Category: Uncategorized

Healthcare Carrier Updates

HIGHMARK:

Highmark is excited to announce the Well360 Diabetes Management program powered by Onduo is now available to eligible Highmark members with type 2 diabetes.This will be a core, value add service for all fully insured, small group, grandmothered and ACA, MA, and Individual, ACA and small group balance funded clients. This is available as a buy-up for ASO clients of 250+ contracts. Onduo will reach out if members are eligible via email and/or mail.

This virtual diabetes management solution gives members — especially those who prefer the convenience of at‐home care — the personalized support they need to take control of their type 2 diabetes once and for all. And that can lead to better outcomes and healthier employees.

Here’s what your members get with Well360 Diabetes Management:

A no-cost welcome package mailed to their homes including a smart glucometer, an A1C kit, and unlimited test supplies.
For high-risk members, a wearable Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) that automatically takes readings 300 times per day with no finger pricks.
A dedicated Care Lead who checks in regularly and connects them with an entire personal care team — including endocrinologists and the member’s PCP — to provide day-to-day diet and medication support.
An interactive Onduo app that provides virtual support and collects data from connected devices to make managing diabetes easier.
A personalized care plan based on members’ needs, preferences, and engagement levels.

More information can be found at: https://www.highmark.com/newsroom/press-releases/highmark-health-launches-diabetes-management-program-with-onduo-by-verily.html

CAPITAL BLUE CROSS:

Capital Blue Cross is continuing their strategic investment in innovative technologies that can meet their members’ changing needs by offering new digital tools aimed to help members prevent, manage, or reverse diabetes.

As part of that investment, Capital Blue Cross worked with two new vendors to launch three new Digital Diabetes Programs:

Prevention with Omada – For members with prediabetes.
Management with Omada – For members diagnosed with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Reversal with Virta – For members who are committed to reversing (rather than managing) their Type 2 diabetes; requires members to follow a personalized nutrition plan.

These programs, offered in two different apps, have launched and are now a part of their growing library of digital health tools that help their members manage chronic conditions from the comfort of home. Eligible members who participate in a program will not be charged an additional fee; the cost is included with medical benefits. While each program has unique offerings, they all provide a personalized experience based on a participant’s needs and health goals. Members already diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes can choose between the Management or Reversal program. Members who enroll in any of the Digital Diabetes Programs will have access to:

A professional health coach
Connected devices members can automatically link to their account. Diabetes monitoring equipment and supplies (for example, meters, test strips, and wireless smart scale) at no additional cost
A curriculum and resources on topics like healthy eating, managing stress, and improving sleep habits
Their own community of participants who can offer group support and encouragement

The three digital diabetes programs are included for all customers except 100+ ASO groups must opt in for the reversal program (Virta). No cost to the member, and the group will pay a monthly claim cost.

More information can be found at: https://www.capbluecross.com/wps/portal/cap/home/explore/resource/diabetes?utm_source=employer_group&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=diabetes&utm_term=diabetes

Healthcare Compliance Corner

Medicare Part D Disclosure Requirements

Entities that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare Part D eligible individuals must disclose to CMS whether the coverage is “creditable prescription drug coverage”. This disclosure is required whether the entity’s coverage is primary or secondary to Medicare. Entities must disclose creditable coverage status to CMS using the online Disclosure to CMS Form. Additionally, entities must provide a written disclosure notice to all Medicare eligible individuals annually who are covered under its prescription drug plan, prior to October 15th each year. If you are a Health & Welfare client, Conrad Siegel’s team prepares this written disclosure notice for you to provide to benefit eligible individuals.

Who Must Provide the Disclosure to CMS Form

Entities include:

Group health plans, including those offered by employers; union/Taft-Hartley plans; church plans; Federal, State and local government plans; and other group-sponsored plans.

Timing of Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS Form from Entity

The Disclosure to CMS Form must be submitted to CMS on an annual basis, and upon any change that affects whether the drug coverage is creditable.

To complete the form go to: https://surveys.cms.gov/jfe/form/SV_6ilHtZUoAtl92n4

If you need assistance finding out if your plan is creditable, contact your client manager for more information.

Retirement Communications Coordinator

Our Firm

Conrad Siegel was established in 1963 upon the principles of fee-for service work with no hidden costs, solid and objective advice, and transparency throughout – not because it’s required, but because it’s the right thing to do. Our firm has expertise in creating custom retirement plans, providing investment consulting, developing competitive health plans, administering 401(k) plans, and providing actuarial services. We work with corporations, non-profits, government and municipal agencies, schools, and individuals. Our employees are our most valuable asset and today, Conrad Siegel employs over 100 professionals aligned with the very same values on which the company was founded.

Job Summary

At Conrad Siegel, the qualified candidate is a motivated, self-starter who has attained valuable industry experience allowing them to complete all job responsibilities independently and with merit. The Retirement Communications Coordinator reports to the President of Investment Advisory Services and is responsible for defined contribution retirement plan communication, education, and innovation efforts. The Retirement Communications Coordinator’s focus is to ensure communication and education tools and resources are competitive in the marketplace and aid in successful retirement for plan participants.

Job Responsibilities

Drive communication and engagement initiatives for defined contribution retirement plan participants
Research and understand the competitive marketplace
Lead an internal innovation committee, define the vison and direction, and present new ideas for products and services
Manage innovation committee projects through to completion
Collaborate with internal subject matter experts
Provide communication expertise to staff
Develop content for participant education
Enhance products and services using analytics and user feedback

Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree in Communications or Marketing
Minimum 3 years of experience in a similar role
Knowledge of defined contribution retirement plans, preferred
Exceptional written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills
Ability to provide creative and innovative ideas

Physical Requirements

While performing the responsibilities of this job, the employee must be able to sit for several hours at a time. The employee is regularly required to operate a computer and telephone. Work environment includes an indoor office with uniform temperatures.

Compensation

This position is full-time exempt and requires an average of 40 hours per week. Conrad Siegel offers a competitive salary that is commensurate with education and experience. We recognize the value of a work-life balance and provide a liberal flex-time policy, comprehensive benefits package, and retirement plan.

Interested candidates should send resume with salary requirements in confidence to:

Emily Egolf
Conrad Siegel
PO Box 5900
Harrisburg, PA 17110-0900
emilyegolf@conradsiegel.com

Conrad Siegel is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This job description is subject to change at any time.

What does that mean? Retirement lingo explained

We all know saving for retirement is important but some of the terms associated with retirement plans can make things confusing. We’d like to provide some clarity. You’ll hear these terms a lot when investing for retirement. Here’s what they mean.

Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is an investment strategy aimed at balancing risk by spreading your money over different types of investments: stocks, bonds and money market/stable value. The goal is to help you deal with the ups and downs of the financial markets.

Diversification
Diversification is the practice of investing in multiple asset classes and securities with different risk characteristics to reduce the risk of owning any single investment. Diversification can’t assure a profit or protect against loss in a down market.

Rebalancing
Rebalancing is the process of moving money from one type of investment to another periodically to maintain a desired asset allocation.

Stocks
A stock, also known as shares or equity, is a type of security that represents an ownership interest in a corporation. When you buy a stock, you buy a piece of a company. Stocks are riskier, because companies can be affected by any number of factors, including industry trends and the overall economy. But over the long run, they’re also likely to provide more growth to keep your retirement investments moving forward.

Bonds
A bond is debt security that represents a corporation, government or other entity borrowing money. The borrowing institution repays the amount of the loan plus a percentage as interest. Income funds generally invest in bonds. Bonds are usually considered a conservative investment; one that can help cushion against the ups and downs of the stock market.

The Do’s and Don’ts of your 401(k) fund lineup.

Do’s

Have stated goals.
Your internal investment committee should have a conversation about the overall goals of the menu. Talk to the group about what funds make up the lineup and how many funds are offered. Once your goals are established, they should be documented in meeting minutes or the Investment Policy Statement. Documentation serves as a great way to keep existing Committee members on the same page and help bring new members up to speed.

Offer a full suite of “easy” options.
Most participants are looking to defer the investment diversification decision. Plan sponsors should make it easy for participants to have a well-diversified portfolio. Sponsors should understand the difference between risk based and target date funds and select the one that’s most appropriate for participants.

Meet the needs of the two types of investors.
Not all participants want an “easy” option. Some actually want to create their own portfolio. Develop a standalone menu of funds, which allows you to give participants the opportunity to develop a properly diversified portfolio on their own. However less can actually be more. Giving participants a choice does not mean that they should be overwhelmed with a large amount of options. Plan sponsors should look to keep the menu concise by not offering multiple funds in the same asset class.

Decide if you want to offer index or non-index funds.
Have a discussion with your advisor on the differences between the two and decide which type of funds are appropriate for your participants. Low cost, broadly diversified index funds make a lot of sense in a retirement plan. Rounding out the menu with a few non-index funds may also be appropriate if you have more sophisticated participants looking to create their own portfolio. It is not always necessary to offer non-index funds, but if you do so, make sure it is in the best interest of your participants.

Use low cost investments.
Costs eat away at returns. Over longer periods of time, funds that have lower cost structures can have better performance. This is because it’s hard to cover additional costs year after year by consistently having superior performance.

Don’ts

Make decisions off the cuff.
Remember it’s all about the process. You should know the goals of the investment lineup and your Investment Policy Statement should list minimum investment criteria. That criteria should then be followed in your decision making process. It’s much easier to defend decisions when the Committee follows an outlined process.

Have overlap.
Remember that too many options can be confusing for participants and actually cause them to make poor decisions or no decision at all. It’s appropriate to offer participants exposure to different asset classes but it might not make sense to offer multiple funds in the same category. For instance, does it make sense to offer 3 global funds? Each may have a different mix between stocks and bonds and a different mix between domestic and foreign equities but the average participant likely doesn’t know these differences and will not be able to determine which makes the most sense for their situation. You are better off taking on the burden of these decisions, rather than leaving it up to participants.

Forget you are designing the menu for the average participant.
While the members of the Committee might be sophisticated investors, it doesn’t mean that all participants are. When designing the menu, make sure that decisions are made for the group collectively, not just the Committee members.

Make too many or too few changes.
Just because the Committee made great decisions at the start, doesn’t mean those decisions are still appropriate today. Be sure to review your fund lineup regularly. It doesn’t make sense to make changes for the sake of making changes. Participants can lose confidence in the Committee and the retirement plan if changes are being made consistently without explanation or perceived benefit. However, if you haven’t made any adjustments since you started the plan, it may be time to revisit your goals and lineup.

Use high cost share classes.
Some fund families offer multiple share classes based on the amount invested in each fund. A good example of this is Vanguard who offers an institutional share class that carries a lower expense ratio once you have $5 million in certain funds. Make sure you are using the lowest costing share class that the plan qualifies for. Don’t assume your provider is automatically doing this for you.

Are you setting up your employees for a successful retirement?

Your employees need to be able to retire—both for their own good and for the good of the company. As an employer, you want to help your employees reach their goals and build a secure, comfortable future for themselves. And in a time when economic and financial anxiety feel more present than ever before, they need your help even more.

While the pandemic has brought about significant changes in our professional and personal lives, there are some vital truths to long-term retirement planning that we must reinforce:

Creating a retirement environment

To create an environment where every employee feels empowered to save, you as a plan sponsor must do several things:

Offer plan information that’s understandable:

Communicate clearly about your plan and its options on a regular basis, but especially in times of crisis.

Advocate for the importance of saving:

When it comes to saving for retirement, the time is now.

Make saving easy:

The best way to simplify saving is to have a good default in place—automatic enrollment, with an escalating savings rate. Auto-enrollment rates of 3-4% will not get your employees where they need to be.

Tip: Consider what level most employees will need to reach to support themselves in retirement and offer a plan that gets to that level. Employees can opt to defer a smaller amount if they need to, but they’ll understand what’s required to get to a healthy retirement.

Include an employer contribution:

Allocating employer money to retirement benefits signals to your
employees that saving for retirement is important.

Provide financial wellness support:

A strong retirement environment stems from employees feeling that the answers to their questions are available to them.

How do I balance debt and saving, while managing spending?
How do I keep saving even when my spouse loses their job?
Can I save for my kids’ college if I save for retirement?
Should I adjust my strategy during an economic downturn?
What if I need the retirement money for a medical bill?

In this case, it’s not about having the answers yourself. You can provide access to financial professionals who will help get your people on the road to a smart savings plan that aligns with their vision for retirement. Online resources, helplines they can call, and eventually in-person meetings will put their minds at ease and their money into action.

This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only and is intended to be used as a guide for planning. It should not be construed as investment, tax, financial or other advice. Data and other information provided by third parties are believed to be obtained from reliable sources, but we do not guarantee the accuracy of such information. Investing in securities involves the potential for gains and the risk of loss and past performance may not be indicative of future results.

Joshua Mayhue Appointed Partner at Conrad Siegel

Harrisburg, PA – August 2021 – Conrad Siegel, delivering comprehensive employee benefits and investment advisory services, recently announced that Joshua Mayhue, FSA, EA, MAAA has been appointed a partner at the firm.

Mayhue, a consulting actuary, specializes in Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) and defined benefit plan consulting. He has worked at Conrad Siegel since 2005 and serves as chair of the firm’s OPEB line of business where he works with plans for both private and public entities.

Mayhue leads the firm’s OPEB consulting that works specifically with school districts. Through his leadership and consulting work, the firm has earned the business of over half of the school districts in the state of Pennsylvania. Josh is a recognized expert on the GASB 75 accounting standard and led educational initiatives across the state when the standard made a major transition from GASB 45 to GASB 75 in recent years.

“We are very proud to name Josh a partner,” said John Jeffrey, partner and consulting actuary at Conrad Siegel. “He is not only a great consultant for our clients but he is an even better person who cares for those that he works with. Josh has taken our OPEB line of business and run with it – making improvements to our operations and client deliverables. He has become a true leader in the public sector space, working with hundreds of school districts across the state of Pennsylvania.”

Mayhue earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (concentration in Actuarial Science) and Economics from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), the profession’s highest distinction, an Enrolled Actuary, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Retirement Readiness in an Economic Crisis

Are you setting up your employees for a successful retirement?

While the pandemic has brought about significant changes in our professional and personal lives, there are some vital truths to long-term retirement planning that we must reinforce:

Creating a retirement environment

To create an environment where every employee feels empowered to save, you as a plan sponsor must do several things:

1. Offer plan information that’s understandable:

Communicate clearly about your plan and its options on a regular basis, but especially in times of crisis.

2. Advocate for the importance of saving:

When it comes to saving for retirement, the time is now.

3. Make saving easy:

The best way to simplify saving is to have a good default in place automatic enrollment, with an escalating savings rate. Auto-enrollment rates of 3-4% will not get your employees where they need to be.

Tip: Consider what level most employees will need to reach to support themselves in retirement and offer a plan that gets to that level. Employees can opt to defer a smaller amount if they need to, but they’ll understand what’s required to get to a healthy retirement.

4. Include an employer contribution:

Allocating employer money to retirement benefits signals to your employees that saving for retirement is important.

5. Provide financial wellness support:

A strong retirement environment stems from employees feeling that the answers to their questions are available to them.

How do I balance debt and saving, while managing spending?
How do I keep saving even when my spouse loses their job?
Can I save for my kids’ college if I save for retirement?
Should I adjust my strategy during an economic downturn?
What if I need the retirement money for a medical bill?

Conversations Starters: A Guide To Retirement Readiness

What do your plan participants need?

When they are worried about market volatility, they need access to counsel from someone who is not a co-worker. They may need tools to help them pay down debt and even start an emergency fund so they don’t have to tap into their retirement accounts. Help them prepare with these easy steps.

Questions to Evaluate Retirement Readiness

Encourage participants to reflect on their retirement readiness. Each employee should:

Review their risk profile and whether they are invested appropriately. Their risk profile from 10 years ago might not be applicable anymore.
Determine if they are saving enough to replace 80% of their income, including all retirement plan investments and social security.
Review their contribution levels and establish a plan to gradually increase.
Consider their retirement age. For many, retiring at age 65 is not realistic.
Evaluate in what areas they need the most support or guidance, whether it’s debt repayment, saving, planning, or spending practices.

Next Steps for Retirement Readiness

Participants should re-evaluate their plan regularly, especially as this time of crisis is passing. It will be easier to plan rationally as the intensity we are all experiencing starts to calm. Encourage your employees to:

Consider consolidating all their retirement assets in a single location:

People are transient and might have some old retirement accounts.
Having all their assets in one place allows them to create an accurate risk profile with the plan’s projection tools.
No need to wait—do it NOW.

Have a conversation with their partner and/or family about how they will respond to the next economic shock.

What are our savings priorities?
What’s our risk tolerance level?
Are we able to stay the course and not panic?
What do we draw on if we lose our job(s)?
Are there lifestyle adjustments we could make?
Would we want to delay our retirement?