Open enrollment can be VERY confusing… When is it? How does it work? Why is it so hard to understand? Have you been thinking about the 2019 healthcare open enrollment – yet not sure how to proceed? Below, we have a guide that’ll walk you through the complexities of health insurance and share exactly what you need to know to get the best health insurance for you and your family. What Is Open Enrollment? Open enrollment is a period of time annually when you can sign up for health insurance.  Individuals are able to enroll in Off- Exchange plans (no subsidy) any time of the year with a 90 days wait.  So, Open Enrollment is the time to enroll on On- Exchange with a subsidy or Off – Exchange Plans without a waiting period for 01/01/20. If you don’t apply for health insurance during the open enrollment, then it’s highly likely that can’t sign up until the next open enrollment period, unless you experience a qualifying event. There’s another way around this – Outside of Open Enrollment you may still apply for health insurance but you may have a 90 day wait unless you experience a qualifying event.  So you need to make sure that you do NOT miss the deadline. Don’t let pre-existing conditions hold you back from applying – you may enroll during open enrollment regardless of pre-existing issues.  ObamaCare Facts – How Does Open Enrollment Work? With Open Enrollment for ObamaCare, anybody is qualified for health insurance coverage. Some important things to keep in mind: Health insurance plans through your job may have different Open Enrollment windows, so check with your employer for dates. You can qualify and enroll in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) any time during the year. Open Enrollment Dates – …

You missed open enrollment. Or maybe your health insurance lapsed for some reason.   What are you supposed to do? Is it even possible to get health insurance outside of open enrollment? Yes, it is possible to get health insurance outside of open enrollment. This guide shares the 3 possible ways to get health insurance outside of open enrollment. 1. If you’ve had a “qualifying life event” within the last 60 days The government understands that sometimes life just happens. And when life happens, circumstances change, or situations adapt, then you should have the opportunity to get health insurance. There is a list of “qualifying life events” that will make you eligible to receive health insurance outside of open enrollment. What are the “qualifying life events?” There is a list of “qualifying life events” that will make you eligible to receive health insurance outside of open enrollment. Here’s the list of qualifying life events: Changes in your household situation: You get married or divorce You have a child or adopt a child There’s a death in the household Changes in your living situation: You move zip codes (it doesn’t necessarily have to be across state lines) A student moving to or from school that’s located in a different area Moving from transitional housing Losing your health insurance coverage Losing your health insurance because you quit your job or got terminated Losing your eligibility to have Medicaid or Medicare Losing health insurance under your parents’ plan once you turn 26 years old Forgetting to pay, or being unable to pay, your current health insurance to the point where it lapses is NOT a qualifying life event If you lose short term coverage then that is NOT a qualifying life event Other miscellaneous life events Becoming a US Citizen Leaving incarceration And …

There has been a misconception about employees returning to work after the impact of COVID-19. Unless an employee was out on job-protected leave, such as FMLA or EFMLA, you are not required to return them to their original position or to an equivalent one (or bring them back at all).  With the impact of COVID -19 on business operations across the country, it isn’t surprising that organizations may need to restructure their departments to stay afloat or remain competitive. With that being said, if employees who were furloughed or laid off are asked to come back to a job that feels to them like a demotion, they may be less inclined to accept the offer or may be less engaged in the new role than they were in their previous job. If restructuring needs to be done, it would be helpful to explain why it was necessary. People generally are much more accepting of change if they understand it and are less likely to claim discrimination if you’ve given them your business-related reason for the decision.  We were provided with this information from AmCheck Las Vegas by a PHR representative. You may visit AmCheck Las Vegas’s Website.

NOTE: if you need to speak to someone urgently about your or someone’s mental health concerns and/or if you are having suicidal thoughts, dial this hotline immediately – 1-800-273-8255. This National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website presents warning signs and risk factors.  Mental Health America has great resources if you are struggling to handle your mental health. You might be thinking: “I’d love to go see that therapist. But, will it be covered by insurance?” This guide will go in length about health coverage for therapy and mental health in Nevada, what therapy is, types of therapeutic treatment and more. What is therapy? In a mental health context, therapy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “treatment of a mental or emotional disorder or of related bodily ills by psychological means” The typical problems therapy aim to solve can range from coping with issues in daily life to dealing with mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. There are many different types of therapy, and some of them might be more effective for specific issues. Therapy might be used in conjunction with medication or other forms of therapy. Here’s a list of the different types of therapy: According to the American Psychiatric Association, these are the active and currently used form of therapies. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – CBT aims to help patients identify and modify thinking and behaviour patterns that are harmful or ineffective, replacing them with more accurate or beneficial thoughts and behaviours. It is simply helping a person focusing on current problems. Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) – IPT is a short-term type of treatment. Its common goals are to assist patients unearthing troubling interpersonal issues such as conflicts with loved ones, unresolved grief, difficulties connecting with others. After successful treatment, patients learn how to manage their emotions and communicate with others …

As you may recall, in September 2017, Equifax announced that it experienced one of the largest data breaches in history, exposing the personal information of approximately 147 million people.  On Monday, a proposed settlement was announced to provide benefits to those impacted by the breach.  If your personal information was exposed, you may be entitled to free credit monitoring or cash payments to compensate you for the cost of credit monitoring services, out-of-pocket losses, or time spent resolving identity theft or other misuse of data obtained by the breach, and free identity restoration services. To find out if you were impacted by the data breach and eligible for benefits from the settlement, visit https://eligibility.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/en/eligibility.  You will also be able to submit a claim through the website. More information about the data breach and proposed settlement is available through the FTC’s website at https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement. At Nevada Benefits, we feel strongly about the importance of safeguarding and monitoring your personal credit information, which is why we continue to recommend clients keep a credit freeze in place and review their credit report on an annual basis.