Online quote and enrollment for groups
November 1, 2005 by Rxeo
Filed under BCBS California
From Insurance Cowboy.com
Blue Cross of California announced to brokers recently that they expect to have quote and enrollment service for new members as soon as December.
Individuals have, for several years now, been able to quote health insurance plans and then enroll, but now groups will have the same service, simplifying the sale and enrollment for both the group and the insurer.
Online enrollments usually are so much better because the applicant can not leave off any important information, such as height and weight, or date of birth, the server will highlight missing information, which is fed directly to the company server for underwriting.
This streamlined process has been highly anticipated by brokers and advisers, and Blue Cross of California executives as well.
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Tonik from Blue Cross of CA
October 31, 2005 by Rxeo
Filed under BCBS California, BCBS Plans, Health Insurance
New plan ‘Tonik’ from Blue Cross of California setting records! More applications per day than for any other plan in Blue Cross history (for individual health insurance plans) Blue Cross of California reports hundreds of applications per day, and the popularity seems to be increasing.
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The new plan includes Medical, Dental and Vision, in three deductibles. Either 5000, 2500 or 1500. Rates and information are at our partner sites.
Many young people are selecting this new plan, which is no surprise because it is part of the Wellpoint effort to attract the uninsured, what they call the “young immortals” who feel too healthy to worry about health insurance coverage.
The marketing materials are trendy and upbeat, people are enrolling at a record pace, so the marketing seems to be working well for this new plan. Watch for other plans to imitate this one.
Online quote and enrollment for groups
September 26, 2005 by Rxeo
Filed under BCBS California
From Insurance Cowboy.com
Blue Cross of California announced to brokers recently that they expect to have quote and enrollment service for new members as soon as December.
Individuals have, for several years now, been able to quote health insurance plans and then enroll, but now groups will have the same service, simplifying the sale and enrollment for both the group and the insurer.
Online enrollments usually are so much better because the applicant can not leave off any important information, such as height and weight, or date of birth, the server will highlight missing information, which is fed directly to the company server for underwriting.
This streamlined process has been highly anticipated by brokers and advisers, and Blue Cross of California executives as well.
Quote online for individual health insurance
California’s insurance commissioner rages
August 9, 2005 by Rxeo
Filed under BCBS California
The Los Angeles Times - By Debora Vrana
California’s insurance commissioner plans to issue a report today criticizing health savings accounts and other “consumer-driven” insurance plans as part of the problem of spiraling costs not the solution. Saying the state’s healthcare system is headed for a “complete breakdown,” John Garamendi sharply attacked new insurance plans including some backed by the White House that offer reduced benefits to save money. These plans shift risk to consumers without solving the underlying problems, he said.
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Garamendi, a Democrat who has said he would run for lieutenant governor in 2006, backs universal coverage as a key component to any solution. This
would ensure every state resident has at least basic health coverage, either public or private. One expert, however, noted this goal was far easier to advocate than to implement.
“There’s no question that universal coverage is one of the solutions we need,” said Peter Lee, president of the San Francisco-based Pacific business
Group on Health, a buyer of health insurance for a group of businesses. “The question is how to get there…. This is where universal care efforts, for
25 years, have always run ashore.” Garamendi said the report by his staff, which examines the rising costs of health insurance in California and the growing numbers of uninsured, sets the stage for possible legislation to establish minimum coverage requirements for all health plans.
Once cost problems in the system are addressed, legislators will be better able to look at how to finance a universal coverage plan for California,
he said. Garamendi, who regulates all insurers operating in California, expects to hold several hearings, beginning next month in San Francisco, to
examine new kinds of health plans with cheaper premiums and fewer benefits. He said the state must ensure that residents had access to insurance that was both affordable and effective to prevent the burden from falling on taxpayers.
>From 2000 to 2004, healthcare insurance premiums increased 61% in California far outstripping the growth of inflation, Garamendi’s report concluded. Premium increases in California have outpaced those in the rest of the country for each of the last three years. “The extraordinary run-up in costs is pricing out an increasingly large part of the population who can’t get insurance,” Garamendi said. “We think there should be a basic healthcare
program that everyone can participate in.”
Garamendi was especially critical of consumer-driven policies such as health savings accounts, which his report called “symptoms of a worsening
situation, not solutions.” They “put the entire health system at risk” by drawing healthy workers out of traditional HMOs or PPOs and making the
plans more expensive in the long run, the 74-page report said. That, in turn, could lead to more uninsured and more people driven out of costly employer-sponsored plans and into the public health system.
White House spokesman Trent Duffy rejected the criticism. Consumers are very interested in these new options, Duffy said, and early enrollment data
show no evidence the plans are hurting traditional plans. President Bush is “very focused on innovative solutions” to solve the healthcare crisis,
Duffy said.
Among plans Garamendi singled out for criticism was Blue Cross of California’s Tonik insurance plan. Marketed to 18-to-24-year-olds, it resembles a traditional PPO but excludes maternity care. People who choose such plans to save money may end up on Medi-Cal or other state programs if they become pregnant and then cannot switch to another private plan, Garamendi said.
Blue Cross officials said Tonik was aimed at young adults who otherwise might carry no health insurance. Many parents are buying the insurance, which costs $64 to $80 a month, for their young adult children. “It’s selling very well there is a tremendous response to it,” spokesman Michael Chee said. “It’s extremely comprehensive, with dental, prescription drugs and vision. “We’ve seen nothing to indicate that people are migrating to
state-sponsored plans.”
Some policy experts support customer-driven health plans as a way to encourage patients, who bear more of the expense, to shop carefully for
healthcare. Garamendi’s report calls this “flawed logic,” arguing that enrollees instead forgo preventive care, increasing costs in the long run.
Garamendi also contends that legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives that would allow association-sponsored health plans is
dangerous for consumers. Advocates say the bill would allow small businesses to pool their resources on a national scale to enroll employees in
health plans comparable to those of big companies, but the report argues that such plans would “operate across state borders, free from any state’s
oversight.” Instead, like many Democratic elected officials, Garamendi favors some form of universal coverage. He also backs rules that would require businesses with state contracts to provide workers comprehensive health benefit packages.
Blue Shield raises rates
July 23, 2005 by Rxeo
Filed under BCBS California
Under pressure from rapidly climbing prescription drug prices, Blue Shield of California raised rates on July 1, 2005 by approximately 3% depending on the plan.
More details are coming soon, but you can check current Blue Shield rates here.