Michelle Zettergren, MagnaCare’s President, Labor, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, has been named one of the 100 most powerful people in Labor in New York City by City & State. Read more
Year: 2021
MagnaCare Spotlights Labor Union Voices with LaborStrong.Live
New online video community shares the stories and issues that matter to American workers
NEW YORK (April 14, 2021) – MagnaCare, a third-party administrator with a long history of serving the healthcare benefits needs of organized labor groups, today announced the launch of a new online video community for labor. The site, LaborStrong.Live, gives union leaders, labor members and supporters, including celebrity guests impacted by labor, a stage to voice their perspectives on timely labor topics. MagnaCare developed the site as a destination for those in labor professions and the general public to appreciate the incredible history of labor, celebrate its future, and learn about the people, subjects and stories that matter to American workers.
“As a longtime partner to organized labor, we deeply care about the issues that face this vibrant community and their many victories defending the rights of workers. Labor has so many powerful stories and important lessons that need to be heard,” said Michelle Zettergren, President of Labor at MagnaCare. “We created LaborStrong.Live as an open community for labor leaders, workers, and supporters to gather and share their insights, experiences, and views with one another and with anyone in the general public who wants to better understand the forces behind the current labor movement in the U.S.”
LaborStrong.Live launches with a library of more than a dozen inspirational videos discussing matters ranging from safety measures used to protect frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic to labor considerations in the push toward cannabis legalization. Among the many individuals featured are Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York; Vincent Alvarez, President of the AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council; and Joseph Azzopardi, Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer of IUPAT District Council 9. Actor and SAG-AFTRA member Ernie Hudson appears in several videos answering questions about being a union member, some of his most famous movie roles, and more.
MagnaCare plans to upload additional videos in the weeks ahead and encourages more unions and supporters to contribute their stories. Visit LaborStrong.Live for the latest content.
About MagnaCare
For nearly three decades, New York-based MagnaCare has been building healthy communities together with Taft-Hartley trusts, TPAs, carriers, and workers’ compensation and no-fault payors. Its wholly owned networks, full health plan management services, trust and welfare administration services, comprehensive in-house medical management, and leading outcomes-based casualty solutions offer the ultimate flexibility and customization that help self-insured customers control healthcare costs, improve health, and achieve exceptional value. MagnaCare is a division of Brighton Health Plan Solutions, LLC. Learn more at MagnaCare.com.
Media Contact:
Erin George
[email protected]
615-946-9914
New Centers of Excellence Models Advance Stakeholder Value
MagnaCare and Mount Sinai Health Partners collaborate on a total joint replacement (TJR) Center of Excellence to improve outcomes and reduce costs by 15-30% for self-insured groups of any size. Read more
5 Important Healthcare Lessons from COVID-19
COVID-19 is an unprecedented occurrence that has impacted employer-sponsored healthcare. The best a company can do to be prepared going forward is to learn from every situation. When considering your employee healthcare benefits, there are some important takeaways from COVID-19.
1. Promote preventive care
Healthier people who contracted COVID-19 fared better than people who were immunocompromised. Routine preventive care leads to early detection and even prevention of serious conditions – which not only assures a healthier workforce and better health outcomes, but also avoids costly medical treatments.
2. Tout telehealth
Telehealth – virtual doctor visits via video, phone, or chat – increased by 80% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing to offer a telehealth benefit can lower your healthcare costs by reducing the number of visits to costlier urgent care centers and emergency rooms. Employers can also find long-term savings from telehealth support for preventive care, treatment for chronic conditions, and mental health services.
3. Embrace technology
It’s become clear that anywhere, anytime access to your payroll, accounting, benefits, and eligibility information is a must-have in keeping your employees covered. When these functions work online and in concert, there is no disruption in giving your employees the benefits they deserve. Employees also need a way to access their benefits remotely and remove the burden from your Benefits team.
4. Contain your costs
Lessons from the past – not just from COVID-19 – show that businesses should be prepared for an economic downturn. There are creative ways you can lower your healthcare costs while providing your employees with the same high level of healthcare benefits – such as utilization review, case management programs, site-of-service relocation, and tiered benefit plans that direct your employees to high-value providers. An advantage of self-insured health plans is that you can plan changes mid-year, enabling you to react swiftly to any changes in your situation.
MagnaCare offers a wide range of healthcare benefits products and services that can lower your costs while providing high-quality care. And its award-winning healthcare technology platform streamlines your work while enabling remote access for your admins and employees.
5. Explore alternatives
There are alternatives to PPO plans, such as Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHP), which are high deductible plans, and Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) plans. MEC plans fulfill your ACA requirement by giving employees basic coverage. We offer Enhanced MEC plans that include the services your employees want and need.
During the pandemic, some of our clients looked to MEC to cover furloughed workers. You may also want to consider different levels of health benefits for different employee roles, such as MEC plans for certain levels of your workforce such as interns and apprentices, and PPO plans for more permanent roles.
Contact us to discuss how our innovative healthcare enablement solutions can benefit your business.
Rethinking worker’s compensation with alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs are an effective strategy for addressing the high costs of workers’ compensation. ADR can have a major positive impact by saving everyone time and money while promoting a collaborative relationship between employers and their workforce.
MyMEC Minimum Essential Coverage by MagnaCare
MagnaCare offers a range of customizable MyMEC Minimum Essential Coverage plans, to meet your clients’ preferred level of coverage. Your clients can optionally add vision, pharmacy, and other benefits to any MyMEC plan.
Download the brochure for more details about our MyMEC health plans.
MyMEC plans eliminate the costly penalty that employers would otherwise have to pay for each employee under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by covering preventive and wellness-related tests and treatments.
Since MyMEC plans are self-funded, they are exempt from state coverage mandates and state taxes.
MagnaCare’s Health Utilization Management Program Once Again Achieves URAC Accreditation
NEW YORK, NY (Feb. 9, 2020) – New York-based healthcare enablement company Brighton Health Plan Solutions, parent company to MagnaCare, has earned national accreditation in Health Utilization Management from URAC, an independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through leadership, accreditation, measurement and innovation. The in-house Health Utilization Management program used by Brighton and MagnaCare clients has continuously held this accreditation since its inception. Its current accreditation is valid until March 2024.
Brighton helps self-insured clients, their members and their healthcare providers realize more value in employer-sponsored benefits by offering unprecedented flexibility and customization in its third-party administration of workplace benefits, innovative provider networks, casualty solutions, and integrated technology platform.
“Brighton Health Plan Solutions is dedicated to working with benefit plan sponsors to improve value in healthcare,” said A. Bartley Bryt, MD, MPH, the company’s Chief Medical Officer. “Our URAC reaccreditation for the fourth straight evaluation period underscores our commitment to excellence and quality through compliance with the industry’s most rigorous standards.”
URAC accreditation means Brighton demonstrated an ability to improve the quality and effectiveness of patient care while eliminating unnecessary treatment and expense. Organizations that achieve URAC’s Health Utilization Management distinction adhere to evidence-based quality improvement guidelines that enhance care delivery, protect patient safety, and optimize operational efficiencies. Accredited organizations exhibit competency in utilization management and consistent and unbiased medical necessity and benefit coverage determinations.
URAC accreditation is recognized by employers, unions, and federal and state government benefit programs.
About MagnaCare
For nearly three decades, New York-based MagnaCare has been building healthy communities together with Taft-Hartley trusts, TPAs, carriers, and workers’ compensation and no-fault payors. Its wholly owned networks, full health plan management services, trust and welfare administration services, comprehensive in-house medical management, and leading outcomes-based casualty solutions offer the ultimate flexibility and customization that help self-insured customers control healthcare costs, improve health, and achieve exceptional value. MagnaCare is a division of Brighton Health Plan Solutions, LLC. Learn more at MagnaCare.com.
About URAC
Founded in 1990 as a nonprofit organization, URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality and patient safety through renowned accreditation programs. We develop our evidence-based standards in collaboration with a wide array of stakeholders and industry experts. Our portfolio of accreditation and certification programs span the healthcare industry, addressing management and operations, pharmacies, telehealth, health plans, medical practices and more. URAC accreditation is a symbol of excellence for organizations to showcase their validated commitment to quality and accountability.
Media Contact:
Erin George
[email protected]
615-946-9914