CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) is introducing an innovative, new portfolio of health plans – called HealthyBlue – designed to foster and reward healthy lifestyles and promote collaboration between patients and their primary care physicians (PCPs). The products are specifically designed to make it easy for patients to seek necessary care, make them aware of their health risks, and provide them information and incentives to get and stay healthy.

“HealthyBlue is like no other health plan we have ever offered and unlike any other plan available in our region today,” said Chet Burrell, CareFirst President and CEO. “HealthyBlue offers direct, significant financial incentives to members who take control of their health care decisions and who work to improve their health status. If we are to keep health care affordable, it is essential that more focus be placed on keeping people healthy, not just treating them when they are sick. HealthyBlue is a firm step in that direction.”

CareFirst begins selling its HealthyBlue products for all market segments on September 1 and with coverage effective dates beginning October 1, 2010.

Members who enroll in HealthyBlue first select a PCP and complete an online health assessment. They then go to their selected PCP for a Health and Wellness evaluation. Members who meet certain health criteria can earn rewards of up to $300 for an individual and $700 for a family. Rewards will be paid as a Healthy Rewards gift card or as a contribution to a health savings account. Members who do not immediately qualify for a reward will work with their PCP to develop a Healthy Action Plan and can receive the reward if they achieve the goals of the plan.

HealthyBlue products contain a number of other innovative components aimed at removing obstacles to care and providing members with a variety of choices when accessing care.

• Routine PCP office visits and preventive care at no cost (no copays or deductibles)
• Generic medications at no cost for treatment of asthma, high blood pressure, cholesterol, depression and diabetes
• A product design that provides members choice and flexibility in choosing physicians and accessing care by offering three options:

Option 1 – Provides the greatest cost savings and maximizes the benefits of member/doctor partnership when members seek care from their CareFirst BlueChoice personal PCP.

Option 2 – Allows members to obtain care directly through a CareFirst BlueChoice specialist without first obtaining a referral. This option costs a little more but offers members freedom when selecting a doctor.

Option 3 – Offers members the flexibility to visit any doctor in the CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield PPO network or any other provider outside of the CareFirst network. This option carries more expense to the member than Options 1 or 2.

“We know that there is already great interest in the marketplace in HealthyBlue,” Burrell added. “Coupled with our Primary Care Medical Home program which will launch in 2011, we believe CareFirst will have in place the industry’s most comprehensive approach to engage and reward its members and participating physicians for working together to improve health care quality and lower health care costs.”

About CareFirst

In its 73rd year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health care company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to nearly 3.4 million individuals and groups in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. Through its CareFirst Commitment initiative and other public mission activities, CareFirst supports efforts to increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of health care throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit our Web site at:

www.carefirst.com

Medica, a leading health care insurance provider headquartered in Minneapolis, and HealthInsight, provider of the leading value-based healthcare incentive platform announced that they have partnered to deliver a next generation value-based benefit program to Medica’s commercial customers.

Under the agreement, Medica will deploy HealthInsight’s proprietary value-based technology, including personalized scorecards, to its commercial customers with a program that delivers better quality of care and experience for members while reducing medical costs.

The new program allows members to follow the status of their health in a simplified manner by creating personalized scorecards with personalized health actions. The scorecard will also:

• Provide information for required preventive services based on age and gender

• Proactively identify individuals at risk for chronic conditions and those with existing chronic conditions

• Track individual compliance with their personalized set of health actions

Members in compliance with their personalized health actions will be eligible for financial rewards.

Simeon Schindelman, SVP Commercial Markets said, “It is critical to address the challenge of rising health costs which, if left unchecked, cannot be sustained. Our exclusive partnership with HealthInsight allows us to be the only health plan in our market to offer customers an innovative program in which individuals can stay on the path of wellness via a set of personalized health actions focused on preventive care and chronic condition management. Our goal is to decrease healthcare costs and improve employee health.”

“We firmly believe that preventive care is the foundation for staying healthy, and our value-based programs provide the tools and technologies to reduce costs and improve employee health,” said HealthInsight CEO Martin Watson. “In teaming with Medica, we will help empower their customers to make meaningful choices toward leading a healthier life. Medica and HealthInsight share the common goals of delivering improved quality of care and reducing health care costs.”

Today, as much as 70 percent of total medical expenses are a direct result of lifestyle choices. In many cases, individuals allow chronic conditions to go untreated until treatment options become limited, quality of life suffers and the financial burden of addressing the disease increases. Using HealthInsight’s preventive care approach, members enrolled in Medica’s new program will be able to take a proactive stance toward health management, make smart choices, and manage their overall health as well as reduce the cost of healthcare.

About Medica
Medica is a health insurance company headquartered in Minneapolis and active in the Upper Midwest. With nearly 1.6 million members, the non-profit company provides health care coverage in the employer, individual, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicare Part D markets in Minnesota and a growing number of counties in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Medica also offers national network coverage to employers who also have employees outside the Medica regional network.

About HealthInsight
HealthInsight provides a private-labeled health incentive platform to employers and health care payers. The administrative platform creates and tracks personalized health actions that are tied to incentives allowing employers and health plans to reward individuals who proactively manage their health. Individuals who complete their personalized health actions are rewarded with enhanced benefits, health care premium reductions, monetary deposits
into a Health Savings Account or Health Incentive Account and merchandise. A partnership with HealthInsight gives benefit administrators the ability to offer innovative value-based benefit solutions. Through personalized scorecards, online health coaching, and a personal health record, individuals are encouraged to play an active role in managing their health. By promoting early detection and rewarding proactive health management, in conjunction with leveraging extensive data analytics and a sophisticated team of medical professionals, HealthInsight is able to provide a solution to health care that is proven to reduce health care costs and improve employee health. For more information, please visit us at www.healthinsight.com.

While employers remain committed to offering health and productivity programs, they are frustrated by the inability of many workers to change their health habits. In an effort to encourage healthy behaviors, a growing number of employers are tightening their requirements for workers to receive financial incentives, according to a survey conducted by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company, and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), a nonprofit association of large U.S. employers.

Currently, more than half (53%) of large employers offer financial incentives to workers who enroll in health engagement activities, such as weight management or smoking cessation programs. But, for many employers, participation alone is no longer enough to earn an incentive. Now, more than one-third of employers (37%) reward only those workers who meet the company’s requirements for completion of a health engagement activity, and almost one-third (29%) only reward members who participate in multiple activities, according to the 15th Annual NBGH/Towers Watson Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care. Still, most employers (93%) have no plans to eliminate their health promotion programs, and 83% have no plans to cancel or delay adding new ones.

“Employers are frustrated by their employees’ low use of expensive health improvement programs,” said Ted Nussbaum, senior consultant at Towers Watson. “As employers continue to empower workers to be more health focused, they are beginning to target and reward those workers who demonstrate a real commitment to making positive lifestyle changes.”

This year’s survey also found that employers demonstrate dramatic differences in their ability to keep health care cost increases in check. The survey identified a group of “consistent performing” companies that have successfully held cost increases below the median trend for the last four years. In fact, these consistent performers experienced a median cost increase of just 2.1% over the last four years compared with 6.8% for all companies. These companies separate themselves from poorer performing companies in five areas: appropriate financial incentives, effective information delivery, metrics and evidence, quality care, and health and productivity. Consistent performers spent $6,536 per employee on health care benefits in 2009 — nearly $1,200 less per employee than for all survey respondents.

“Employers can learn from the companies that consistently hold down health costs year after year,” said Ron Fontanetta, a senior consultant at Towers Watson. “These employers are doing more than just making temporary changes to individual programs. Consistent performing companies offer a wide array of integrated health initiatives and appropriate financial incentives. Over time, the savings are significant.”

Interest in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) continues to expand among employers and their workers. Just over half (54%) of companies now offer a CDHP, and that number is expected to grow to 61% in 2011. Nearly half (46%) of companies that offer a CDHP report at least 20% of their workers enrolled, an increase of nearly 70% in five years. Companies with higher levels of CDHP enrollment also report lower costs. Those with at least 50% of their workers enrolled in a CDHP report average annual costs per employee of nearly $1,000 less than at non-CDHP companies. Similarly, nearly 60% of survey respondents indicate their workers pay premiums that are at least 30% less than those for traditional copay plans.

“Employers and their workers face a challenging road ahead together,” said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health. “Those companies most effective at empowering their workers to be engaged consumers of care will find greater success at keeping costs low and likely be rewarded with a healthier, more productive workforce — an effort that has never been more important than it is right now.”

Other findings include:

• In 2010, 38% of companies will offer a health savings account (HSA), with an additional 7% expected to do so in 2011.
• In 2010, 46% of employers will provide coverage for use of retail clinics, up from 36% in 2009.
• In 2010, 57% of employers will encourage plans and providers to provide workers with access to online medical records, up from 54% in 2009.

Download the 15th Annual NBGH/Towers Watson Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care.

Source: Towers Watson

John Goodman�s Health Policy Blog is a good read today, as the �Father of Health Savings Accounts� asks, �What is causing the huge emotional reaction both on the right and the left? To the health bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve, that is.�

Goodman points out that bill would not solve any of the problems that its proponents talked about.� He writes that the bill will not lower health care costs. It will not improve quality of care and probably would not improve the average access to care. But it would do two very important things almost no one has talked about.

1. For the first time in U.S. history, we are about to nationalize the health insurance industry; and
2. Going forward, no one will ever be able to pay a real price for health insurance again.

At the heart of this is the fact that health insurance plans will be unable to innovate.

�Gone forever will be the ability of insurance companies to creatively and innovatively solve the core problems of cost, quality and access,� writes Goodman. �Insurers will not be able to innovate in these ways because it will be illegal to charge patients or their employers a premium that reflects the value the innovation creates for the patients.�

In the long run, problems are not only not going to be solved. They almost certainly are going to get worse.

Read John Goodman�s entire blog post here:

As overall medical costs continue to increase by double digits annually, medical costs for individuals in account-based consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) went down 26% over four years, while levels of care for their preventive medicine, chronic disease management and evidence-based treatments were higher than their counterparts in traditional PPO and HMO health plans, according to a new multi-year study of health care claims experience of 655,000 CIGNA customers.

The Fourth Annual CIGNA Choice Fund Experience Study is the latest evidence that more than any health reform proposal currently on the table, these innovative free market plans have been consistently proven to deliver actual quality, accessible health coverage at substantially lower costs.

�The empirical data is in and it�s undeniable: when health plans provide incentives for people to be engaged, their health care quality goes up and costs go down,� said CIGNA President and Chief Operating Officer, David M. Cordani. �CIGNA’s study shows that the incentives offered by consumer-driven plans — such as lower premiums, freedom of choice, and the ability to build up health savings — result in an immediate and sustained improvement in health care quality and lower costs.�

Key findings of the Fourth Annual CIGNA Choice Fund Experience Study include:

• Immediate and sustainable cost savings: CDHP medical costs are 14% less than traditional plans the first year, cumulative cost savings rise to 19% in the second year, 23% in the third year and 26% in the fourth year.
• Higher levels of care: People with CIGNA Choice Fund received recommended care at compliance rates that were similar or better than those covered by traditional CIGNA health plans. Key indicators such as use of preventive care, evidence-based care and disease management program participation were measurably better among those in CIGNA CDHPs than those in PPOs and HMOs.
• Less cost for those with chronic conditions: Medical cost trend was substantially less for CIGNA Choice Fund customers with hypertension (27% less), joint disease (21% less), and diabetes (15% less), than for individuals with either of those diseases in traditional CIGNA health plans. According to the study data, these cost savings were achieved without sacrificing care.

According to Cordani, if the share of Americans enrolled in a CDHP rose from a current 18% to 50%, and the results of the CIGNA study were applied, the U.S. could achieve $350 billion dollars in savings over 10 years.

Chris Policinski, President and CEO of Land O�Lakes, Inc., noted: �Offering consumer driven health plans to Land O�Lakes employees is helping to keep health care costs in check, while maintaining or improving care quality. For Land O�Lakes, this approach�supports our commitment to employees, while at the same time ensuring�that we remain highly cost efficient.”

Customer: Engagement is Key

One of the nation�s premier agricultural cooperatives, Land O�Lakes, Inc., offers both CIGNA Choice Fund CDHP and traditional health plans. The company confirms that its employees are increasingly electing to enroll in the CDHP for cost savings � with eight of 10 employees choosing CDHP over traditional managed care plans.

�Since January 1, 2007, when our first CDHP was offered, our company and employees have saved more than $10 million in health plan costs,� said Land O�Lakes Director of Benefits and HR Operations Pamela Grove. �From 2006 to 2007, our health care trend decreased from 13% to negative 5% – a decrease of 18% year over year. Our employees are making smart choices: increasing their use of preventive care and the CIGNA 24-hour nurse line, as well as opting to use less-costly urgent care facilities or convenience care clinics rather than heading to the emergency room for non-emergency events.�

�We attribute this enormously successful enrollment to honest and open communication with employees coupled with consumer-focused information and tools,� said Grove. �That�s a strategy that we will continue to focus on and, so far, it has produced very impressive results.�

Individuals Making the Most of their Health Benefits

Noting the solid clinical compliance among those enrolled in CIGNA Choice Fund plans, CIGNA Chief Medical Officer, Jeffery Kang, M.D. said: �America is a land of smart shoppers, and what our study shows is given the right plans, tools and information, people will make rational, wise and successful health care decisions.�

Individuals enrolled in CIGNA Choice Fund plans continued to receive recommended care at the same or higher levels as those enrolled in traditional plans in an evaluation of compliance with 400 evidence-based measures of health care quality. In fact, first year Choice Fund customers had higher statistical compliance with 11% of evidence-based measures than their counterparts in traditional plans, and 16% higher for Choice Fund customers enrolled for multiple years.

Moreover, individuals with chronic illnesses covered by CIGNA Choice Fund plans are more engaged and more likely to comply with and complete their plan disease management programs. Disease management program follow-through and completion rates are 22% higher among those in CIGNA Choice Fund plans than their counterparts in traditional CIGNA managed care plans.

Preventive care visits for first-year CIGNA Choice Fund customers were an average of 16% greater when compared to traditional plans, with CDHP preventive care visits continuing at higher rates than those in traditional plans in the second year.

The trend in pharmacy costs for new CIGNA Choice Fund customers who also have their pharmacy benefits with CIGNA was cut by more than half when compared to those enrolled in traditional plans.

�CIGNA’s mission is to improve people�s health, well-being and sense of security;� said Dr. Kang. �During the past four years, CIGNA Choice Fund studies have consistently demonstrated that CDHPs are part of the solution for creating a more affordable, accessible, sustainable and high quality healthcare system.�

CIGNA (NYSE:CI), a global health service company, is dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation’s operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world. To learn more about CIGNA, visit www.cigna.com.

Benefit Harbor, a leading provider of integrated benefit enrollment and administration services has formed a strategic partnership with Consumer Health Technologies, Inc. (CHT). CHT is a CDHC software technology leader, providing services to administrators, payers, and financial institutions for the delivery of optimal benefits administration solutions in the CDHC market segment.

CHT develops BenefitSpan�, an award winning Consumer Directed Healthcare software platform which offers a comprehensive solution for FSA, HRA, and HSA account administration. As part of its partnership with CHT, Benefit Harbor will make available through BenefitSpan a comprehensive continuum of services including benefit administration, enrollment, and customer services for group and individual benefit plans.

The CDHC market is evolving at a dramatic pace; therefore, it is crucial to remain current on the most leading edge solutions available. We help companies initiate, develop, and deliver innovation in an extremely demanding market space, and for that, BenefitSpan was the obvious choice because it is a unified destination for all stake holders, regardless of company size or complexity of benefit design, said Bill Lester, the President of Benefit Harbor. Mr. Lester further added, The open architecture platform offers a range of advantages, such as 100% private-label services for the total administration of all CDHC accounts while integrating with multiple financial institutions. Additionally, BenefitSpan offers very strong dynamic packaging capabilities of high-value CDHC products and services, including telemedicine, health advocacy and wellness. This empowers plan participants with a new level of service and efficiency along with maximum flexibility and transparency, resulting in measurable cost containment for the consumers.

Pradeep Goel, CEO of Consumer Health Technologies, Inc. commented that, Benefit Harbor brings a unique set of capabilities to the CDHC space with a broad range of consumer engagement tools and support services highly relevant to benefit consultants, health plans and financial institutions alike. We are very excited to count them as part of the CHT family. This strategic partnership will position both partners in such a manner as to make them highly competitive in the CDHC market space.

About Benefit Harbor:

Benefit Harbor delivers total benefit solutions that enable employee benefit and delivery strategies by leveraging strategic relationships with carriers, specialized administration and enrollment firms, brokers/consultants, and plan sponsors. Benefit Harbor is uniquely differentiated by our proprietary technology that supports the integrated administration and enrollment of group and individual benefit plans on a single platform. Founded in 2000, we currently serve more than 1 million employees, support $2 billion in annualized premiums, and interface with over 700 group and voluntary carriers.

Benefit Harbor is part of the Summit Alliance Companies, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The group also includes Summit Alliance Financial, a full-service insurance brokerage agency, and Summit Alliance Investment Group, a broker-dealer serving independent investment advisors and credit unions.

To learn more about Benefit Harbor please visit www.benefitharbor.com.

Source: Consumer Health Tech

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of employers in a recent survey by Mercer say they would cut health benefits to avoid paying an excise tax included in the Senate�s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unveiled November 18. Mercer estimates that one in five employers offer health coverage that would be deemed �too generous� and thus be subject to the Act�s 40 percent non-deductible tax on the excess value.

In early November, Mercer surveyed 465 employer health plan sponsors to find out how they might respond to such a tax on their health plans. Respondents included roughly equal numbers of small employers (fewer than 500 employees), mid-sized employers (500-4,999 employees) and large employers (5,000 or more employees).

In general, excess annual costs under the legislation are those above $8,500 for employee-only coverage or $23,000 for family coverage, starting in 2013. Higher annual cost thresholds � $9,850 and $26,000 � would apply to retiree plans, coverage for certain workers in high-risk jobs and coverage in certain high-cost states.

In all cases, annual costs include employer-paid, employee-paid, pre-tax and after-tax premium or premium-equivalent amounts for the health, dental and vision coverage. Annual expenses also include pre-tax (not after-tax) contributions to flexible health spending, and employer contributions to health reimbursement and health savings accounts.

As health care costs continue to trend upwards, the proposed tax is predicted to apply to about a fifth of all employers if it becomes effective in 2013. The percent of employers impacted by the cap would increase annually because the Act proposes that the baseline trend be inflated by the annual consumer price index (CPI) plus 1 percent, which is about half the average health care trend.

According to Linda Havlin, a Worldwide Partner with Mercer, �For many employers, it�s a matter of when, not if, they will hit the cap. While some policy analysts expect the cap would prompt employers to make major changes to cut back on excessive health care spending, it�s important to note that not all the plans that would be subject to the tax are particularly generous. There are other factors beside plan design that drive up cost.�

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of employers who responded say they would cut covered benefits to avoid paying the excise tax. About a fourth of respondents (23 percent) say they wouldmaintain their current plan, but pass along the cost of the tax to their employees. Just 2 percent say they would keep their plan, but absorb the new tax themselves. These employers may be constrained by bargaining agreements from shifting cost or they may simply feel that out-ofpocket costs are already as high as their employees can tolerate.

Seven percent of the responding employers say they would terminate the high-cost plan. Notably, 9 percent of small employers � which typically offer only one medical plan choice � saythey would terminate their plans, potentially forcing their employees into the individual market.

Ms. Havlin noted, �Small employers have been exiting the health market for years and this statistic is another indicator of their frustration. Only 60 percent of employers with fewer than 50 employees offered coverage last year compared to 99 percent of large employers. In some markets that have expensive benefit mandates and taxes on insurance, such as New York City, we�re seeing an uptick in that exit rate.�

Of those employers that would reduce covered benefits, 75 percent say they would use the familiar strategy of raising deductibles and copays. Forty percent would add an alternative lowcost plan to their benefit offerings and 32 percent would replace their current plan with a lowcost option.

Many of the larger employers would attempt more sophisticated strategies. One-fourth of employers with 5,000 employees say they would seek quality and cost-efficiency improvements through high-performance networks, medical homes, and health management incentives.

�We all need to work to take the inefficiencies and inappropriate spending out of health care,� Ms. Havlin stressed. �The risk to employers is that reform has a lot of other costs that will make it even harder to stay under the cap. For example, employers will likely bear the brunt of the government�s $156 billion fees on insurers, manufacturers, hospitals and other suppliers � and they will pass the cost on to employees.�

The largest responding employers would also be the most likely to terminate employer contributions to flexible health spending, health reimbursement and health spending accounts: 25 percent of those with 5,000 or more employees would do so, compared to 19 percent of all sizes.

One argument that some have made in favor of the excise tax is that employers cutting benefits would return the savings to employees in the form of higher wages. However, less than a fifth of respondents (16 percent) say they would convert their cost savings into higher pay.

Large employers more likely to favor the individual mandate

Both the House-passed bill and the reform plan headed to the Senate floor would require all individuals to obtain coverage if they can afford it, either through their employer or in the individual market. A majority of responding employers (52 percent) is in favor of the individual mandate: 37 percent are opposed and 11 percent have no opinion. The largest responding employers (those with 5,000 or more employees) are the most in favor: 65 percent favor the individual mandate, while only 45 percent of the small responding employers support this mandate.

Respondents overwhelmingly agree that if individuals are required to have coverage, Congress should allow employers and insurance companies to offer low-cost, catastrophic plans (86 percent), which would not be permitted under the current House and Senate proposals. On this point, Ms. Havlin notes that �Expensive plans aren�t appealing for many self-employed or low wage earners. These people are more likely to take the risk of being uninsured, particularly if they are young. The individual market is an opportunity for us to offer a variety of plans that meet different needs, including some plans that provide breakthrough ideas in quality, compliance and outcomes.�

Source: Mercer

]]> http://healthplaninnovation.com/2009/12/majority-of-employers-would-reduce-health-benefits-to-avoid-proposed-excise-tax-survey-finds/feed/ 0 http://healthplaninnovation.com/2009/11/healthplus-offers-new-insurance-plans-for-consumers-seeking-health-coverage-on-their-own/ http://healthplaninnovation.com/2009/11/healthplus-offers-new-insurance-plans-for-consumers-seeking-health-coverage-on-their-own/#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:04:25 +0000 Martin Trussell http://healthplaninnovation.com/?p=1641

HealthPlus of Michigan is reporting that it has launched four new HealthPlus Signature insurance plans designed specifically for individuals 18 to 64 and their families who are looking to purchase affordable health coverage directly.

The new HealthPlus Signature plans are available online at www.HealthPlus.org, and through agents and brokers throughout the HealthPlus service area. More information, including help with purchasing, is also available by toll-free phone call to 1-877-562-0907.

“We are pleased to offer an array of new options for consumers who need to find affordable individual or family health insurance coverage in this difficult economy,” says Nancy Jenkins, HealthPlus vice president of membership growth. Jenkins notes that the HealthPlus Signature plans may be ideal for individuals who are:

• being dropped from a parent’s employer-sponsored coverage
• self-employed
• facing a layoff
• considering early retirement
• losing their employer-sponsored health coverage
• no longer eligible for their government-sponsored health coverage
• between jobs or just starting a job

Consumers can choose from four types of HealthPlus Signature plans.

HealthPlus Signature One is designed for young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 with no dependents. It’s intended as a “starter plan” to meet the health coverage needs and budgets of recent high school or college graduates, those starting a career or looking for a job, and those who are no longer eligible under their parents’ coverage.

HealthPlus Signature Savings is compatible with tax-deductible Health Savings Accounts. The plan has a low monthly premium and members can add pharmacy or maternity coverage.

HealthPlus Signature Select is a traditional deductible plan designed for individuals and families. These plans also offer low premiums and optional pharmacy and maternity coverage.

HealthPlus Signature Network has a limited network of physicians, specialists and other health-care providers. This option works best for people who already have a doctor who contracts directly with HealthPlus.

Signature PPO plans are offered in Arenac, Bay, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Ingham, Iosco, Isabella, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Midland, Montcalm, Oakland, Saginaw, Sanilac, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Tuscola, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties.

The new plans represent the first major entry into the individual health insurance market for the 30-year-old nonprofit corporation, whose for-profit subsidiary – HealthPlus Insurance Company, Inc.- is offering the PPO-style coverage.

HealthPlus is recognized across Michigan and nationwide for designing attractive, affordable, and often award-winning health plans for business and government.

HealthPlus of Michigan – a nonprofit health-benefits company – along with its subsidiaries offers a comprehensive portfolio of PPO, HMO, and TPA health plans tailored to meet the needs of employers, families, individuals, and government (Medicare, Medicaid, MIChild, county health programs). Most HealthPlus benefit plans include access to extensive, online health, wellness and lifestyle resources.

HealthPlus’ commercial and Medicare HMOs have ranked among “America’s Best Health Plans”* by U.S. News & World Report for the past five years; its commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid plans have been accredited as “Excellent” by National Committee for Quality Assurance for the past 11, 9, and 7 consecutive years, respectively.

Founded in 1979, HealthPlus – with a staff of more than 400 at its Flint headquarters and regional offices in Saginaw and Troy – serves more than 200,000 people statewide. To advance its vision of building healthier communities, HealthPlus contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to more than 200 nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves.

*America’s Best Health Plans 2009-10 is a trademark of U.S. News & World Report.

SOURCE HealthPlus of Michigan

Using Hitwise Lifestyle, which incorporates MOSAIC USA, a leading household segmentation system, it is possible to identify the m ost popular websites in an industry that attract a specific segment.

For example, the top three websites in the Health Insurance category that attracted the largest volume of women aged 25-44 in the “Suburban Optimists” segment were Kaiser Permanente, GroupHealth and CIGNA for the four weeks ending 11/07/09.

The Suburban Optimists Type represents middle-class diversity with its high concentration of Asian, Hawaiian and white residents. These consumers tend to spend their disposable income on technology products, buying the latest laptops, video game players and home theater systems. They also describe themselves as early adopters and influential leaders when it comes to consumer electronics. Suburban Optimists frequently watch cable TV networks such as VH1, MTV and Spike TV. Finally, they enjoy watching comedies, network dramas and reality shows like “That 70s Show,” “E.R.” and “American Idol.” Lifestyle data is available on over 30,000 websites.

To learn more about Hitwise Lifestyle, contact Hitwise.

Source: Hitwise Intelligence Blogs

Experian Hitwise is the leading global online competitive intelligence service, helping clients protect and grow their market share through the application of internet measurement data. Experian Hitwise measures the largest sample of internet users – 25 million worldwide, including 10 million in the United States. This sample size allows clients to understand internet behavior and competitive activity through data that is unmatched in timeliness, depth and breadth.

Of employers who offer a consumer-driven health plan, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) continue to be the preferred funding choice among organizations, according to a survey released today by Aon Consulting, the global human capital consulting organization.

Of the 370 survey respondents, 44 percent of employers currently offer a consumer-driven health (CDH) plan to employees, which is similar to last year but significantly higher than in 2006 when only 28 percent of employers offered this type of plan to their workforce. Of those offering CDH plans this year, 56 percent are now using the HSA model, 35 percent of organizations are using the Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) model, and 9 percent use both.
Aon reports that over the last three years, the gap has widened between HSAs and HRAs, as the number of employers offering HSAs has gone from 48 percent to 56 percent, and the number offering HRAs has dropped from 43 percent to 35 percent. The following chart reflects this trend:

“HSAs have grown in popularity relative to HRAs since HSAs are considered more advantageous to the employee than an HRA,” said John Zern, U.S. Health & Benefits Practice Director with Aon Consulting. “With an HSA, employees can contribute their own money, the account is owned by the employee and is portable at termination of employment. HSAs also have great tax advantages.”

Additionally, the survey found the majority of employers (83 percent) offer the HSA or HRA as an optional plan, while the remaining 17 percent have implemented a total replacement CDH program where the only plan choices offered to employees are CDH plans.

“Although only 17 percent of employers offer a total replacement CDH program, we expect that number to increase next year,” said Bill Sharon, National Consumer Driven Health Care Practice leader with Aon Consulting. “In response to the economic downturn and double digit health care cost increases, employers are becoming more aggressive in managing their health care costs. Implementing a total replacement CDH program is one of the leading health care strategies available to employers.”

The survey also found that more employers who offer the HSA plan are contributing money to the plan (66 percent versus 60 percent last year). The breakdown of this group is as follows: a flat dollar amount of less than $500 per person (15 percent), a flat dollar amount of $500 or more (45 percent), and a matching employer contribution (6 percent).

Meanwhile, employers offering an HRA plan make a wide variety of contributions to the account for a single employee: 4 percent provide less than $300; 11 percent provide between $300 and $499; 49 percent provide between $500 and $799; 1 percent provide between $800 and $999; and 34 percent provide $1,000 or more.

Employer opinions on the future of the CDH concept are still split, but opinions have improved in the past three years. The survey found 45 percent believe CDH plans will be successful in controlling employers’ health care costs in five years, compared to 39 percent of employers in 2006; 26 percent do not believe they will be successful, down from 30 percent in 2006; and 29 percent don’t know the impact it will have on health care costs, down from 31 percent who had that perception three years ago.

“The outcome of national health reform could influence the future of CDH plans,” said Tom Lerche, U.S. Health Care Practice Leader with Aon Consulting. “In particular, the proposed minimum plan design requirements could impact CDH plans offered through the proposed Insurance Exchanges, and could over time, impact CDH plans offered outside the Exchanges.

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