HIPAA FAQ #1 : Why can't I see my spouse/dependent when I sign in to my medical coverage website? Are they enrolled?

Technology can be a great asset when it comes to access to your medical coverage information. Carriers are making information more accessible by allowing members sign in to their websites and view their personal medical information, find in-network providers for their plans, and even order new ID cards. However, this has raised question and concern for members who log in for the first time and cannot view their spouse or dependent as a part of their plan coverage.

Fax Cover Sheet

When you have problems with your benefits, it seems as though there are a million little details to keep track of: which doctor did I see? what day did I visit their office? what were the charges? what is my account number? So when it comes time to contact the McGohan Brabender Customer Care Team, it is hard to know what information to have ready to share.

In order to simplify and expedite the process for you, we have created a fax cover sheet that you can fill out and send in along with any statements from your provider or carrier so that we can get to work on your issue. You may even use this form to collect all of the information we will need to get from you before you call in! Having all of this information together can greatly expedite the turnaround time for you and help our team to better serve you.

Want to utilize this helpful tool? Download it here:

HIPAA Form

One of our roles as the McGohan Brabender Customer Care Team is to act as your advocate to carriers and providers, ensuring that benefit plans operate properly. Our knowledge of healthcare as well as our relationship with carriers allows our team to troubleshoot when issues arise, and our commitment to providing the best customer service experience to help members resolve their claims. We always are happy to work directly with the member to resolve claim issues; however, if the person would prefer that we work through someone other than the employee, we require a HIPAA release form.

Tracking Your HSA

Just as Healthcare has seen unprecedented changes in the past year, so have the types of benefits offered to employees. HSAs (or Health Savings Accounts) have become a more popular option for many members, with the tax free dollars offering more bang for your buck as you pay for your medical care. This departure from traditional insurance plans has created a more complex responsibility for the individual, though. Keeping track of where the dollars from your HSA are spent and what they are spent on is crucial for tax purposes as well as reconciling your account.

In order to help make this process easier, we have created a downloadable HSA tracker to input your expenses as you go. As you enter your contributions and transactions from your account, the balance automatically updates. Other tabs include spaces for you to input your important HSA information, a list of qualified and non-qualified expenses, and a sample of how to use the HSA tracker.

Click the following link to download your own tracker!

Finding an In-Network Provider

When it comes to getting the most out of your benefits, utilizing a provider that is ‘in-network’ for your carrier can save a tremendous amount of money and effort. In-network does not just apply to your carrier, though. It also means in-network for your specific plan type. The best way to ensure that the provider you are planning to go to is considered in-network is to go to the carrier’s website and do a provider search based on your plan information.

Check the following links to provider searches for some of our most often used carriers (remember to have you member information - plan type, member ID, etc - ready when you go to the site!):

Keeping Track of Important Benefits Information

Not long after you sign up for your benefits plan, it seems like you are bombarded with information and cards. You might have different carriers for your medical, vision, dental, and life, each with their own cards, ID numbers, and contact information. If you are anything like me, you will most likely misplace one or all of these at least once throughout the year (and usually when you need it the most).

After years of scrambling to find all of my important plan information when I needed it, I decided to input it all into a document and save it to my computer. This way, even when I could not find my card, I would have all of the pertinent information for my benefits in one place.

Think this tool might be helpful for you too? Try a set up like this:

Big Days and Qualifying Events

When it comes to big days with your benefits programs, none are as important as your open enrollment period. This is your one chance throughout the year to make changes to your plan. However, did you know that there are a few qualifying events that will allow you to make changes on other dates?

Check out our ‘big days’ list to see what big days can impact your benefits plan:

Application Quick Checklist

Insurance applications can be a daunting task. Even the simpler health coverage applications can include 47 important fields that need to be completed for processing.

As a new employee with a stack of paperwork to complete in order to receive your benefits, completing your applications may seem like a task to rush through. For an HR Administrator, double-checking forms before submitting them may seem like a task that does not rank highly on your long list of work to complete. However, if you go through our quick checklist, you can potentially save yourself mass amounts of time and effort in the long run!

Make sure all health applications have correctly filled in the following fields: