Customized Group Benefits LLC

09/14/2022

You shouldn't have to pay for your credit information! Sign Petition

09/04/2022

Good Grief

National Association of Health Underwriters

03/30/2022

We need affordable premiums for Long Term Care coverage.

National Association of Health Underwriters

01/13/2022

Rx Price Hikes: It didn’t take long for Big Pharma to ring in the New Year the way it has every year in recent memory with unsettling regularity – namely, by hiking up the prices of hundreds of drugs. In fact, by the end of the first day of 2022, drugmakers had increased the list prices of 460 medications by a median of nearly 5 percent. While the number of drugs that saw their prices go up on 1 January was slightly down from previous years, the amount by which they increased easily eclipsed last year’s median of 3.3 percent in the early days of January. Stakeholders were quick to point out that this was just more of what’s to be expected from pharmaceutical manufacturers, who’ve made their annual price hikes business-as-usual, prioritizing profits while millions of Americans face continued financial uncertainty affording their medicines during the pandemic.

01/13/2022

Private insurers must cover the cost of up to eight at-home COVID-19 tests per month effective Jan. 15, according to an HHS news release.

12/18/2021

CGB LLC supports this important issue...

National Association of Health Underwriters

09/26/2021

Just saw this recently on a TV Show; scary reality.

This May, Scripps Health, in San Diego, was hit by a ransomware attack that forced the health system into electronic health record downtime.

09/14/2021

What’s the New Federal Vaccine Mandate? What’s the Context for It?
In a televised address to the nation on September 9, President Biden outlined several sweeping actions his administration is taking to get the pandemic under control. They include new executive orders and federal regulations to mandate COVID vaccination for large private employers, most federal agencies and government contractors, and all healthcare providers who receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) full approval of the Pfizer vaccine in late August. Biden pointed out in his speech that several major corporations—such as “United Airlines, Disney, Tyson Foods, and even Fox News”—have voluntarily initiated their own vaccine mandates since FDA approval. Other large businesses, like Delta Air Lines, have implemented insurance surcharges for unvaccinated employees.

These private sector efforts have been in response to the alarming rise in COVID cases due to the Delta variant and the relatively low vaccination rate among eligible adults.

Similarly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended indoor masking for the vaccinated in late July, a move echoed in the latest guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also attempted to incentivize more vaccination by expanding the employer paid-leave tax credit to include paid time off (PTO) for employees who help family or household members receive or recover from COVID vaccination.

Still, no federal or private COVID response so far has had the far-reaching impact of Biden’s latest announcement.

09/08/2021

Knowledge is Power ...

While not everyone with job-based insurance is required to enroll in Medicare at age 65, many are. Here are the rules to know.

07/13/2021

CMS Proposed Rule to Expand Health Coverage Access for 2022

On June 28, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a series of provisions to follow through on President Biden’s commitment to build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), expand health coverage access and advance health equity.

The proposed rule includes a variety of provisions to protect and expand Americans’ access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. This includes proposals to:



Lengthen the annual open enrollment period for 2022 by an additional 30 days

Create a new special enrollment period opportunity for certain low-income consumers

Expand the duties of Federally-Facilitated Exchange Navigators to offer additional help to consumers enrolling in plans

06/29/2021

~ Vaccines getting close to being mandated.

Houston Methodist was one of the nation’s first health systems to impose a coronavirus vaccine mandate.

06/24/2021

ACA is here to stay...

For the third time, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, ruling Republican-led states did not have standing to bring the case.