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Archive for the ‘Blue Cross and Blue Shield’ Category
Wednesday, May 1st, 2019
Applies to: Group Markets
Learn about the revisions to the drug list for members with prescription drug benefits administered by Prime Therapeutics®.
Drug List Changes
Based on the availability of new prescription medications and Prime’s National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee’s review of changes in the pharmaceuticals market, some revisions and/or exclusions will be made to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) drug lists, effective July 1, 2019. Changes by drug list are listed on the chart links below.
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Tags: Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, HMO, Kane County, Kaneville, Kendall, Kendall County
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on Pharmacy Program Quarterly Update: Changes Effective July 1, 2019
Friday, August 18th, 2017
ACA Times reports:
“When it comes to providing healthcare as an employer, cost is a major concern. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), applicable large employers – organizations with 50 or more full-time employees and full-time equivalent employees — are required to offer insurance to 95% of their full-time staff.
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Tags: affordable care, Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Costs, Hampshire, Hanover Park, Harvard, Harwood Heights, Health Alliance, health insurance, insurance broker, open enrollment
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Heath Care Costs | Comments Off on Health Insurance Brokers Help Employers Lower Healthcare Costs
Friday, August 4th, 2017
Blue Cross and Blue Shield reports:
“We want to let you know that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) will not be participating in the Federally Facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP) marketplace with BCBSIL health insurance plans starting Jan. 1, 2018.
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Tags: Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Cary, Chicago, Chicagoland, health insurance, Marketplace, SHOP, small group
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on BCBSIL to Stop Offering SHOP Plans (Small Group 1-50) Starting Jan. 1, 2018
Friday, August 4th, 2017
The Chicago Tribune reports:
“Health insurers want to raise premiums next year for Illinois consumers who buy coverage through the Obamacare exchange — in many cases citing uncertainty surrounding the health care law as a reason for the proposed jumps.
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Tags: Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Donald Trump, Downers Grove, Dundee, DuPage, Health Alliance, Holiday Hills, Huntley, premiums, rate increases
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on Obamacare rates in Illinois could climb next year
Tuesday, June 14th, 2016
The Chicago Tribune reports:
“Illinois residents who buy Blue Cross and Blue Shield health care coverage through the state insurance exchange may be in for Obamacare sticker shock, if proposed rate hikes by the largest insurers in Texas and Oklahoma are any indication.
Texas and Oklahoma are possible harbingers of Blue Cross’ prices on the Illinois exchange because all three health plans are owned by the same company, Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. Blue Cross is the most popular insurer on the Illinois exchange.
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Tags: Niles, Norridge, North Aurora, Northern Illinois, Northlake, Oakwood Hills, open enrollment, Penalty
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Heath Care Costs | Comments Off on Blue Cross premium hikes in Texas, Oklahoma could mean Illinois sticker shock
Tuesday, June 14th, 2016
Newswire reports:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBS), which insures approximately 603,000 individual Texas policyholders, announced a proposal to raise premiums on three popular Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans by almost 60 percent. The rate hike follows a report by BCBS citing substantial financial losses in the second year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges.
The Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as “Obamacare,” established marketplaces—or exchanges—where people without other health insurance can buy coverage. Filings from healthcare.gov show BCBS is seeking increases between 57.3 percent and 59.3 percent for two of its Blue Advantage Plus Plans. A 58.6 percent hike has been requested for the Blue Advantage Health Maintenance Organization Plan.
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Tags: Kane, Kane County, Lake in the Hills, Lake View, Lakemoor, Lakewood, Lincoln Park
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on Largest Texas Health Insurer Requests to Raise Premiums on Individual Policies
Thursday, April 28th, 2016
According to The Beacon:
” The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which represents 36 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans covering 105 million Americans, has just released a study of its members’ claims data in Obamacare exchanges 2014 and 2015. It confirms that Obamacare exchange enrollees are sicker and more expensive than enrollees in pre-Obamacare individual plans or employer-based plans.
 Here I quote four of the study’s findings:
- Members who newly enrolled in BCBS individual health plans in 2014 and 2015 have higher rates of certain diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, coronary artery disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C than individuals who had BCBS individual coverage prior to health-care reform.
- Consumers who newly enrolled in BCBS individual health plans in 2014 and 2015 received significantly more medical care, on average, than those with BCBS individual plans prior to 2014 who maintained BCBS individual health coverage into 2015, as well as those with BCBS employer-based group health insurance.
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Tags: 60006, 60018, 60024, 60039, 60067, 60072, 60116, 60131, 60134, 60162, 60165, 60183, 60204, 60304, 60522, 60599, ACA, ACA requirements, Advocate Heath Care, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Andersonville, Barrington Hills, BCBS, BCBSIL, Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Bucktown, buy health insurance, buying insurance, Campton Hills, Changeing Health Care, Cicero, Cook, Cook County, Costs, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, DeKalb County, Downers Grove, DuPage, DuPage County, Elgin, Evanston, Fox River Grove, Glenview, government regulations, Harvard, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance reform, healthcare reform, Huntley, individual health insurance, individual insurance, insurance industry, insurance news, Insurance Reform, Kane, Kane County, Kendall, Kendall County, Key Findings ACA, Lake County, McHenery, McHenry, McHenry County, Mr. Obama, new health care, New health insurance law ACA, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, pre existing conditions, Rolling Meadows, Sleepy Hollow, South Elgin, Sugar Grove, the affordable care act, West Chicago, Will, Will County, Woodstock
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on Blue Cross Blue Shield Confirms Obamacare Death Spiral
Monday, January 11th, 2016
Crains Chicago Business Reports:
“Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois and Advocate Health Care are teaming up to offer a health plan that will be one of the cheapest options the insurer offers on and off the Obamacare exchange.
 The plan, called BlueCare Direct, is a marriage of two giants. Blue Cross is the largest health insurer in the state, and Downers Grove-based Advocate is the largest health care system, with 12 hospitals and more than 4,000 doctors.
The BlueCare Direct network will include 250 of Advocate’s sites of care in Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane and Will counties, including nine of its hospitals and a children’s hospital with two campuses. Enrollees can stick with their primary care doctor outside of Advocate’s system, but the plan will not cover it, said Dr. Lee Sacks, chief medical officer for Advocate.
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Tags: 2015, 2016, ACA, ACA requirements, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Albany Park, Andersonville, barack obama, Barrington Hills, BCBS, BCBSIL, Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, buffalo grove, buy health insurance, buying insurance, Carpentersville, Cary, Changeing Health Care, Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook, Cook County, coverage plan, Crystal Lake, Deerfield, DeKalb County, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Dundee, DuPage, DuPage County, employer health insurance, enroll, enrollment, exchange, Forest Park, Glenview, Government, health, Health and Human Services, health care benefits, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health insurance, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance premiums, health insurance reform, health plan, health programs, healthcare reform, healthcare.gov, Hebron, Highland Park, Hospital, IL, Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois health insurance exchange, insurance plan, Insurance Reform, Kane, Kane County, Kaneville, Lake, Lake County, Lake in the Hills, Lake View, Lakewood, Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Long Grove, McHenry County, new health care, New health insurance law ACA, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northlake, Northwest Suburbs, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, open enrollment, PPO, premiums, Prospect Heights, Riverwoods, Rolling Meadows, Saint Charles, Schiller Park, Skokie, Stone Park, Streamwood, Sugar Grove, the affordable care act, Village of Lakewood, West Chicago, Wicker Park, Will, Will County, Woodstock
Posted in Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Health Insurance News | Comments Off on Blue Cross, Advocate team up on new health insurance plan
Tuesday, October 20th, 2015
Crain’s Chicago Business reports:
“Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois and Advocate Health Care are teaming up to offer a health plan that will be one of the cheapest options the insurer offers on and off the Obamacare exchange.
The plan, called BlueCare Direct, is a marriage of two giants. Blue Cross is the largest health insurer in the state, and Downers Grove-based Advocate is the largest health care system, with 12 hospitals and more than 4,000 doctors.
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Tags: Downers Grove, DuPage, Glendale, Grandfather Status, Hampshire, Hanover Park, Harvard, health care system, health insurance reform, Insurance Reform
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on Blue Cross, Advocate team up on new health insurance plan
Tuesday, October 20th, 2015
PR Newswire reports:
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) and Downers Grove-based, Advocate Health Care, announced today the creation of a unique health plan that promotes high quality care at a low cost for patients. The plan, BlueCare Direct, is the first of its kind in Illinois for individuals and families, in particular, those who may be highly cost-sensitive healthcare consumers.
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Tags: Advocate Heath Care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Carol Stream, Carpend, Carpentersville, Chicago, Chicagoland, College Grads, health insurance, health insurance marketplace
Posted in Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Comments Off on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Advocate Health Care launch high performing network
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