Important Things Employers Need to Know for Healthcare Reform

Healthcare reform is a major concern for many employer s these days. This is something the employers must plan ahead and this is where having a strategic healthcare management program helps. When it comes to healthcare coverage, they need to focus on the right kind of employer sponsored health insurance that will work for both the company and its employees. However, strategic healthcare management is not just choosing the right kind of employee health insurance; it is about everything ranging from updating documents and changing the processes to complying with the new law. 

To have a proper health care strategic management it is essential to understand the various components of healthcare law that have began to unfold. The federal government is still determining how things will work with the healthcare law. As of now, the actions an employer depend on the number of his/ her employees. According to the healthcare law the bench mark number is 50 employees. So a company with less than 50 employees is free from the rules of the law; however, companies with 50 or more employees need to imply by these rules and guidelines. 

The government actually played smart with the 50 employees’ benchmark. These employees must be “Full-time equivalent”, which is calculated by adding the work hours of all the part-time employees and then divide the sum total by 120 hours. This number is finally added to the total number of full-time employees. To be in sync with the health care strategic management system, companies that fill 250 or more W-2 forms need to report the total cost of their employee’s health insurance program. At present, employees enjoying this benefit need not pay any taxes for the same. 

For small businesses, the tax credit is a perk and will motivate as well as help them to pay with the employee benefits like employer sponsored health insurance. In fact, this is why the federal government added the Small Business health Care Tax Credit in the law, encouraging the tax-exempt organizations and small business owners to provide employee health insurance coverage. For some business, this incentive may not look enough but it is icing on the cake for businesses that are already paying the cost of employer sponsored health insurance. The tax credit in 2014 will be available only through Small business Health Options Program. 

For employers having a strategic healthcare management program based on the law, the number of fees and tax related to this law is likely to change their game plan. They can notice a dramatic effect on the premiums they pay for group policies. Such strategic healthcare management will even make business planning easier for employers as they will know the effective dates as well as where their money is going. 

Simplifi provides a comprehensive suite of healthcare management solutions designed to simplify administration, improve health, and reduce costs. The company’s innovative approach and strategic healthcare management combines the best available cost containment and healthcare management products to maximize every benefit dollar you spend and position your company for success.

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Pharmacy Management Benefits

Pharmacy management involves a combination of various skills. These include marketing management, account management, sales and stock, staff management and customer service. Being responsible for the entire retail space, the retail pharmacy managers must have these qualities and skills to run a business successfully. The following are some of the departments that a retail pharmacy manager is responsible for:

Staff management: One of the most important responsibilities of retail pharmacy managers is people management. The staff may range from pharmacy techs and licensed pharmacists to stock help and part-time register. And pharmacy managers are responsible for creating work schedule for all these staff members. He or she must ensure that the licensed pharmacist is always on the schedule and present in the store at all times otherwise the store cannot open legally. In case of illness or absence, the store manager must arrange a fill-in immediately. However, often time, pharmacy department have separate roll-down gates, which can remain locked even though the other part of the store remains open. In that case, the pharmacy can operate without having the pharmacist present in the store. 

Finance management: As mentioned, one of the tasks of pharmacy managers involves managing accounts. The need to keep a record of supplier payments, third-party insurance payments and other peripherals involved. They must tally all the expenses and sales figures on a daily basis. Besides, the expenses must be compared to ensure a regular flow of money. They must also take care of the accounts that different due dates and keep the financial record in control at all times. Pharmacies are usually paid by third-party insurance companies for all the prescription medication that they dispense. Such payments are made on monthly basis and pharmacy managers need to check them properly for accuracy and shortcomings (if any) against the month’s prescription log.

RX: Pharmacy managers must order prescription drugs, sharps, insulin and other controlled items on a regular basis to ensure the smooth flow of stock. In general, it is two deliveries per day for most of the drug supply companies. The second delivery of the day is to ensure that pharmacy stores can dispense the drugs/ replacement drugs on the very same day when the supply is completely out or low. Pharmacy managers must also make sure that they have a stock of over the counter items as such medicines generally make more business than prescription drug dispensary. 

Marketing management: This is a significant role played by the independent pharmacy managers. They need to draft special marketing campaigns and carry them out. The manage is best suited to deal with the entire promotional management as he or she is completely aware of the wholesale cost of each item the store sells and items that are popular and those which are not. They also know the consumers behavior shopping at the store. All these insights help them to create better marketing campaigns including the planning of general advertisements, flyer creation, and special pricing etc.

Simplifi offers innovative pharmacy benefit management plan options, customized formularies and integrated information systems to manage the cost and utilization of prescription drugs and improve the value of your plan’s drug benefits. In addition, the company can help coordinate care and identify chronic disease conditions for early intervention to achieve even more savings.

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