Greetings! The November Crosby Connection newsletter is chock full of information about our Boosting Enrollment campaign, IRS changes to commuter benefits, our new Employee HIRD Form service and an updated list of merchants committed to implementing IIAS by January 1st, 2008. Don’t forget to review the calendar for important deadlines and upcoming events and please note that our offices will be closed on November 22nd and 23rd for Thanksgiving.
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Boost your FSA Enrollment Today and Save! Did you know that each new participant in your FSA plan creates additional revenue for your company through the associated FICA Savings? Last month, Crosby launched a Boosting Enrollment campaign aimed to maximize FSA participation. A Boosting Enrollment kit has been designed to help peak interest in an FSA and provide easy to understand information for potential participants. The kit contains an eye catching FSA Poster (shown below) to be hung in your common areas (cafeteria, hallway, etc), an FSA PowerPoint Presentation, FSA Brochures that describe the benefit in more detail, an Employee Email Blast Template designed for you to use when communicating with your employees regarding the benefits of an FSA plan and a sample of the "MyCrosbyBenefits card" which is a pocket-sized reference guide regarding on-line access to their claims information and reimbursement tips. Take advantage of these tools and help your employees save money, while at the same time, increase your profitability! For information regarding our Boosting Enrollment Campaign, please contact your Client Relationship Manager at 800-462-2235; either Katelyn Gilpatrick at ext. 113 or Jocelyn Brady at ext. 100. 
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Need Help Managing Health Care Costs? What about Hiring and Retention? Attend the SBANE Conference "Workforce 2008...Meeting Workforce Challenges of Today and Tomorrow" and not only will you learn about creative solutions to recruitment and hiring but also about ways to control costs in today’s increasingly complex environment. Come learn from the experts, including Harvey Crosby who will be sharing his ideas on cost containment. When: Thursday, November 29, 2007, 7:30am – 1pm
Where: Bentley Conference Center, Waltham, MA
Cost: $75 for Members and $99 for Non-Members Registration begins on Wednesday, November 7th via the SBANE website. |
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2008 Increase for Transportation Benefits
The IRS has issued the 2008 pre-tax limit increases for Parking and Transit benefits. For parking, the monthly pre-tax limit will increase to $220 for qualified parking benefits (a $5 increase from the 2007 limit) and $115 for transit and vanpooling expenses combined (a $5 increase from the 2007 limit).
For a complete summary of the planned 2008 Cost of Living increases, you can visit the IRS website for more information.
Online Ordering with Crosby's Commuter Benefit is Easy: If your employees pay out of pocket for their public transportation passes or parking expenses, consider taking advantage of Crosby’s Commuter Benefit Online Ordering system.
Our commuter benefit is managed through an employee "self-service" web procurement system that integrates core commuter-related applications within a single user interface. Participants place pre-tax parking and transit orders directly through our website. Passes, payments and vouchers are then delivered directly to the participant’s home or to the applicable vendor. For pre-tax parking, employers may offer participants the option of utilizing "direct pay" to the parking vendor and/or submitting expenses through an easy-to-use reimbursement process.
This is a great option if your company offers pre-tax MBTA passes to employees but don’t want to deal with the onerous "employee by employee" recordkeeping that working with the MBTA directly requires.
For more information, please contact Darla Rosenfeld at 617-928-0700 x168.
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HIRD Form Management: A New Service From Crosby Mass Health Care Reform legislation now requires employers to collect Employee HIRD (Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure) Forms from employees who decline employer-sponsored health insurance or the employer’s Section 125 Plan. In light of these regulations, Crosby has added a new service to help you distribute, track and store Employee HIRD Forms. As part of this new service, Crosby will - Receive a regular file from client for all employees needing to receive a HIRD form (can be non-benefits eligible employees and/or benefits eligible opting out).
- Mail a cover letter and HIRD form to employee. Other items such as a Section 125 opt-out form, Section 125 information and/or Summary Plan Description can be included.
- If employee does not return a completed HIRD form to Crosby within 60 days, Crosby will send a second cover letter and HIRD form.
- Scan and store HIRD forms temporarily. Images and/or paper records can be returned to the client.
- Provide customer service for employees with questions about completing and returning the HIRD form.
Crosby will develop a service to meet your organization’s needs. Please contact Darla Rosenfeld at 617-928-0700 x168 for more information. |
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A Warm Welcome Crosby Benefit Systems is pleased to announce the addition of Beth Dobrowski to our Insurance Services Group. Beth is a graduate of the University of Maine and comes to Crosby with an impressive client service and project management background. Beth will be working with the Business Development Team to service the needs of our new and existing clients. |
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Flex Debit Card IIAS Update
Below is an updated list of merchants that have communicated and confirmed their intention to implement an IIAS as of January 1, 2008: | A&P
ACME - SuperValu
Albertson’s – SuperValu
Balls Food Stores
Bigg’s – SuperValu
Brookshires/Super 1 Foods
Buehler Food Markets
Carrs
Cubs – SuperValu
CVS/Pharmacy
Dan’s
Dick’s
Dierbergs Markets
Discount Drug Mart
Dominick’s
Farm Fresh – SuperValu
Food Basics
Genuardi’s
Giant Eagle
Giant Food
Hannaford Food and Drug
Harris Teeter, Inc
Harvey's
H-E-B
Hen House Markets
Hornbachers – SuperValu
Hy-Vee Drug Stores
Hy-Vee Food Stores
Jewel – SuperValu
Kerr Drug
Kroger
Lin’s | Lucky – SuperValu
Macey's
Meijer
OSCO – SuperValu
Pak’ n Save Foods
Pathmark Stores
Pavilions
Randalls
Rosauers
Roundy’s Supermarkets
Safeway
Sam’s Club
Sav-A-Center
Shaws – SuperValu
Shop & Save - SuperValu
ShopKo Express
ShopKo Stores
Shoppers – SuperValu
Star Market – SuperValu
Stop & Shop Pharmacy
Sunflower- SuperValu
Super 1 Pharmacies
Superfresh
Sweetbay Supermarkets
SuperFresh
Target Corporation
Tom Thumb
Tops Markets
Vons
Waldbaum's
Wal-Mart Stores
| The following merchants have committed to implementing IIAS by June 2008: Fagen Pharmacy, Giant Food Stores, Walgreen Corporation, Wegmans and Winn Dixie Stores. Please Note: Other merchants are believed to be implementing the IIAS as well, but have not yet confirmed this and therefore are not included on this list.
Crosby will continue to keep you apprised of the developments surrounding Inventory Information Approval Systems (IIAS) and the impact they will have on the Crosby Flex Debit Cards. As described in last month’s Crosby Connection newsletter, IIAS are systems designed to be used at merchant locations to track items as FSA or non-FSA eligible items, thus automatically substantiating purchases of FSA approved items at the point-of-sale. Cardholders using the Crosby Flex Debit Card at stores with IIAS will see an increase in the number of purchases that are approved automatically, thus reducing the need to submit evidence after the transaction has occurred and increasing their overall experience. If you have any questions about the forthcoming IIAS requirements, or to learn how the Flex Debit Card can benefit your employees, please contact Darla Rosenfeld at 617-928-0700 x168. |
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Important Dates
Please Note: On November 22nd & 23rd, the Crosby offices will be closed for Thanksgiving
SBANE Workforce 2008
November 29, 2007 at the Bentley Conference Center, Waltham, MA
For clients with a January 1st renewal date, don't forget to submit the following to Crosby:
November 15, 2007: Enrollment forms (if applicable; for reimbursement accounts)
December 14, 2007: Electronic file (if applicable; for reimbursement accounts)
Please contact Lee Goss or Maria Hannaford with any Open Enrollment related questions.
January 1, 2008: Per IRS Notice 2007-2, all mixed-use stores (i.e. supermarkets, discount stores and wholesale clubs), mail-order vendors and web-based vendors will need to have an Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS) to continue accepting Flex Debit Cards.
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Take Our Survey: Do you have a process in place to distribute and collect Employee HIRD forms as required by the Mass Health Care Legislation?
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Making Sense of the FSA, HRA & HSA: As health care costs rise, so does the complexity of the health care system. To some, the difference between FSAs, HRAs and HSAs may be second nature, but to others, it may still be confusing. To receive an overview of the three main types of health reimbursement accounts and their key attributes, please email us here. Together or separately, these accounts can be valuable assets in developing a quality health care strategy.
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Crosby's Flex Debit Card: Our card greatly reduces paper and eliminates the need for participants to wait for reimbursement. It’s a great way to increase employee participation. For more information about our debit card program, please contact Darla Rosenfeld.
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Looking for a Team Roster?
Our organizational design utilizes a client-centered team approach to best meet your needs. We have developed three core service teams to ensure complete quality and only the highest echelon of service for our clients. These core teams include the:
- Billing Accounts Team
- Complex Accounts Team
- Reimbursement Accounts Team
Each member is cross-trained on all lines of service specific to your needs. Please email us here to request a complete roster with contact information.
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