Safe Opioid Disposal

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Did you know that eighty percent of people addicted to heroin started with a legal prescription of an opioid?

Opioids are a common medication given to treat pain. Often, a patient prescribed these medications does not need the entire prescribed amount, leaving extra pills unused. Opioids can also be very addictive, thus a safe way to dispose of any unused amounts is important.

Some common opioids include:

  • Hydrocodone (Norco, Lortab, Vicodin, Zohydro)
  • Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, Roxicodone)
  • Morphine (MSIR, MS Contin)
  • Codeine (Tylenol #3, Phenergan with codeine)
  • Fentanyl  (Duragesic, Actiq)
  • Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
  • Oxymorphone (Opana)
  • Meperidine (Demerol)
  • Tramadol (Ultram, ConZip)
  • Buprenorphine (Subutex, Suboxone, Butrans, Zubsolv)
  • Methadone (Dolophine, Methadose)

Intermountain Community Pharmacies provide collection sites for free.

For more information on safe disposal visit  http://useonlyasdirected.org/

 

 

 

Source: Use Only As Directed 

 

Opticare of Utah offers Discount of Lasik

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Opticare of Utah has very rich discounts at Standard Optical for LASIK, Normally it is $250 discount per eye compared to the 15% discount with most other carriers, this is a definite advantage and a great benefit, offer ends 3/31/2018!

 

Visit https://www.facebook.com/StandardOptical/

Source: Opticare of Utah 

Medicaid Waiver Amendments Passed in Utah Senate

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Recently, the Utah Senate voted in favor of SB  0172, authorizing some changes and waivers to Medicaid requirements.

These changes would allow the Utah Department of Health to:

Ask for federal funds or block grants for Medicaid recipients without certain restrictions on how they use the money.

Second, if the block grant is denied, the bill would allow the health department to do three things:

  1. Require able-bodied Medicaid enrollees to have a job or be working toward a job
  2. Create an HSA option for Medicaid enrollees
  3. Enable Medicaid enrollees flexibility in paying for health care

The goal is allow able-bodied people on Medicaid to live more dignified and and give them the tools to to assist them in no longer needing to rely on the program.

 

Source: Sutherland Institute

 

 

Small Business Owners, Including Ark’s Rebecca Yates, attend Goldman Sachs Summit

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‘More than 110 of Utah’s small business owners attended the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Summit in Washington DC.  As graduates of the small business-training program, run by Salt Lake Community College, business leaders heard from the ‘who’s who’ of entrepreneurism and government leadership such as Tyler Perry, Senator Marco Rubio and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The summit, titled The Big Power of Small Business, showcased speakers like Richard Branson of Virgin Group who said ‘in order to be a good leader, you have to be a good listener.’ Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO of Spanx, a billion dollar brand, told her story of starting her business with grit and determination. Warren Buffett received a standing ovation as he spoke about the remarkable things small business leaders do and how they impact the economy and lives in every community.’

PC: SLCC

Goldman Sachs 10KSB graduates and Utah Sen. Mike Lee (center) photo courtesy of SLCC

 

 

Read full article https://saltlakecommunitycollege.blogspot.com/2018/02/goldman-sachs-10k-small-business-alums.html

Payment Deadlines Extended

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Due to the growth in their plans and high call volumes,  the University of Utah Health Plans and SelectHealth are extending their payment deadline to January 12  ( U of U) and January 15 for individuals with a January 1 effective date. 

Select HealthU of U Health Plans

Select Health to enforce CMS Guidelines

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Select Health will be enforcing the CMS guidelines for the Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) for marriages as of September 1, 2017. The CMS guidelines states that at least one of the applicants has had one day of coverage in the past 60 days, at a minimum. Proof of both the marriage and prior coverage is required to process a SEP application.

Changes to Preventive Lab Services also in effect as of January 1, 2017.

The following lab procedures are covered under the adult medical benefit when billed with a covered diagnosis codes:

  • Basic Metabolic Panel
  • Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
  • General Health Panel
  • Thyroid
  • Urinalysis

 

Questions? Please give us a call.

Doctor in black tie with stethoscope studio shot

 

 

Employee microchipping, invasion of privacy or just efficient?

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Similar to microchipping your pets, you may have heard that a company in Wisconsin is offering microchip implants to their employees. The majority of their employees have already agreed to inject the implant into their finger, exchanging convenience for privacy.

The implants are programmed to allow accesses to certain company functions, like entrance into secure company offices and IT networks. The RFID microchips communicate using electromagnetic fields and can be read at a distance of six inches.

Privacy advocates are concerned that this procedure is yet another way to intrude on our privacy. Smart phones have already stripped us of some privacies, apps can now collect data from your phone and broadcast your information. Do you find it unsettling when your phone knows exactly where you are, or Google knows your interest based on your search history?

Arguments against microchipping humans, are vast. What may originate as a matter of convenience can turn into monitoring a person’s habits on an entirely different level. They may even evolve to monitor productivity or lifestyle habits.

What say you?

 

Report shows ACA marketplaces experienced most profitable first quarter yet

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According to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, health insurers who participated in the Affordable Care Act marketplace earned an average of $300 per member in the first part of 2017.

This figure is more than double than this time period for the previous three years.

The figures presented to do not account for administrative costs, however, the increases still show that the marketplaces are becoming more profitable for private companies selling plans on the exchanges.

According to Cynthia Cox, a researcher at the Kaiser Family Foundation who worked on the analysis, the current profitability seems to come from increased premiums and steady cost which also suggests the markets are becoming more stable.

These increases were partially due to insurance companies underestimating the cost to cover people in the marketplace, many were sicker than expected and seeking insurance. Additionally, costs have been stable over the past few years, indicating that healthy people were not driven out of the marketplace. Insurers have set premiums high enough for them to profit but not so high that healthier customers left the market, allowing the market to achieve stability.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

Important information if you have Aetna or CoventryOne insurance.

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Recently, Aetna notified our brokerage of some important changes that will be taking place this year. Essentially, if you are currently covered individually by Aetna or CoventryOne, your coverage ends December 31, 2017.

“As a result of financial risk and an uncertain outlook for the Individual marketplace, Aetna (including Coventry)  has decided that we will no longer offer individual health products in the following states AR, AZ, CT, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MO, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, and WV for 2018.

Your clients’ existing coverage in these states will continue until their policy period ends onDecember 31, 2017. They will not be able to renew their plan when their policy term ends.

The 2018 Open Enrollment Period runs from November 1 through December 15, 2017; however your clients will have a Special Enrollment Period. They must select a plan from another carrier no later than December 31, 2017 to ensure there is no gap in coverage on January 1, 2018.”

 

Source: Aetna and CoventryOne individual and families

 

2018 Health Savings Accounts Limits Are Set

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The IRS recently published the inflation adjusted limits for the 2018 Health Savings Accounts (HSA). Deposits made to an HSA are tax free; contributions grow within the account tax free; and distributions are tax free as long as the money is used for out-of-pocket health care expenses, including deductibles.

Here are the new limits:

  • Individual accounts rise to $3,450 (from 2017’s $3,400)
  • Family coverage rises to $6,900 (from 2017’s from $6,700)
  • Maximum out-of-pocket figures are also up: for single coverage to $6,650 (from 2017’s $6,550) and for family coverage to $13,300 (from 2017’s $13,100)

 

Source: IRS