United Group Programs, Inc. offers a host of extra administration services to make your company more efficient and to reduce your overall administration costs. At the same time, we take the burden of keeping up with new tax and legal legislation so the employer does not have to get involved. Our in-house counsel and Certified Public Accountant are up to date on all issues that may affect your company’s employee benefits programs and we make changes where needed to assure compliance with the new regulations.

UGP provides an array of administrative services for every employer’s unique needs:

Flexible Account Administration- Section 125 Cafeteria Plans Also known as Section 125 plans of the IRS Code, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) offer tax advantages to both employers and employees. These plans offer employers a way to save taxes on their group benefit plans and offer employees a way to save taxes on money spent out-of-pocket for dependent care and unreimbursed medical expenses.

Money allocated to a Section 125 Plan is subtracted from the employee’s taxable income and held in a dedicated account. Employees benefit by using the pre-tax income to pay eligible medical and dependent care expenses. In reducing the employees’ taxable income base in this way, employer-paid Social Security (FICA) and unemployment taxes are reduced by approximately eight cents on the dollar. These savings can offset the cost of administrating the FSA program. Health care cost sharing becomes less painful for the employer and employees. It also improves morale by reducing employee taxes, enhances your organization's image and attracts new employees.

UGP offers both medical reimbursement and dependent care FSA programs, along with premium only plans (POPs).

Administration services can be interfaced with the medical and dental plans to allow for automatic filing and payment of eligible spending account allocations upon processing of the group benefit plans.

We take a unique approach to our cafeteria administration in that we perform the discrimination tests monthly, even though IRS rules require that they be run only once per year. Therefore, if any of our clients fail the test, we can move immediately to bring the account into compliance before the annual testing date.

UGP is customer service oriented; we have established an excellent rapport with our clients’ employees and we work closely with them when issues arise, from questions about what is covered in their Flexible Spending Account, to easing the burden on human resources. Reimbursement checks can be issued based on the employer’s desire to accommodate their  employees’ needs.

Flex Debit Cards - With a Flexible Spending Account Debit card, your employees can enjoy the convenience of paying for office visit co-pays, new glasses, prescriptions, and other eligible expenses with a MasterCard Debit Card that is linked directly to their FSA account. Using the debit card, no paperwork is necessary to file a reimbursement claim.

Section 132 Transportation Accounts

Section 132 of the Internal Revenue Code allows salary reduction and reimbursement for qualified parking, transit passes, and costs associated with commuter highway vehicles for transportation from an employee’s residence to his place of employment. United Group Programs offers Section 132 transportation accounts that allow money to be subtracted from the employee’s taxable income to be held in a dedicated account. Employees benefit by using their pre-tax income to pay for any eligible transportation costs.

Transportation accounts operate much like flexible spending accounts.

Health Savings Account (HSA) – Plus Debit Card

A HSA is a health savings account that has certain tax advantages to employees and their families covered under a high deductible plan. Similar to the FSA, an HSA provides that an employer may reduce a certain amount of an employee’s taxable income to deposit into a dedicated account. The difference is that these plans are only applicable for employees under current health plans that have a deductible between $1,000 and $2,600 annually for individuals and $2,000 and $5,150 for a family. The maximum amount that may be put away is $2,000 per year.

Smooth Sailing Benefits Administration

Distributions for qualified medical expenses are tax free, and an HSA account can earn interest tax free and may be eventually rolled over into a 401(k). The HSA is owned by the employee and is portable. Unlike a Cafeteria account, there is no “use it or lose it” provision and funds can be rolled over year to year. Employers who choose a health care plan with high deductibles to decrease costs may lessen the hardship on the employee by instituting HSA accounts. At the same time, because of high deductibles, employees experience the true cost of health care and start becoming cost conscious health consumers.

COBRA & HIPAA Administration

COBRA Administration
United Group Programs, Inc. offers complete administration of your COBRA requirements.  UGP will perform the following COBRA administration functions:
Receive COBRA elections from eligible participants and process application forms
Track coverage periods as dictated by law and maintain proper documentation of COBRA activity
Provide expert advice on COBRA related issues
Collect participant payment.
Answer inquiries from qualified beneficiaries
Handle monthly reporting

COBRA administration is both complex and time consuming.  By allowing UGP to handle your COBRA coverage, employers are assured of adherence to the ever-changing regulations governing it. Like all of our programs, our unique system design provides for the integration of claims management and COBRA eligibility. Employers are relieved of the liability and the burden of staying on top of changing legislation. UGP will handle all member notifications.

Full-Service Administration – Because we manage a large number of clients in our system, we are able to spread the fixed costs to achieve economies of scale that an employer could not. Employers avoid the expense of the staff and technology associated with administration of COBRA.

HIPAA Administration

HIPAA administration requires specialized knowledge of how governmental requirements relate to group insurance plans. Special notice requirements concerning pre-existing conditions, exclusion periods, rights regarding prior creditable coverage and certificates, along with the necessary calculations can be an area of great confusion. United Group Programs, Inc. is able to eliminate this confusion and assure compliance with HIPAA provisions.  We prepare the necessary notifications, and work with eligible participants to gather prior coverage information. We verify all information received, calculate periods of creditable coverage and pre-existing exclusion periods, then track those periods within our eligibility and claims adjudication systems.
This added service provides assurance of HIPAA compliance without the associated confusion and time-consuming administrative tasks.

Compliance Can Be Risky Business

As a national Third Party Administrator, we understand that one small mistake could spell disaster. Every single detail, from initial notifications to retention of proof, must be handled correctly the first time, every time. UGP employs a staff dedicated to assuring that your plan remains in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. There are numerous regulations that apply to group health plans, and these legal requirements change frequently.  Our in-house counsel keeps abreast of the new legislation and court decisions that may affect your plan and the administration thereof. UGP will consult with you to develop plan language to meet both your criteria and legal requirements.  Our experienced staff, using our unique system, can design and prepare your plan document and summary plan description to meet your requirements and to assure legal compliance.

Debit MasterCard
For Cafeteria Plans, HSAs & Payroll

The UGP debit card is an excellent and attractive benefit for both employees and employers. The debit card is used to pay for qualified medical expenses such as prescription drugs and copays at doctors’ offices and hospitals for both cafeteria flexible benefit plans and for Health Savings Accounts. It can also be used as a payroll debit card where employee's payroll is deposited into the card for employees that may not have bank accounts or who cannot wait for paychecks to clear.

The card increases employee participation in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), because this increased employee contribution and participation means more FICA tax savings for employers and more take home pay for employees. The card reduces the need to file claim forms and since it can eliminate the need to pay cash for eligible expenses, it makes the plan much more attractive and easier to use for employees.

UGP simplifies your payroll process

Employers love it because the debit card drives FICA tax savings by increasing Flex account participation and contributions needed to manage the qualifying events. It tracks and manages changes to coverage, provides ongoing communication, and ensures regulatory compliance. Payroll Services Whether a small or medium sized business with payroll processing needs, UGP has an affordable and comprehensive payroll solution for each employer’s specific requirements.

Coordinated Billing & Carrier Invoicing - One List Bill for Multiple Products

UGP’s services allow employers to display invoices from multiple carriers into one Coordinated report/bill. Our billing reports can show the employer the cost of benefits for an entire organization or broken out by location or subdivision.

By utilizing UGP’s administration services, employers reduce the time wasted in manual reconciliation of multiple invoices from multiple insurance carriers. This immediately reduces administrative costs and eliminates the human resource department’s involvement in reconciling many bills.

Among multiple carriers offering health, dental, and other voluntary and non-voluntary employee benefits, UGP not only coordinates billing, but also eligibility, enrollment, and termination.

Coordinated billing allows employers to receive a single invoice from UGP monthly and to make a single payment to UGP for all of the employers’ insurance policies.

Auditing & Subrogation
UGP takes seriously the accuracy of its performance on every case. Each claim is audited for errors or inconsistencies during the first month of the plan. Thereafter, ongoing audits are performed based upon a random sample of claims. Additionally, all high dollar claims (over $5,000) are audited and approved before being released for payment.

Quite often, bills presented for payment contain charges that are inconsistent with a patient’s condition, or they contain duplicate charges. Our staff is trained to look for these “errors” and to challenge the health care provider regarding suspect charges.

We are often able to reduce hospital bills by up to 25%, resulting in an overall reduced claims experience for the employer. We also will subrogate claims as needed to protect employers’ or employees’ interests. Reduction in claims experience is paramount to the long-term goal of reducing health care costs and in reducing premium increases.

In-House Benefits Call center

Free the Human Resource Department

The human resource department for any employer should be focused on core business competencies and company strategies, not on minor administrative issues. United Group Programs Call Center provides a full range of services and benefits to employers. UGP has the experience, management and staff to handle routine employee inquiries freeing Human Resources to focus on more important issues. Our Toll Free Call Center provides a centralized access point to resolve all employee issues. UGP’s Call Center can also be utilized for enrollment and re-enrollment.