Whole-Wheat Crepes with Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling
A basic crepe recipe, but with a healthy twist.

Find the recipe here.

Chard & Feta Tart
A Greek-inspired tart with a cracker-like crust.

Find the recipe here.

Eggs Italiano
A sophisticated – and lighter- take on the classic Eggs Benedict.

Find the recipe here.

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Citrus Dressing
The fat-free dressing is a sweet-sour combination of fresh citrus juices, honey and Dijon mustard.

Find the recipe here.

Strawberry Bruschetta
Made with a judicious smear of mascarpone – which has half the fat of butter.

Find the recipe here.

Blood Orange-Pomegranate Mimosas
A twist on the mimosa made with blood orange juice and pomegranate juice.

Find the recipe here.

All of us here at Sterling wish you and yours a very Happy Mother’s Day.

• Whether or not we administer your benefit plans, HRA or FSA, we can complete the Form 5500 Filing for you. You must have at least 100 plan participants under a health and welfare plan.
• We complete a needs assessment by reviewing Form 5500 Filing history and plan details. Then we gather the required data using a custom worksheet and employer provided information (Schedule A, Schedule C, etc.) to prepare a signature-ready Form 5500 document for filing with the IRS.
• All documents, including Form 5500, Schedule As, and Schedule Cs, are available for employer review on a secure, password-protected portal. Employers can choose to file electronically after they review the documents we prepare. Or, employers can print, sign and scan the signature page, return it to Sterling and we do the filing. If employers file directly, we’ll help with e-filing instructions.
• Timely filing requires that all information be provided to Sterling by the first of the month when the filing is due. For employers who need more time to work with us in gathering data, we’ll also prepare IRS Form 5558 to request a filing extension.
• We can also work with employers to amend past incorrect or insufficient filings (DFVC) so Form 5500 filing records are current and compliant with the IRS.
• Sterling will maintain the data we gather and all filings to reference for Form 5500 Filing in future years and in the event of questions from the IRS or Department of Labor (DOL). We help with DOL communication and keep you updated on changes in regulations.
• We prepare and provide the Summary Annual Report (SAR) for distribution to your employees, if they request a copy. The SAR is a narrative summary of Form 5500 (it is not required for defined benefit pension plan years beginning after December 31, 2007).

On our forms page you’ll find documents to get started with the Form 5500 Filing process. They include the Sterling Form 5500 Application and Worksheet, Sterling Form 5500 Services and Fees collateral, Form 5500 Filing Definitions, and IRS Business Codes.

Please contact us to help with your Form 5500 Filing compliance needs.

Saturday, May 12th is the 20th annual Letter Carriers’ Food Drive, Stamp Out Hunger. It’s easy to participate in the largest one-day food drive in the nation.

Here’s how you can help Stamp Out Hunger:

1. Bag non-perishable food items*
2. Leave the bag by your mailbox before mail delivery
3. Your letter carrier will collect your donation and deliver it to the Food Bank

*Donate items like canned meats, fish, soup, bottled juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal and rice that do not require refrigeration. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.

Get more information and find out how you can help at HelpStampOutHunger.com.

Second Harvest Food Bank reports they received over 391,000 pounds of food from the 2010 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. That equals over 300,000 meals or almost 20 semi trucks full of food.

Imagine the impact we can make if each person reading this blog donates one bag of food – and asks 5 friends to donate too! You can use the sharing icons at the end of this post to quickly and easily share this blog post, or visit StampOutHunger.com for more ways to spread the word.

Roy Ramthun, also known as “Mr. HSA,” is now finalizing his projections for the 2013 amounts for HSAs. “With last Friday’s release of the March inflation figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the inflation-adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) for 2013 can be finalized,” says Ramthun.

“I am pleased to be able to provide this information in advance of the official publication by the Internal Revenue Service. The earlier notice will help banks, health plans, and plan administrators begin to lock in their program designs for next year,” says Ramthun. The IRS is required to publish the inflation-adjusted amounts for the upcoming year by June 1 each year.

Ramthun says that the maximum HSA contribution (not including catch-up contributions) will increase to $3,250 for individuals with self-only coverage and $6,450 for those with family coverage in 2013. “The HSA contribution limit for individuals ended up $50 higher than I projected in February,” Ramthun says. The annual catch-up contribution for individuals age 55 or older is set by statute and will remain $1,000 per person for 2013.

Ramthun also says that changes may be needed for HSA-qualified insurance plans as well. “For the first time in three years, the minimum deductible for HSA-qualified plans will increase. The minimum deductible will rise to $1,250 for individuals with self-only coverage and $2,500 for individuals with family coverage.”

Ramthun reminds consumers enrolled in HSA-qualified plans with the minimum deductible for 2012 to make sure that their plan remains HSA-qualified for 2013. “If your deductible does not increase to $1,250 or $2,500 at your plan renewal, you will lose your HSA eligibility for the coming year,” says Ramthun.

“The limits on out-of-pocket expenses will also rise for 2013,” says Ramthun. “The new limits will rise to $6,250 for individuals with self-only coverage and $12,500 for individuals with family coverage. Existing plans with lower limits will not have to change this feature of their plan designs but can if they want to,” says Ramthun.

About Roy Ramthun:
Roy Ramthun led the U.S. Treasury Department’s implementation of the HSA program after they were enacted in 2003. Now a private consultant, Ramthun is a nationally-recognized expert on HSAs and consumer-driven health plans. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars around the country. More information is available at http://www.mrhsa.com.

Visit our website for more information on Health Savings Accounts and Sterling Health Services Administration.

Now is the time to remind those with health savings accounts (HSAs) that you have until April 17 to contribute to your HSA to maximize your 2011 deductions, up to the legal limit.

For 2011, HSA contributions are tax deductible up to $3,050 for individuals and up to $6,150 for families. HSA accountholders who are 55 and older can deduct an additional $1,000.

In 2012, tax-deductible contribution limits have been increased to $3,100 for individuals and $6,250 for families.

HSAs are like “medical” IRAs. They are tax-free accounts that individuals with an HSA compatible, high deductible health insurance policy can fund and use to pay for medical expenses. Because they are tax-advantaged and balances can accumulate over time, HSAs can also be used to accumulate savings.

HSA funds can be used to pay for a variety of healthcare services, including many that are not traditionally allowed under other plans. For example, dental and vision care services, long term care insurance premiums and medical insurance premiums during periods of unemployment can all be paid for with HSA funds. More information is available in FAQs or in the Internal Revenue Service’s Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.

Sterling does not offer tax advice, but if you have questions about this information, please call or email at 800-617-4729 or customer.service@sterlinghsa.com. Customer service representatives are available Monday – Friday from 8 am to 6 pm Pacific time.

First-Quarter Outlook For California Patient Care Management

Multiple developments in California point to further efforts to make medication therapy management more central to overall care management. There are already signs that MTM has a defined role to play in the risk reward proposition of accountable care organizations. New fronts are also emerging through value-based pharmacy benefit managers.

Care coordination/medication therapy management:

Pharmacy benefit manager Ventegra, Sterling Self-Insurance Administration and two university schools of pharmacy are working together to offer employers the kind of integrated benefit and care delivery model that has been the hallmark of HMO stalwart Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.

“Kaiser’s model allows for a free flow of communication across all care settings and between providers, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare providers,” says Ventegra CEO Robert Taketomo, Pharm.D., MBA. “They look at healthcare on a local level to identify variations in condition prevalence and practice patterns. They understand the need to manage patient care in an integrated way that doesn’t involve a back-and-forth between medical and pharmacy benefits.”

The idea is to expand pharmacy benefit management into pharmaceutical care management—a holistic approach to healthcare benefits that addresses medical utilization and pharmacy benefits, says Taketomo.

Sterling, an established presence in the health savings account market, launched a portfolio of self-insurance products in August 2011 that use this pharmaceutical care management strategy. The self-insurance products were initially launched in key California markets, but are now available nationwide.

As part of its PBM program, Ventegra uses a medication therapy management program designed by clinicians from the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy and the University of California San Diego School of Pharmacy. Components of the MTM program include creating, assessing and adjusting prescription drug treatment plans, as well as monitoring and counseling patients. The program is also designed to foster collaboration between physicians, pharmacists and patients to address any drug therapy issues that are identified. The schools of pharmacy also help to provide clinical and academic support for the evidence-based drug formularies used by Ventegra and its clients.

Sterling Self-Insurance Administration CEO Cora Tellez says the program being developed with Ventegra dovetails with the company’s focus on efforts to foster a higher degree of care coordination. “The role of the pharmacist puts us ahead of the game in patient care management. The schools of pharmacy provide a superior level of clinical analysis. As part of our program, pharmacist clinicians are routinely evaluating the medication regimen a member is taking. The pharmacist can then take action with a doctor and/or member,” Tellez says. “As we develop our integrated approach, the entire spectrum of healthcare providers who treat our members should be able to access a complete clinical profile from our HIPAA/HITECH-compliant health data vault. Our goal is to eliminate the ‘silo therapy’ that is a condition of our current, fragmented healthcare delivery system.”

Another care management incentive incorporated into Sterling’s self-insurance products is allowing drug company rebates to be paid directly to members or employers. “If the employee is picking up the tab because the deductible has not been met, the rebate goes to them. Otherwise, it goes to the employer,” says Tellez. Sterling reports that this benefit is unique to its product. Passing along rebates to members could incentivize patient adherence to prescription drug treatment because it alleviates the cost burden and MTM programs generally promote the most effective prescription drugs rather than those with the lowest cost.

Sterling’s patient-care management model also includes incentives through its Sterling HealthAssets accounts. The funds in the accounts, which are fully funded by Sterling (employers are encouraged, but not required to contribute to the accounts), are available to members who participate in a workplace wellness program. The program requires a biometric screening during the first year of enrollment. The screening is used to establish a risk profile for a three- to five-year wellness plan. The wellness programs are designed by partner Viridian Health Management, which was recently awarded an $8 million contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create a national workplace health program.

Ventegra’s model for administering pharmacy benefits includes the elimination of spread pricing—the difference between the amount PBMs typically pay pharmacies for each claim versus the bill they submit to health plans for that claim. Ventegra achieves this by having one maximum allowable cost list for all contracted pharmacies so that what is paid to the pharmacy is the same as what is billed to a health plan. Sterling’s self-insured plans include a level-funding option and a traditional self-insurance design. For the former, Ventegra and Viridian are a mandatory component but are optional for the latter. Both product lines are for groups with more than 50 employees.

Independent of its Sterling partnership, Ventegra also markets its portfolio as a potential component of accountable care organizations, offering integrated pharmacy and medical claims data, forwarding all pharmaceutical rebates and discounts, and encouraging ACOs to become their own PBM with the aid of flexible formularies and managed care expertise from Ventegra.

Accountable care organizations:

Of the 32 organizations named Pioneer ACOs by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in December 2011, six are based in California—more than in any other state. They include Brown & Toland Physicians (Bay area), Monarch Healthcare (Orange County), HealthCare Partners (Los Angeles and Orange counties), Primecare Medical Network (Riverside and San Bernardino counties), Sharp Healthcare (San Diego County) and Heritage California ACO (Southern, Central and Coastal California). All of these entities are physicians groups, except Sharp Healthcare, which includes both physicians and health system facilities.

Many of these organizations already have in place, or are developing, ACOs that target commercial PPO members. This will assist them in meeting the provision that requires Pioneer ACOs to have half of their revenues derive from similar payment structures with other public and private payers.

Their selection as Pioneer ACOs also means that these entities have demonstrated their ability to provide coordinated care management, including such initiatives as medication therapy management programs tha thelp address prescription drug utilization. For example, Monarch Healthcare had an existing medication therapy management program that includes monitoring patients who are taking more than six prescription drugs and who may have been recently hospitalized.

Other important HSA numbers to share with your clients are the great prices and tax savings they’ll get by setting up an HSA with Sterling:

• Low one-time set-up fees of $15 per account (requires online enrollment and online account funding).
• No set-up fee for HSAs rolled over to Sterling!
• Low monthly administration fees starting at $2.50 per individual account per month.
• Tax savings for employers and employees.
• A team of industry leading experts to help your clients with enrollment, HSA education, payroll and taxes, and ongoing support for employees. Sterling offers free webinars and in-person tutorials to help employers and employees get the most out of their HSAs.

It’s easy to rollover your existing HSA groups to Sterling or set up new ones. Just contact us today.

Mass transit users are one step closer to getting a pre-tax transit benefit restored.

It would allow commuters to take out up to $240 a month from their pre-tax paychecks to pay for their mass transit bill. It’s part of the $109 billion transportation bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday, 74-22. The measure now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The transit benefit would match the permanent tax credit offered to drivers to offset parking costs.

Last year, the commuter benefit was $230 dollars a month, until it was cut this January to about half that.

Under the new bill, the commuter tax benefit would be extended for one year and be retroactive to January first.

Another measure in the bill includes stricter federal oversight of long-distance and tour bus industries.

As developments are announced, we will keep publish updates here on the Sterling blog, as well as on our Facebook Page.

If so, we’d like to talk with them about our HRA services and our low monthly fees. We offer two types of HRA plans – basic and comprehensive – and a number of funding options for only $5.00 per employee per month for the basic plan and $8.00 per employee per month for the comprehensive plan. Our plan set-up and renewal fees are also competitive.

We provide a full range of HRA administrative services, including:

• Employer needs assessment, HRA plan development, and personal enrollment support.
• Plan document preparation and distribution.
• Participant set up, educational materials, and issuance of debit cards, if selected by employers.
• Healthcare expense claim review and payment of bills direct to providers or as reimbursement to the employee participant, depending upon how the employer sets up the account.
• Nondiscrimination testing mid-year (if requested) and annually to insure compliance.
• Accounting and reconciliation of employer funds.
• Preparation of Form 5500 and Schedule C for HRA clients with 100 or more employees enrolled in the HRA.
• Monthly reporting to employers.
• Online information and account management tools, as well as personal customer service.

HRA takeovers can occur anytime. Your clients don’t have to wait for renewal.

Please contact us today for more details on our HRA product.

If you would answer “yes” to any of the following questions, your company needs a Section 125 Premium Only Plan (POP) and you need to call Sterling HSA!

• Are your employees paying a percentage of healthcare premium costs?
• Does your company allow employees to pay their healthcare premiums pre-tax through payroll deduction, thus reducing taxable income and matching taxes paid by the employer?
• Does your company offer an HSA-compatible HDHP and allow employees to contribute to their HSA accounts pre-tax via payroll deduction (pre-Federal tax only in AL, CA and NJ)?

Sterling offers a basic POP for a one-time set-up fee of $175. Unlike most other administrators, Sterling does NOT charge an annual renewal fee on our basic POP. We also offer a comprehensive POP that includes annual nondiscrimination testing for a set-up fee of $350 with an annual renewal fee of $350. Details are available on the POP page of our website and the POP application and forms can be downloaded from our POP forms page.

If your company has a POP started years ago, it can be amended and restated anytime. We simply need the original start date of the old plan to maintain continuity back to the original start date. The POP document may need to be updated due to changes in IRS Code that regulate POPs.

Please contact us today for details on getting a POP set up right away.

If you are a Sterling Producer Partner and your clients would answer “yes” to the questions above, contact us for more information on this fast, easy, low-cost way for them to stay compliant.