(303) 369-3200

Gaby Baughn

Gaby Baughn

Gaby is our bilingual Client Service Specialist. She provides day-to-day support to our clients and members with billing, claims, eligibility, and system issues in English and Spanish. Gaby also assists the Client Managers with creating communications materials, preparing for open enrollment meetings and quoting.

We wrote a blog article in April about Consumerism and how to empower your employees to be smart consumers of health care. We know how difficult and confusing benefits can be, so check out these five additional tips to continue this education for your employees to enable them to advocate around their own health care and out-of-pocket expenses! 

Friday, 04 May 2018 10:00

2019 HSA Limits Announced

The IRS has published inflation-adjusted Health Saving Account (HSA) contribution limits for 2019, along with minimum deductible and maximum-out-of-pocket expenses for the high deductible health plans (HDHP) associated with HSAs.

Current benefit plans have given more purchasing and decision-making power to the members with higher out-of-pocket responsibilities. Members do not always understand what their benefit plans cover, and the costs associated to that coverage, which can cause a lot of confusion and frustration. 

We at Fall River Employee Benefits understand that benefit plans can be an intimidating and confusing subject. We want to empower and educate our client’s employees to be their own best health advocates and make informed decisions regarding their health care. 

We love helping our clients create year-round campaigns to teach their employees to be better consumers of health care. There are many topics to cover, so we’ll likely do several articles in this area. 

Recent articles from Benefits Pro and National Public Radio (NPR) claim that many patients are receiving unnecessary or “low-value” medical procedures, which are significantly increasing health care costs.

According to Benefits Pro, “health care consumers are sinking $25 billion a year on low-value procedures”. The Washington Health Alliance, after reviewing claims for 1.3 million patients in the state, found that 600,000+ patients per year are receiving treatment they do not need. The staggering cost for this unnecessary treatment is estimated at $282 million, and ultimately impacts rising health care costs.

In early October, President Trump signed an Executive Order instructing the Department of Labor to propose regulations to expand access to Association Health Plans (AHPs). This expansion would give small employers and the self-employed more health insurance options through bona fide trade and association groups based on profession and interest groups.
 
It’s important to understand what AHPs are, and the potential impact this expansion could have on our current health insurance market. 
Congress missed the September 30 deadline to continue funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This means federal funding for this program will expire by the end of October. This could cause strain on state level budgets nationwide, because once CHIP funds run out, states will struggle to continue this important program. 
Tuesday, 26 September 2017 18:41

Have you updated your CHIP notice?

The U.S. Department of Labor has released an updated Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) model notice.  When was the last time you updated your required Annual Notices? Why does this matter?
Tuesday, 08 August 2017 10:40

Common Misconceptions about Generic Drugs

Generic drugs are a cheaper option than brand-name drugs, and work just as well for the vast majority of people. According to the FDA, the savings reach as much as 90% when prescribing generic vs. brand-name, saving consumers up to $10 billion every year.

Despite this cost advantage, there are a lot of misconceptions that are keeping consumers at arm’s length. 
Tuesday, 18 July 2017 11:23

Cybersecurity in a Post-HIPAA world

Cyber security is a topic we all see and hear about every day, whether from friends, colleagues or the news. The reality is, cybersecurity attacks are becoming more constant and aggressive with their techniques and targets, and it is our responsibility to learn how to protect our businesses from attacks.
 
Those who handle benefits have access to Protected Health Information (PHI), and thus must take particular precautions to protect this sensitive data.
Wednesday, 14 June 2017 14:02

Finally, a Little Relief on Drug Trends

According to an article released by Optum, recent data shows Hepatitis C medications are positively contributing to specialty drug trend reductions and achieving lasting clinical results.

FDA approved medications for Hepatitis C, such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, started entering the market in 2013, and with great controversy. These medications have been effective, but at a huge cost. The initial price (which has since moderated) of a single course of a typical drug could run $85,000 – 95,000 in just three months.