Boca Benefits Consulting Group Inc.

BBCG now offers an automated health care policy quoting service for persons located in Washington D.C. via Assurant Health (Time Insurance). This service is also available to persons in Florida.

Click below to browse/price/apply. This service is FREE unless an application is actually submitted.

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Quick Jump to Presentation

Has group insurance seen its best days? I had to ask myself that today. In 2016 medical underwriting of individual policies will no longer be allowed. There will no longer be uninsurables that get treated differently under group plans than they do under individual policies. Why would an employer continue to stay on the back of a bronco that has been trying to throw it off for 20 years?

If the employer thinks it has a financial incentive to keep the group plan in place, that is likely not true. Changes in the Internal Revenue Code effective in 2009 makes purchase of individual policies with pre-tax HRA salary reduction amounts, as well as pre-tax employer HRA contribution amounts, permissible. The HRA contributions become “defined” in that the employer can fix the amount, if any, per class of employee, often at a level less that group plan levels.  How the employee uses it is entirely employee driven. The employer steps out of the equation for everything except the regulatory framework of a Section 125 HRA approach.  Employees make their own product purchase and just file the required paperwork with the administrator.

This is an exciting new concept about which only a few really knowledgable consultants are assisting employers. Let BBCG show you how this might work for your workforce.  Please click here to open a link to a preseentation from one of our strategic partners which is a nationally recognized leader in the implementation of this concept.

Please note that this concept is not carrier dependent. Employees can buy any healthplan they desire. However, for ease of transition BBCG can make available to the purchasing employees from one up to three individual plan carriers and assist with the purchase process.  For very large employers considering this transition, BBCG would actually put enrollers on site to assist. Note that with 3 carriers, three basic plans, and dozens of variable alternatives within the plans the decision points can exceed 100 for an employee. Using lowest cost as the driver can often be very dangerous for some employees.

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IMG Global has provided BBCG with a Portuguese language translation of its Patriot Travel Medical brochure.  We can now provide native language product information to Portuguese language speakers. We can also provide a live Portuguese speaker to discuss larger group purchases, etcetera. Click here to access Portuguese language brochure.

Rio de Janeiro will host the summer Olympics in 2016, the first time for any South American country. Although six years may seem like a long time to that date, the physical build-out to get Brazil ready will start much sooner. It is highly likely that there will be extensive Brazilian travel where the IMG Global Portuguese support can be key. Please refer any Brazilian related business to BBCG. The travel medical policy linked here is only one of the many offering we can show businesses headed that way or which might be using the U.S. as a staging area prior to the Olympics.

Any questions? Click here to send BBCG an email inquiry.

Access other IMG international product information which can be browsed, priced and for which applications can be made online by clicking the below icon. 

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As you may have noticed from experience using the existing Instant Quote function from UnitedHealthOne (i.e., Golden Rule Insurance), it has lacked some degree of user friendliness. Effective Monday, August 30, 2010, there will be an upgraded Instant Quote function via a new link.  We will add the new code as soon as it is available to us.

Note:  the existing link below will continue to function via a redirect to the new Instant Quote  web pages until approximately September 1, 2010 at which time it will become a dead link.

For persons who prefer to do business with a long-established insurance carrier in the individual healthcare market, BBCG offers United Healthcare’s “UnitedHealthOne” (f/k/a Golden Rule) products. Various traditional, high deductible, point-of-service and HSA products are available. Please feel free to use this service to explore options that you feel might meet your needs.

Please click on the above Golden Rule icon to open the auto-quoting page. This is a free and non-binding service unless the user actually submits an application.


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HHS issued rules on what actions would trigger a loss of “grandfathering” status under PPACA Monday, June 14, 2010. Those rules become effective today Thursday, June 17, 2010 concurrent with their publication in the Federal Register. Below is a summary of interpretation of the final interim rules as BBCG understands them. Many employers remain on the fence regarding the trade-off between plan changes flexibility and the accelerated PPACA requirements if “grandfathering” is reqlinquished. HHS esimates indicate that many employers will voluntarily give up “grandfathered” status in return for more control of their plans (versus the additional PPACA compliance requirements).

Changes that will result in loss of grandfathered status:

• Significant cut or reduction in benefits (e.g., elimination of benefits to cover care for a particular condition)
• Increase in co-insurance rates
• Significant increase in cost-sharing co-payment charges (defined as no more than the greater of $5 (indexed annually for medical inflation) or a percentage equal to medical inflation component of CPI plus 15%; estimated to be approximately 19% total currently)
• Significant increase in deductibles (exceeding medical inflation component of CPI plus 15%)
• Significant reduction in employer contributions (exceeding 5% of prior employer contribution)
• Tightening of an existing or adding a new annual dollar limit (unless replacing a lifetime
dollar limit with an annual dollar limit at least as high as the lifetime limit)
• Merger, acquisition or similar business restructuring – if principle purpose is to
cover new individuals under the grandfathered plan
• Switching carriers under an insured plan (unless the insured plan is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Does not apply to changes in administrators (i.e., TPA’s) for “ASO” (i.e., self-insured Administrative Services Only type plans).
• Moving employees to a grandfathered plan with lesser benefits

Please email us if we can assist with your current brokerage requirements. Note that employers cannot change carrriers under insured plans (including partially self-insured, minimum premium, etc.) without triggering a loss of “grandfathered” status but that the additional PPACA compliance requirements may still be justified if pricing, service, and/or plan provisions under an existing carrier relationship are felt to be inadequate for your needs.

 
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HHS Releases Final Interim Guidance on “Grandfathering”

Today, the Departments of Health & Human Services, Labor, and Treasury issued long-awaited interim final regulations that specify how “grandfathered” status will be defined and maintained. Regulators spelled out which actions or changes will (and will not) cause a plan to lose its “grandfathered” status.

These interim final regulations will still require analysis by carriers, consultants and employers relative to their implications and effect on employer-sponsored healthplan change decisions. We expect substantial industry opinions in the next day or so. HR and benefits professionals should keep a close eye on these developments.

Please contact us via email if you have questions about the interim final regulations. BBCG will be receiving guidance from carriers, and their attorneys, which may be valuable to you.


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If you are an employer or senior management person trying to keep up with the provisions of PPACA, you are likely very frustrated as are many others. It is a moving target with interpretations and interim rules emerging almost daily. I noted in today’s St. Pete Times comments made following a seminar hosted by the Tampa Chamber on the details of PPACA. Even the normally informed “experts” are a little behind the curve and major employers are struggling with decisions due to incomplete guidance.

CIGNA has been holding a series of web meetings hosted by both their own employees and outside experts. The last one had two attorneys who specialize in PPACA as presenters and who were excellent in terms of their level of knowledge and current information. Following the presentation, a web conference operator moderates individual telephone questions directly to the presenters for specific questions and answers.

You do not need to be a CIGNA client to take advantage of this resource. Even if you just “lurk” without asking any questions, you will be brought up to speed on many details that might not otherwise be available to you. BBCG encourages you to register via the below link and join the web meeting at 2 P.M. June 17, 2010.

Click here for the CIGNA registration web page and link to additional health reform information available from CIGNA.


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For those persons who prefer to do business with a long-established insurance carrier in the individual healthcare market, BBCG offers United Healthcare’s “UnitedHealthOne” (f/k/a Golden Rule) products. Various traditional, high deductible, point-of-service and HSA products are available. Please feel free to use this service to explore options that you feel might meet your needs.

Please click on the above Golden Rule icon to open the auto-quoting page. This is a free and non-binding service unless the user actually submits an application.

This service is in addition to the similar auto-quote function provided by BBCG via the CIGNA individual/small group market segment per our earlier blog entry at http://bocabenefits.com/blog/?p=588.

Both CIGNA and United Healthcare offer individual products as solutions to the “To Age 26” gap many college seniors may face while waiting for eligibility under one of their parent’s health plans.


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In addition to the UnitedHealthOne (f/k/a Golden Rule) individual products auto-quote function from United Healthcare , BBCG now has a similar auto-quote function available for CIGNA products. Just click on the CIGNA logo above to open the quoting window.

Like the UnitedHealthOne products, CIGNA products also address the “To Age 26” issue for graduating college seniors.

This is a free and non-binding process unless an application is actually submitted by the user. 


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United Healthcare’s “UnitedHealthOne” web site is down right now. Guess you guys overwhelmed them with quote requests! The auto quote function on http://bocabenefits.com/ind_health.htm won’t work until they have their scripts up and running again.

If you are attempting to get an individual healthcare quote, please re-try later.


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