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Posts Tagged ‘UnitedHealthcare’
Tuesday, October 29th, 2019
Starting on January 1, 2020, employers will be able to help their employees pay for qualified medical costs–such as premiums for an Individual Marketplace plan–through a new individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA). An ICHRA is an alternative to a traditional group plan that allows employees to select their own plan on the individual market.
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Tags: Broker, Costs, Employers, exchange, individual, Marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, UnitedHealthcare, Vergil, Villa Park, Village of Lakewood, Walt Disney Co., Warrenville, Wasco Posted in Affordable Care Act | Comments Off on New Tool To Determine HRA Affordability
Thursday, April 5th, 2018
The Washington Post reports:
“Air conditioners for people with asthma, healthy groceries, rides to medical appointments and home-delivered meals may be among the new benefits added to Medicare Advantage coverage when new federal rules take effect next year.
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Tags: buying insurance, California healthline, Campton Hills, Carol Stream, doctors, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, open enrollment, UnitedHealthcare Posted in Medicare | Comments Off on Medicare Advantage Plans Cleared To Go Beyond Medical Coverage — Even Groceries
Monday, October 31st, 2016
The Chicago Tribune reports:
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will be the only insurer offering PPO health insurance plans on the state’s Obamacare exchange next year, according to information released Friday by the state Department of Insurance.
That’s down from five insurers that offered individual PPO plans on the exchange this year. Many consumers prefer PPO health plans because, unlike HMO plans, they allow patients to see specialist doctors without a referral and see physicians who are out-of-network, albeit at higher costs.
The reduced choices were not unexpected, following the exit of several insurers from Illinois’ exchange. Aetna, its Coventry brand, UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealthcare subsidiary Harken Health and Land of Lincoln all announced this year they wouldn’t offer individual plans on the exchange next year. Many insurers have cited financial struggles as their reason for abandoning the exchange.
The information was released Friday along with final rates for insurance plans on the exchange, which on average, are largely the same as rates submitted to the federal government in August. Rates will increase by an average of 44 percent for the lowest-priced bronze plans, 45 percent for the lowest-priced silver plans and 55 percent for the lowest-priced gold plans.
The information released Friday, however, also shows for the first time which insurers will offer what types of plans in each county on the exchange next year:
• In Cook County, insurer Celtic will offer an HMO plan, Cigna will offer an HMO and Blue Cross and Blue Shield will offer an HMO and a PPO.
• In Lake and McHenry counties, Blue Cross and Blue Shield will be the only on-exchange insurer offering HMO and PPO plans.
• In Kane and DuPage counties, Cigna will offer an HMO, Celtic will offer an HMO to part of the area and Blue Cross and Blue Shield will offer an HMO and PPO.
The federal government will release specific premiums, deductibles and information about networks by Nov. 1, when consumers can begin shopping for insurance on the exchange.
This year, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois stopped offering its broadest PPO plan for individuals on the exchange, instead offering a smaller PPO network that didn’t include popular academic medical centers at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago or hospital chain NorthShore University HealthSystem.
“We will continue to work with state and federal regulators and legislators to ensure a stable and sustainable insurance marketplace and to improve the quality and cost of care for all of our members,” Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois said in a statement Friday.
Illinois is not unique in how few insurers will offer on-exchange PPOs next year, said Katherine Hempstead, a senior adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Options will be more plentiful for Illinois residents who buy individual insurance off the exchange, but people who buy off-exchange plans aren’t eligible for federal subsidies that offset insurance costs. About 75 percent of Illinois residents who buy insurance on the exchange now get those subsidies, which will allow those consumers to pay less than $75 a month next year, even with the rate increase, Jonathan Gold, a spokesman for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.
Five insurers will offer off-exchange PPO plans next year in different parts of the state. In all, 14 insurers will offer plans off the exchange. Consumers typically can buy off-exchange insurance through brokers or through insurance companies directly.
Oftentimes, insurers are more inclined to offer plans off the exchange because they may believe they’ll get healthier customers, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president for special initiatives at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Most consumers, he said, are most concerned about making sure insurance plans’ networks include their doctors and that their monthly premiums aren’t too high. “It means consumers have to shop around carefully, as options are changing,” he said.
Tags: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Broker, bronze plan, Chicago, deductibles, exchange, health plan, individual, Individuals, insurance plan, land of lincoln, Marketplace, subsidies, UnitedHealthcare Posted in 2017 Open Enrollment | Comments Off on Only one insurer will offer PPO plan on state Obamacare exchange
Tuesday, August 16th, 2016
The Chicago Tribune reports:
“A large insurer on Illinois’ Obamacare exchange has decided not to credit former Land of Lincoln members for money they’ve already paid toward their deductibles despite a request from the state to consider doing so.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois has decided it cannot waive deductible or out-of-pocket costs for Land of Lincoln members who may join Blue Cross in October, said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois spokeswoman Dana Holmes on Monday.
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Tags: Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross, Chicago, Hampshire, Hanover Park, Illinois Department of Insurance, individual, land of lincoln, Maple Park, McCullom Lake, UnitedHealthcare Posted in Health Insurance News | Comments Off on Blue Cross Blue Shield won’t credit Land of Lincoln members for deductibles
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
The Chicago Sun Times reports:
“Health insurance premiums for Illinois residents who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace could increase by as much as 45 percent according to proposals submitted by insurers and made public Monday.
The leading insurer on Illinois’ exchange, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is proposing increases for 2017 ranging from 23 percent to 45 percent for individual health care plans, according to proposals posted by Healthcare.gov. Another insurer, Coventry Health Care of Illinois, proposed rate increases as high as 21 percent.
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Tags: Affordable Care Act, Blue Cross, Chicago, Marketplace, Oswego, Palatine, Park Ridge, Patient Protection, Pingree Grove, Plato Center, UnitedHealthcare Posted in Health Insurance Cost | Comments Off on Illinois insurers seek premium increases of up to 45%
Thursday, April 28th, 2016
Star Tribune Business reports:
” UnitedHealthcare is facing competition this year in Atlanta and Chicago from a new name in health insurance — a carrier that’s actually one of its subsidiaries.
For the first time, individual shoppers are buying coverage from Harken Health, a company with about 100 employees based at an office on the UnitedHealthcare corporate campus in Minnetonka.
Harken is being run as an independent entity, executives said, with a distinct approach to selling coverage. Subscribers receive unlimited access to primary care, without copays, if they visit a health center owned by Harken Health.
“It’s like an automobile company that makes a brand of car, and then with better luck or worse luck they also make a Saturn,” said Roger Feldman, a health insurance expert at the University of Minnesota.
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Tags: Affordable Care Act, Chicago, Chicagoland, the affordable care act, UHC, United Health Care, United Healthcare, UnitedHealthcare Posted in Affordable Care Act, Individual Health Insurance | Comments Off on UnitedHealthcare launches a smaller, ‘very, very different’ insurer
Thursday, April 28th, 2016
According to News Max Finance:

” Well, the hammer has fallen: The largest health insurer in the U.S. has started pulling out of select Obamacare exchanges.
Five months ago UnitedHealth, which had been singing sunny songs to investors about its bright future on the exchanges, abruptly began crooning the blues. In an earnings call barely a month after executives assured investors that all was going swimmingly, they confessed that they were losing a ton of money on their Obamacare policies and described a pattern that sounded as if consumers were gaming the system — signing up for a few months, using a ton of services, and then canceling their policies. If this continued, they said, they would have no choice but to pull out of the exchange business. (more…)
Tags: ACA, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, Albany Park, Andersonville, aurora, Bartlett, Batavia, Bucktown, budget cuts, buying insurance, Carpentersville, Cary, Changeing Health Care, Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook, Cook County, Costs, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, DeKalb County, Downers Grove, East Dundee, Elgin, Elmwood Park, employer health insurance, enroll, enrollment, Fox River Grove, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance reform, health plan, health reform, healthcare reform, Huntley, insurance industry, insurance news, insurance plan, Insurance Reform, Kane, Kane County, Kaneville, Lake County, Lake View, Lisle, Long Grove, Marketplace, McHenery, McHenry, McHenry County, Mr. Obama, Naperville, new health care, New health insurance law ACA, North Aurora, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oakbrook Terrace, Oswego, Park Ridge, Ringwood, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, state health insurance, the affordable care act, UHC, United Health Care, United Healthcare, UnitedHealthcare, Villa Park, Wasco, West Chicago, Wicker Park, Will, Will County, Woodstock Posted in Affordable Care Act, Exchange, Health Insurance News, Insurance Reform | Comments Off on Obamacare Encounters Another Bump in the Road
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016
According to United Healthcare, Broker Connection Special Edition:
“On Dec. 28, 2015, the IRS announced that it is granting an automatic extension for the 2015 information returns required of insurers, employers and certain other providers of Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) under Section 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
Coverage providers that need more time now have until March 31 to get Form 1095 to individuals and until June 30 to electronically file with the IRS. For providers not filing electronically, the deadline is May 31, 2016. (more…)
Tags: 2015, 2016, ACA, ACA requirements, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Albany Park, Andersonville, barack obama, Barrington, Bartlett, Broker, Bucktown, buffalo grove, buy health insurance, buying insurance, care reform legislation, Carol Stream, Carpentersville, Cary, Changeing Health Care, Chicago, Chicagoland, Contact Us, Cook, Cook County, Costs, Deerfield, DeKalb, DeKalb County, Dundee, DuPage, DuPage County, East Dundee, Elgin, Employers, enroll, enrollment, Fox Valley, Geneva, Glendale Heights, Government, government regulations, health, health care benefits, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health exemption, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance premiums, health insurance reform, Health Marketplace, health plan, health programs, health reform, healthcare reform, healthcare.gov, Hinsdale, Huntley, IL, Illinois, Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois health insurance exchange, individual, individual health insurance, individual insurance, Individual Mandate, Individual Shared Responsibility, Individuals, insurance, Insurance benefit consultant, insurance broker, insurance industry, insurance news, insurance plan, Insurance Reform, IRS, Johnsburg, Kane, Kane County, Kendall, Kendall County, Key Findings ACA, Lake, Lake County, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood, Logan Square, Long Grove, McHenery, McHenry, McHenry County, Minimum Essential Coverage, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Navigator, new health care, New health insurance law ACA, North Aurora, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, open enrollment, Palatine, Penalty, PPO, pre existing conditions, Richmond, Riverwoods, Rolling Meadows, Saint Charles, Schaumburg, self-insurance, single payer health care system, South Barrington, special enrollment, Streamwood, Sugar Grove, Tax, taxpayer dollars, the affordable care act, timeline, UHC, United Health Care, United Healthcare, UnitedHealthcare, Villa Park, Warrenville, Wasco, Wayne, West Chicago, Wheaton, Wicker Park, Will, Will County, Wood Dale, Woodstock Posted in Individual Health Insurance, Open Enrollment | Comments Off on IRS Grants Extension for 6055 and 6056 Reporting
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016
According to The Advocate:
“The Affordable Care Act is confusing and complicated, which means that health insurance agents and brokers are needed to help consumers pick the best plans for them, Kevin Counihan, chief executive officer of Healthcare.gov, said Monday.
“It’s got plenty of opportunity to be made a little bit better,” Counihan said. “And I’m very hopeful and confident that as we get more adults in Congress that they’re all going to sit down, the two sides together, and they’re going to address some of these issues.”
Counihan spoke to about 20 brokers and agents at an event hosted in Baton Rouge by the Louisiana Association of Health Underwriters.
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Tags: ACA, ACA requirements, advice, Advocate Heath Care, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Albany Park, Algonquin, Andersonville, Arlington Heights, Atena, aurora, barack obama, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Broker, Bucktown, buffalo grove, buying insurance, care reform legislation, Carpentersville, Cary, Changeing Health Care, Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook, Cook County, Costs, coverage plan, deductibles, Deer Park, DeKalb, DeKalb County, Downers Grove, DuPage, DuPage County, employer health insurance, enroll, enrollment, family plan, Fox Valley, Hampshire, Harvard, health, health care benefits, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health exemption, health insurance, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance premiums, health insurance reform, Health Marketplace, health plan, health programs, health reform, health savings account, healthcare reform, healthcare.gov, Humana, Huntley, IL, Illinois, Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois health insurance exchange, individual, Insurance benefit consultant, insurance broker, insurance industry, insurance news, insurance plan, Insurance Reform, Kane, Kane County, Kendall, Kendall County, Lake, Lake County, Lake View, Logan Square, Marketplace, McHenery, McHenry, McHenry County, Navigator, new health care, New health insurance law ACA, North Aurora, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, notices, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, open enrollment, PPO, Producer, Schaumburg, sign up, Skokie, South Barrington, state health insurance, state legislatures, the affordable care act, UnitedHealthcare, Villa Park, West Chicago, Wicker Park, Will, Will County, workplace Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance News | Comments Off on Healthcare.gov CEO says insurance marketplace’s complexity argues for agents
Monday, January 11th, 2016
Crain’s Chicago Business Reports:
“Aetna is returning to sell plans on the Illinois health insurance exchange after taking a year off.
Also returning are giants Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois, the dominant insurer in the state; UnitedHealthcare, which is affiliated with Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group, and Chicago-based Land of Lincoln Health.
Mostly familiar faces are returning to the exchange for enrollment that begins Nov. 1, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance. Other companies that received federal approval to sell plans include:
—Health Alliance, based in downstate Urbana.
—Celtic Insurance, which is part of St. Louis-based Centene Corp.
—Coventry Health, part of Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna.
—Harken Health, of which UnitedHealth Group is an investor.
—Humana, based in Louisville, Ky.
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Tags: 2015, 2016, ACA, ACA requirements, Advocate Heath Care, affordable care, Affordable Care Act, affordable health insurance, Albany Park, Algonquin, Andersonville, Atena, aurora, Barrington, Bartlett, BCBS, BCBSIL, Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Bucktown, buffalo grove, Burlington, buy health insurance, buying insurance, care reform legislation, Carol Stream, Carpentersville, Chicago, Chicagoland, Cook, Cook County, coverage plan, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, DeKalb County, departments of health and human services, Dundee, DuPage County, Elgin, employer health insurance, enrollment, exchange, Forest Park, Fox River Grove, Fox Valley, Glenview, government regulations, group health plan, Harwood Heights, Health and Human Services, health care benefits, health care costs, health care law, health care reform, health care system, health exemption, health insurance, health insurance costs, health insurance coverage, Health insurance exchange, health insurance marketplace, health insurance premiums, health insurance reform, health plan, health savings account, healthcare reform, healthcare.gov, Humana, Huntley, IL, Illinois, Illinois Department of Insurance, Illinois health insurance exchange, Insurance benefit consultant, insurance broker, insurance industry, IRS, Kane, Kane County, Kendall, Lake County, Lake in the Hills, Lake View, Long Grove, Marengo, Marketplace, McCullen Lake, McHenry, McHenry County, Naperville, North Barrington, North West Suburbs, Northern Illinois, Northwest Suburbs, Oakwood Hills, Obama care, ObamaCare, Obamacare regulation, Palatine, Park Ridge, Pingree Grove, Prairie Grove, Ringwood, Rolling Meadows, Saint Charles, Schaumburg, Skokie, small businesses, South Barrington, South Elgin, the affordable care act, United Health Care, United Healthcare, UnitedHealthcare, Village of Lakewood, Wasco, West Chicago, West Dundee, Wicker Park, Will, Will County, Wood Dale, Woodridge, Woodstock Posted in Affordable Care Act, Health Insurance News, Small Business | Comments Off on Blue Cross, UnitedHealthcare return to Illinois Obamacare exchange
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