Anthem Archives - Cornerstone Broker Insurance Services Agency

January 2020 Anthem Updates

January 23, 2020/in Anthem, Carrier, Employee Benefits /by Cornerstone

Drug List Changes Coming April 1

As part of Anthem’s routine formulary review process, changes to the National, Essential and Traditional Open Drug Lists take effect April 1, 2020. Most are multi-source brand drugs (those with generic equivalents) that will be removed from the lists or moved to a higher benefit tier. Generic or brand-name alternatives will be covered in their place.

The Food and Drug Administration follows a rigorous review process for approving generics to make sure they work just as well or better than their brand-name equivalent.

Anthem will notify impacted members by mail starting January 31, 2020. The letters will tell members about other options they have for lower-cost alternative drugs that are covered.

Retail Stores Leaving Blue View Vision Feb. 1

National optical retail stores Sears Optical, JCPenney Optical and Stanton Optical will no longer be in Anthem’s Blue View VisionSM eye care plans as of February 1, 2020.

Anthem will send a mailer to impacted members who visited these optical stores in the past two years to let them know about the change. The mailer will list alternative eye-care professionals in their area. Members can also go to anthem.com and click on Find a Doctor to search for eye-care professionals in their area.

Clients with Blue View Vision still have access to more than 38,000 eye doctors at more than 27,000 locations nationwide. That includes local independent eye doctors, regional optical stores and national brand stores – Glasses.com, ContactsDirect, 1-800 CONTACTS, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Target Optical, Eyemart Express and America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses. Anthem will continue to add new ones to their vision plans throughout the year.

SOCA Benefit Plan Members Move to New System

Starting at renewal, Southern Ohio Chamber Alliance (SOCA) Benefit Plan Small Group clients will move to another Anthem system for their benefit administration. Learn more about the new system. Plan now to join a webinar.

Click on the link below to join the webinar of your choice.

Use password PW1234 for all webinar dates.

Anthem KY ChamberAdvantage Plans Include Two Separate Fees

January 16, 2020/in Anthem, Carrier, Employee Benefits /by Cornerstone

Your Small Group clients who enroll in a ChamberAdvantage plan will be billed for Kentucky Chamber of Commerce product dues 30-45 days after enrollment and again at renewal. They’ll also be billed annually for membership dues, because this plan requires Chamber membership in a participating chamber. Make sure your clients understand that they have to pay the chamber both membership dues and product dues.

Product dues are an administrative fee billed per plan term by the Kentucky chamber. They’re calculated for each enrolled employee (employee only, not dependents) for each month of the policy term.

Here’s an example: Your client has a 17-month rate. Product dues will be $4 for each enrolled employee for 17 months.

The ChamberAdvantage product dues acknowledgement form explains the details. Go over it with your clients when they sign it, and submit it with the enrollment application. Don’t let them get surprised by a bill from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. And be sure to set clear expectations with them about the dues. Payment of product dues is required, and Anthem has the right to terminate their policy if product dues are not paid.

Please call your Cornerstone Broker Advisor if you have any further questions.

Anthem Anywhere App Retires January 20 (OH, IN, KY)

January 16, 2020/in Anthem, Carrier, Employee Benefits /by Cornerstone

Anthem recently communicated to clients that Sydney Health is replacing the Anthem Anywhere mobile app. Members won’t be able to access Anthem Anywhere after January 20, 2020. If they try to open it, they’ll get a message to download Sydney Health from the app store.
In one click, Sydney lets members:

Find care and check costs
See all benefits and view claims
Use the interactive chat feature to get answers quickly
Build an action plan for health goals
Sync fitness trackers and earn points for progress

For questions please call your Cornerstone Broker Advisor!

IMPORTANT: Anthem SOCA MEWA Product Dues

January 16, 2020/in Anthem, Carrier, Employee Benefits /by Cornerstone

Anthem has provided a list of groups with delinquent SOCA BP product dues that need to be paid by January 15, 2020, or the employer will not receive a May 1, 2020, renewal. The group has already been notified by SOCA BP of the dues owed, but have neglected to send in the due amount.

The following information can be used in a letter or email your groups:

Please be advised you are receiving this email because the below Anthem SOCA MEWA group, which is managed through your brokerage, has overdue product dues that need to be remitted as quickly as possible. Employers who do not respond by 12/15/19 will not be eligible for renewal in 2020. The Anthem Small Group Sales Office requests that your agency assist in encouraging the group to remit payment as soon as possible. Brokers can retrieve signed copies of the “Participating Business Acknowledgment” for each client via FormFire. If you have further questions, please call SOCA at 866-486-9482 or email SOCA at info@joinsoca.com. Please ensure the group name and number are included in the subject line of your email inquiry.

Employers are encouraged to pay product dues online at https://www.joinsoca.com/dues/. Alternatively, checks may be mailed to the address below. If mailing, please notify SOCA at the email address above.

Southern Ohio Chamber Alliance

P.O. Box 49358

Dayton, OH 45449

Anthem SOCA BP 1095 Tax Forms Available February 3

January 10, 2020/in Anthem, Carrier, Employee Benefits, FormFire /by Cornerstone

The IRS recently extended the deadline for employers to submit 1095 Tax Forms from January 31 to February 28. According to FormFire, the Plan Administrator for the SOCA Benefit Plan is preparing the completed 1094-B and 1095-B Tax Forms on behalf of participating employers in the SOCA Benefit Plan. The forms will be available for active groups to download from FormFire’s Manage Documents folder on Friday, February 3.

Contact your Cornerstone representative with any questions.

Emergency Medicine Physicians of Cincinnati is Leaving Anthem’s Networks

December 9, 2019/in Anthem, Carrier, Employee Benefits, Individual /by Cornerstone

Pending final negotiations, Emergency Medicine Physicians of Cincinnati will leave Anthem’s networks effective December 24, 2019. Consequently, Emergency Medicine Physicians of Cincinnati may choose to balance bill Anthem members for amounts above and beyond Anthem’s reimbursement. Because Anthem members do not have a choice of emergency room doctors at these hospitals, Anthem will apply the equivalent of any member liability amounts such as copays, deductibles, etc., at the member’s in-network level (rather than the out-of-network benefit level equivalent). In most circumstances, payment for services will be issued directly to the member, who will then be responsible for paying Emergency Medicine Physicians of Cincinnati.

The Emergency Medicine Physicians of Cincinnati is a group of emergency room doctors that provides emergency services at Mercy Health’s Anderson, Fairfield, West, and Clermont hospitals and Mercy Health’s Rookwood, Mt. Orab, Queen City, and Harrison medical centers.

Contact your Cornerstone representative with any questions.

January 2020 Anthem Updates

Drug List Changes Coming April 1

Retail Stores Leaving Blue View Vision Feb. 1

SOCA Benefit Plan Members Move to New System

Anthem KY ChamberAdvantage Plans Include Two Separate Fees

Anthem Anywhere App Retires January 20 (OH, IN, KY)

IMPORTANT: Anthem SOCA MEWA Product Dues

Anthem SOCA BP 1095 Tax Forms Available February 3

Emergency Medicine Physicians of Cincinnati is Leaving Anthem’s Networks

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