MCS is counting down the minutes until the Illinois Health Care Exchange opens on October 1. Keep checking back for what-you-need-to-know updates!

FOR EMPLOYERS: You are required to send a letter to your employees, explaining their exchange options. We have drafted a letter for you. There are two options: one for businesses that already offer healthcare and one for businesses that do not. Contact us and we can co-brand it with your company’s information. 

FOR EMPLOYEES: If your employer doesn’t offer coverage, or you want to explore your options, we are here to give you the best health quote. We take into consideration your income, your life, and your desired level of coverage. There is a plan for everyone out there, and we can answer whether your best course of action is to go through the state, stick with your employer’s offering, or go out on your own.

Illinois opened the registration process for Producers to sign up on the Exchange on August 9. The first step is to complete the certification requirements for the Federally Facilitated Marketplace. As they say, “The course only takes 3-4 hours to complete, and it’s free.”

Our licensed agents have been attempting to complete this training for a while now, and so far, they haven’t been able to get access to the site to complete the verification process. One of them called the number listed on the site, and after being redirected to the right number (which has since been updated), was told that the site was experiencing a high volume of visitors (not surprising, since thousands of agents in the state have been waiting for access to rates and more information for their clients). He was told to try back later. Seven in the morning, eleven at night. Same error message. These lines are longer and more frustrating than the DMV! This problem is occurring with just enrolling agents--what happens if the population of Illinois wants to log on for more information? That's 12.8 million people. Facebook may be able to handle it, but we aren't sure about the Exchange.

The good news about the Exchange is that if you, as an individual, use a licensed and trained agent to find the best plan, you won’t pay a penny more than if you sat in front of the computer and dealt with the headache yourself! 

Mensing Consulting Solutions is here with the information you need to make an informed decision.

You’ve been through your files. You make sure to follow HR Best Practices. You don’t discriminate and you’ve made sure your staff has been through safety and harassment training. You’re doing everything a business owner should do. But did you know that your computer system could make you non-compliant?

According to Tech Republic, if you’re still running Windows XP, you are open to liability. On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will no longer release security patches for this operating system, which will make it non-compliant with HIPAA/HITECH. 

For those in the medical field, now is the time to work out a plan. There are a few things to consider:

· See if your current workstations can update to a newer version of Windows or if they need to be replaced.

· Contact current vendors for updated software that will run on a newer platform.

· Analyze whether you can run outdated software on a terminal server and have clients access it remotely.

· Decide whether a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) will work for you. This would run 50-100 desktops on one physical server. 

We know you would’ve updated already if it seemed like the best option. Now may be the time to replace slow, outdated machines with new. For more information, read this article.

Even if you aren’t in the healthcare field, there may be things you can do to protect yourself from costly fines.