Did You Get the Census Health Insurance Cost Study?
The US Census Bureau Health Insurance Cost Study is voluntary. It gathers data on employer health plans and benefits, not claims. No penalties apply if you choose not to participate.
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Transcript:
Some of you may have already received or may be receiving a Census Bureau survey called the US Census Bureau Health Insurance Cost Study, or it’s also known as the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. If you have received this, the first thing that you will want to know is that participation in this survey is voluntary. It is not required. There are no penalties for not completing the survey. It is different than other surveys that come out of the US Census Bureau, that may be economic census, the quarterly census, our quarterly services survey, or the annual business survey, all of which actually are required to be completed. This particular one, talking about medical expenditures or health insurance cost study, is not one of those requirements. So this one is voluntary.
Now, what is this? Actually, it’s not what you would think it is. You know, in our world, when we think about health insurance and insurance, we’re thinking about the processing of the claims for our patients and things along those lines, this one is different. It actually is asking you information about you as the employer. And what they’re looking for is collecting data on employer-sponsored plans. So they want to know the number and types of plans that you have, what benefits are a part of those plans, the eligibility requirements, and employer characteristics, so things about you and your practice. And they even actually send this out to those who may not have group policies or may not offer health insurance in their practices. They also want that information. They’re trying to gather and do comparisons. And you know, every year, year over year, comparisons over time. In fact, they’ve been doing this survey since 1996, so there is a purpose behind the survey, and of course, they strongly encourage you to complete it, but that is what this survey is. You’re not required to complete it. It’s not asking you about your claims and your claims processing. Instead, it’s asking you information about you as an employer or an employer group, and what insurance products that you are offering to your employees. Hopefully, this information helps you out, and we will catch you next week.
