April 2010 Individual Rate Changes
Blue Cross Blue
Shield and HealthPartners individual rates will be increasing April
1, 2010. If you haven’t recently reviewed your plan or looked at
other options to keep you premiums down, now might be a good time.
Feel free to call our office, we would be happy to assist you in
reviewing your current plan and let you know about other plans that
may have came out since you applied.
Blue Cross Blue
Shield Members
Great News!
Single-Digit Rate Increases
Members in the open
Simply Blue, Personal Blue and Options Blue plans will receive an
average overall rate increase of 6 percent. On the closed products –
Simply Blue, Aware Care, Options Blue and MSA Blue, members will
receive an average overall rate increase of 9 percent.
Member mailing
If you are a current
BCBS of MN member, you should have received a letter explaining your
new rates the end of February.
What will my letter
include
-
Your current
plan information, your new 2010 rate and your current 2009 rate.
-
If you previously opted out of substance
abuse coverage, we will include a paragraph on how this coverage
can be added.
-
If you previously indicated the use of
tobacco, and have been tobacco free for 24 months, we will
include a paragraph describing how your rates may be reduced.
-
Benefit and rate charts, a brochure
highlighting member benefits and services, and a change form.
Benefit Changes
-
New lower
deductible for Options Blue 100 –- We are adding a new lower
deductible option to Options Blue 100. The new deductible will
be $2,500 single and $5,000 family with 100 percent coinsurance.
-
There are no benefit changes for Simply
Blue 80/100 or Personal Blue plans.
HealthPartners Members
Members in the
Traditional, Empower and Three for Free products that were
introduced in May
2008 will have an increase April 1, 2010. You should have received a
letter with your new rates
the end of February.
For clients on other HealthPartners Individual
products, such as the Individual Open Access or Empower HSA, their
rate change information will be communicated in early May and will
be effective July 1.
New rate areas effective
April 1, 2010
Effective April 1, HealthPartners will also
adjust the rate areas for most HealthPartners Individual plans,
including our open Traditional, Empower, Three for Free and Short
Term products. Members who live in affected counties should have
received their new rates the end of February.
Rate areas have not changed for clients on
other HealthPartners Individual products, such as the old Individual
Open Access or Empower HSA.
New plan options to
meet your clients’ needs
As you know, our Three for Free plan has been
extremely popular; as a result, we’re adding two more deductible and
coinsurance options!
Three for Free –
additional options available April 1, 2010
|
Deductible (single) |
Coinsurance |
|
$6,000 |
80% |
|
$6,000 |
100% |
With these new options, members will have
additional flexibility and price points to choose from.
Feel free to call our
office, we would be happy to assist you in reviewing your current
plan and let you know about other plans that may have came out since
you applied.
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