Fully Insured Shopper SBCs Now Online

In accordance with the Affordable Care Act, Summaries of Benefits and Coverage (SBCs) are live at HealthAlliance.org, and all our standard, plus and premium group plan designs are represented.

Contact your client consultant with any questions.

Midlands Choice Network Strengthens Our Iowa Presence

Thanks to a new partnership with Midlands Choice, our PPO plans will be available in all 99 Iowa counties beginning November 1.

“Partnering with Midlands Choice gives Health Alliance added strength to give Iowa employees and employers the plans, doctors and hospitals they need,” said Richard Bond, our chief sales and marketing officer. “Employers want to give their employees and their families quality health care coverage at affordable prices. The Health Alliance ‘we’re in this together’ philosophy fits with Midlands Choice, and in turn fits with Iowa employers.”

Midlands Choice is Iowa’s and Nebraska’s largest independent PPO with a health care network of more than 20,000 physicians and other health care professionals, 320 hospitals, and 1,500 other health care facilities. Nearly 400,000 employees and dependents use Midlands Choice’s network.

“Brokers and employers in Iowa have expressed a strong desire for more health insurance options in the marketplace,” said Thomas Press, Midlands Choice, Inc. president and chief executive officer. “We’ve combined our network with NCQA’s number one-rated private health plan in Iowa to create this much-needed, seamless option.”

Print and website ads in Iowa business-to-business publications are spotlighting the new relationship through 2012, with additional promotions planned for 2013.

Individual Rate Notifications Mail Soon

Information about individual rates and plans for 2013 will mail the week of October 22. You will receive a letter that outlines benefit and plan changes, a list of your current members and their individual premiums, and an easy-to-use 2013 Rate Book. You will also receive a member FAQ that offers answers to many of their common questions this time of year. It features details about cost-saving options and the steps to follow to make plan changes or rewrites.

We’ve also included an important underwriting notice that explains changes that affect turnaround times, policy, and procedures. When changes are final, we will update the individual broker manual.

Member rate notification letters and FAQs are scheduled to mail the week of October 29. Some members will experience a seamless move from their current plan to a comparable plan, due to their current plan’s lack of popularity. We’ve explained this in affected members’ letters, while also mapping the moves from discontinued plans in the broker letter.

Our members will not receive the rewrite application in their mailing this year. Please direct them to the PDF rewrite and plan change forms at HealthAlliance.org. We’ll also post these on Your Health Alliance for brokers’ Forms and Resources page under the Individual Plans Marketing section.

Review the 2013 rate information carefully and contact your individual sales associate if you have questions.

We’ll also let you know when 2013 individual sales materials are available for ordering on Your Health Alliance.