The Alliance | TPA Briefing September 2011


TPAs Home TPA Briefing Help, Information, Answers Alliance Logos TPA Toolkit Contacts Discounts on Worksite Flu Shots As part of Alliance membership, members can access discounts at a number of local providers that offer onsite flu clinics. Visit our flu shot page in Benefits of Membership.	Home :: TPAs :: Briefings To The TPA Briefing Archive The TPA Briefing: September 2011 In this issue: On My Mind: Key Initiatives for FY12 Equity Members: Received Patronage Checks More Resources for Open Enrollment 10th Annual Summary Plan Description Analysis Completed Health Care Reform Updates Building Our Cooperative Plugging into the Power of Medical Self-Care from WELCOA Inpatient? Outpatient? What's the Difference? Another Study Confirms Variation in Outpatient Costs Alliance Provider Update Alliance Logos for ID Cards On My Mind: Key Initiatives for FY12 By: Cheryl DeMars, President & CEO Although the start of 2012 is still several months away, The Alliance is already three months into our fiscal year 2012, which began on June 1, 2011. I'd like to use this month's column to share some of the key initiatives we are pursuing as part of our FY12 business plan. Read more Equity Members: Received Patronage Checks Alliance Equity members should have received their patronage checks last week. If you represent an Alliance member receiving a patronage check you should have received a copy of the letter sent to members. Read more More Resources for Open Enrollment Last month we highlighted some of the resources we had available to support open enrollment efforts. Because we know members can use all the help they can get during open enrollment here are a few more... Read more 10th Annual Summary Plan Description Analysis Completed We recently completed the tenth survey of employers' summary plan descriptions (SPDs). We gathered SPD survey data from 74 employers from our more than 160 members. Employers participating in the 2011 survey... Read more Health Care Reform Updates *Wisconsin's Adult Dependent Coverage Mandate Now 26* As previously discussed, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) created a number of inconsistencies with state law related to dependent care coverage. After hearing concerns from employers... Read more *Rules Issued for Women's Preventive Care under PPACA, Original IFR Amended* On August 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued detailed guidelines for group health plans and health insurance issuers relating to coverage of preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Read more Building Our Cooperative The Alliance welcomed the following new members to the cooperative September 1. Hypro, Incorporated, based in Waterford, Wis. Rogers Memorial Hospital, based in Oconomowoc, Wis. Read more Plugging into the Power of Medical Self-Care from WELCOA Each year, many employees and their families will experience health issues — even with the most rigorous workplace wellness programs in place. If the management of these illnesses is left... Read more Inpatient? Outpatient? What's the Difference? The Alliance encourages employers to distribute the monthly QualityCounts^® for Employees informational piece to their employees... Read more Another Study Confirms Variation in Outpatient Costs Each month, The Alliance highlights health care and benefit management news for employers in News You Can Use, with a link to take you to the original story or report. This month we discuss a study by change:healthcare that confirms that medical costs vary for the same medical procedures... Read more Alliance Provider Update The Alliance encourages employers to distribute the monthly Provider Update listing (.pdf) to their employees. Just a reminder: Always check the online provider directory for the most current provider information! Read more Alliance Logos for ID Cards Are you using the most up-to-date Alliance logo?... Read more Adding up the Costs of Diabetes September 20, 2011 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. These materials from the Attendee Packet are available for you to download (all are in .pdf format): Event Agenda / Speaker bios The Burden of Diabetes in Wisconsin: Prevalence and Costs, Jenny Camponeschi, PowerPoint presentation in .pdf format Diabetes Mellitus, Melissa Meredith, M.D., PowerPoint presentation in .pdf format Health Care Reform: What it Means for People with Diabetes, Jim McGowan, PowerPoint presentation in .pdf format Wisconsin Health Reports flyer List of attendees The webinar will not be shown from this page. You will receive a reminder from GoToWebinar^® with instructions for logging in. If you have technical difficulties connecting to the webinar, GoToWebinar^® representatives will be on hand to assist you. About The Alliance TPA Briefing Each month, The Alliance TPA Briefing delivers the latest news to third-party administrators about Alliance services, programs and events as well as information on health benefit trends, issues and ideas of interest to our mutual clients. Subscriptions are available on a complimentary basis. To subscribe, please send an e-mail with your name, title and organization to the marketing and member services department. Reader comments, suggestions and topics are always welcome. Cathy Lanser, Editor Cassie Bueno, Design Carlene Boehmer, Manager of Claims & Customer Service

The TPA Briefing: September 2011

Adding up the Costs of Diabetes