Health and welfare administration

Health and welfare administration is entering a period of fundamental change driven by health care reform. New health plans and plan designs will need to be administered and communicated, At the same time, new technologies, bringing new capabilities via apps and chat technologies, will be introduced to the market. While many organizations view this as an opportunity, the changes can be complex and, at times, overwhelming. Buck can help.

Co-sourcing and outsourcing solutions: Buck can help with both co-sourcing and outsourcing in health and welfare, defined benefit, and defined contribution administration. Our solutions are flexible in design and can accommodate a wide range of employee populations and plan designs.

HSA administration: The ACS|BNY Mellon HSA Solution ("The HSA Solution") is designed to facilitate the short-term saving and spending needs of health savings account (HSA) holders as well as their long-term investment goals. It is a comprehensive, end-to-end solution that includes consulting, communications, implementation, and administration. ACS provides the administrative recordkeeping and operational infrastructure.

Take a moment to learn how we helped a client improve its HSA enrollment and continue to build momentum to engage employees in its ongoing health and wellness initiatives.

Private health insurance exchange: We believe the health of your business is dependent upon the health of your employees. RightOpt^™, our private health insurance exchange, is designed to reduce health care spend and trend, not just transfer costs from you to your employees.

Post-retirement exchange solutions: With a team of actuaries, attorneys, accountants, pharmacists, nurses, and consultants dedicated to retiree health care issues, we stay on top of Medicare changes and help you maximize your retiree health care strategy. Our comprehensive tools are developed to ensure you're getting the most out of your plans while helping your retirees navigate the complexities of Medicare, and include:

• My Medicare Advocate® (MMA) is an integrated solution that reduces retiree health costs and administrative burdens for you and helps retirees evaluate and select from a range of Medicare coverage or plan choices. By providing retirees with customized information and personal assistance, MMA frees your human resources team from navigating complex Medicare and retiree health care coverage issues, so they can spend more time on strategic business efforts. In addition, we've developed a newsletter, the Medicare Connector, for employers who provide retiree medical benefits or want to assist their retirees with making Medicare-related decisions.
• Voluntary Data Sharing Arrangement Automate (VDSA Automate™) allows employers and plan sponsors to audit and reconcile the eligibility of enrolled Medicare beneficiaries, streamline the administration of health plans, track the Medicare eligibility status of retirees and active employees and resolve any discrepancies, follow-up with participants regarding incomplete records, and identify cost-management strategies.
• Compliance, Audit, Reconciliation, and Data Storage (CARDS®): With potential penalties under the Medicare Part D RDS program, you need a solution that minimizes financial and compliance risks and maximizes the RDS monies you are eligible to receive. CARDS' compliance component helps protect you from encountering compliance issues and stores required materials on your behalf in case of an audit by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) or other federal agencies.
• Medicare consumerism tools: Through our partnership with Destination Rx, we've built Web tools to help retirees make informed decisions. Our modeling tools help Medicare-eligible retirees narrow-down endless prescription drug plan choices to the best option. In addition, our technology solutions use actual participant data to help the retiree clearly see and understand how certain medical plan features — like out of pocket limits — protect them from catastrophic or chronic health care expenditures.
• Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP) : With only minimal benefit changes, transitioning from an RDS program to EGWP can reduce your FASB or GASB liabilities by up to 20%. You can also gain both immediate accounting advantages and cash savings of up to twice that of RDS by 2020. We facilitate the implementation of EGWP by offering a variety of enrollment support options, including gathering health insurance claim numbers (HICNs) from CMS, developing participant communications, financial modeling, member decision support, validation of CMS subsidies, and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) processing.
• Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) Automate: It's estimated that employers can recover up to 80% of the cost of health care claims between $15,000 and $90,000 per early retiree or eligible dependent simply by maintaining early retiree plan funding. We assist you throughout the application process, function as your Account Manager or Designee, collect and aggregate medical and drug data from multiple sources, prepare quarterly cost submission requests, and develop compliance plans to ensure you're eligible to receive the maximum subsidy.

Severance Solution®: Given the current economic environment, many employers will be reviewing their workforce costs and may be forced to make the difficult decision to reduce headcount. Severance Solution provides employers with an efficient, turnkey approach that can take advantage of three main savings opportunities: the elimination of FICA taxes on severance payments through SUB Plan and Trust, coordination of severance payments with state unemployment benefits while maintaining 100% income replacement for former employees, and implementation of a new employment feature whereby severance payments stop when a displaced worker finds new employment.

Take a moment to learn more about how we helped a client cut costs while extending the severance period.