attacks or die more often than those who also received bypass surgery or stents – further evidence that a...
To Kick the Habit, Don’t Go “Cold Turkey” Alone
As a person puffs on a single cigarette, they are inhaling over 7,000 different chemicals into their lungs. Not only have many of those chemicals been identified as known carcinogens, but they also have been linked to numerous other harmful effects on the body. For...
New Regulation Could Require Health Plans to Disclose Out-of-Pocket Costs
In response to a White House Executive Order, on November 15th the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury and Labor issued a final regulation requiring hospitals to disclose their negotiated prices for up to 300 “shoppable” medical items and...
Is Reference-Based Pricing Right for You?
In an article titled “Reference-based pricing: 4 factors to consider,” the author advises employers to consider the following before deciding if reference-based pricing (RBP) is right for them: Pricing, flexibility, support, and balance billing. And he's not wrong....
Happy Thanksgiving from Your Friends at MedBen!
Happy Thanksgiving from the staff of MedBen! To observe the holiday, MedBen will be closed on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29. We will reopen at 8:00 a.m. EST on Monday, December 2. Should you need claims and benefits information about your plan when...
Diabetes Awareness a Year-Round Mission
With 1.25 million Americans currently diagnosed with diabetes, it’s understandable that the entire month of November is dedicated to reminding people about the importance of diabetes prevention. But MedBen WellLiving doesn’t just stop with a monthly commitment. Our...
Vision Exams Matter? See for Yourself!
Seeing an optometrist every year is a simple yet important step you can take to prevent vision loss from diseases. Yet with an estimated 61 million adults in the United States at high risk for vision loss, only half of them visited the eye doctor within the past...
2020 FSA Contribution Maximum Gets a $50 Bump
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the annual inflation adjustment for flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for the 2020 tax year. As has been the case in previous years, contribution limits will see only modest increases or remain unchanged. The 2020...