Rebate Checks and how to Distribute

[insurehound]

Government at it's finest.

Get a call from one of my Anthem Small Groups. They received a small rebate check but don't know who to distribute the money to their employees. They call me.

I call my GA...worthless. I call Anthem. Spoke to a very nice lady who tells me the following:

In order to figure who is eligible to receive refund, we had to go back and check all employee plan choices and compare that to the plans that are eligible. We found two. Anthem wanted the Group (or me) to figure this out by ordering invoices but I said that I wanted her (Anthem) to help me.

To determine who gets what percent of the rebate check, Anthem directs me to a hoaky Excel Spreadsheet that Anthem made that requires the Employer to go back and add up all premium from the employee from renewal of 2011 to 12/31/11. Then take number and stick it into Excel spreadsheet for a number.

Then there's a matter of how to distribute the money as discussed earlier in other posts...cash? Future decrease in premium?

All this for less than $200. This is completely stupid! ...and is there a reason Anthem could have used some of that great computer technology they have to at least tell the group which employees are eligible for the rebate and what percent they are to receive? They have already done the math! How did they know what the amount of the rebate was in the first place without knowing who were the employees who were eligible!

I am being very careful how I advise my Groups on this. I do not want this to come back at me.

 

[Yagents]

I believe they can take the money and put it towards a wellness program for employees. Maybe order some fruit for breakfast?

 

[insurehound]

Drinks after work? Does that count?

 

[Dave020]

Friday KEGGERS! That'll work

 

[VolAgent]

Friday KEGGERS! That'll work

Dude! That was my first thought as well.

 

[insurehound]

Dude! That was my first thought as well.

Remember "Dude, You're getting a Dell" ?

 

[dgoldenz]

Here's another fun wrinkle in the MLR rebate game - Anthem's group policies in VA are individually priced for each employee when there are less than 15 employees in the group, so everyone pays a different rate. Now the employer would have to go back and manually calculate the rebate for each individual employee since the older employees and people with families would get a bigger rebate than the younger, single employees. Fun times.

I've spoken with 3 CPA clients of mine that deal with HR and nobody knows whether this is taxable to the employee for 2011 or 2012, and if it's taxable for 2011, is everyone that got a refund really going to be required to amend their tax returns? Should/will the employer and/or insurance company eventually be required to pay the employees interest on the money that was withheld from them for a year? While the money was rebated to the employees this year, technically it was earned in 2011, and the employees were therefore denied the opportunity to earn interest on that money during the time it was withheld. You know the insurance company was earning interest on that money the whole time.

PPACA rocks.

 

[somarco]

Don't see why it would be taxable for 2011 since individuals are usually on a cash basis. There was no constructive receipt during 2011, so taxable in 2012

 

[Norwayguy]

Friday KEGGERS! That'll work

It would probably be a Friday legged, he said it was only $200.....Anyone wonder how much time and man hours have been wasted at the carrier/broker and group level and anyone wonder how those employees who don't get a rebate will feel cheated when they see a coworkers get a rebate.