Thank you for choosing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas as your health insurance carrier. This newsletter will be sent periodically with details of what’s new on our Web site, www.bcbsks.com, and other information about products and services that may be of interest to you and your employees.

Stimulus Package Affects COBRA Provisions

BCBSKS continues to monitor updates and clarifications regarding The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) – more commonly known as the "Economic Stimulus Plan." The Recovery Act includes provisions that expand eligibility for COBRA and state continuation coverage and provide a premium reduction and subsidy to certain qualified individuals for expanded COBRA and state continuation coverage.

We've posted a question/answer section on our Web site to help you comply with the new requirements. Additionally, the Web sites of the Department of Labor and the Department of Treasury provide even more detail concerning the new subsidy provisions.

As with any technical tax issues, it's important that you contact your legal counsel and tax advisor before making any decisions based on the information we provide to you.

Encourage your employees to join BCBSKS for National Walk @ Lunch Day

Looking for ways to encourage your employees to become more physically active? If so, you have a great opportunity awaiting you April 29 during National Walk @ Lunch Day. BCBSKS, together with Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies across the country, has set aside this day as a reminder to members to incorporate exercise into their busy schedules.

In Topeka, many of our employees will be joining hundreds of other folks for a rally at the state capitol and a walk around the capitol grounds. You can participate in the day by organizing a 20- or 30-minute walk for your employees during the lunch hour or simply by encouraging them to get out and move more.

For more information, see our Web site.

Health insurance among top priorities at Kansas Statehouse during the 2009 legislative session

Sunee Mickle, director of government relations at BCBSKS, monitors legislative activity and provides an overview of the priorities during the 2009 legislative session. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas aims to be available as a resource to legislators on health insurance issues and to express our concern to them on any proposed legislation which likely would raise the cost of health insurance for our members.

You can read an entire summary of the health care-related bills that were addressed during the 2009 session at: http://www.bcbsks.com/news/LegislativeIssues/state.htm

Next issue of Healthplan coming soon

Watch for your next issue of Healthplan coming soon. You also may review past issues on the site.

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message and any attachments are for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential, trade secret or privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited and may be a violation of law. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this message to an intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas serves all counties in Kansas except Johnson and Wyandotte. ®Registered Trademarks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.