Release from Blue Cross Blue Shield/Blue Care Network

December 19, 2011

January bills released, clarification of Michigan Claims Tax on billing statements

January BCBSM and BCN bills and invoices have been mailed to group customers. As communicated earlier, these bills and invoices now include the new Michigan Claims Tax.

We have worked hard to determine the best way to report to our customers about the claims tax and help them clearly understand the new state tax liability. To achieve this, we made the following billing adjustments.

MOS bills and invoices
While we have provided the new tax as a separate line item on the summary page, on the detailed page we’ve changed the Total Charge column to reflect both the premium and tax. This change ensures the accuracy of the bill or invoice when membership changes are made – especially with customer refunds.

Customers that are still on the local billing system will not see this change until they are migrated to the MOS system.

We’ve illustrated how both the summary and detailed charges are reported in paper (PDF) and eBilling ( PDF) examples.

Tax calculation on Local and MOS bills
For groups on the local billing system, the tax assessment for January and February will be calculated based on current charges. This will ensure we do not include taxes on any 2011 membership adjustments. Starting in March, the tax assessment will be based on total billed to accommodate 2012 membership adjustments.

For groups on the MOS billing system, the tax assessment will be calculated based on current charges and membership adjustments starting with the January 2012 bill. Any 2011 membership adjustments will not be subject or calculated into the tax assessment.

Questions? Please contact your Salus Group agent at (866) 991-9907.