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UnitedHealthcare Offers New 2019 Sales Bonus

UnitedHealthcare is offering a new broker bonus to agents in California who sell new medical plans with effective dates from February 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020. Eligible cases are new fully insured S...

Covered California for Small Business Extends Broker Bonus Program

Covered California for Small Business (CCSB) has extended their Broker Bonus Incentive Program. New small groups with effective dates from February 1, 2019 to June 1, 2019 are eligible for group bonus...

Update on Anthem Blue Cross and Sutter Health Negotiations

Anthem Blue Cross and Sutter Health are engaged in negotiations to renew their contract, which is set to end on April 1, 2019. While they continue to negotiate, California Department of Managed Care ...

Blue Shield of California Small Business Market — Some Bronze PPO Off-Exchange Plans Closing To New Sales

The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has required that Blue Shield of California pause actively marketing the plans below for new sales until modifications are made and the benefit changes app...

California Shifts Focus from Single Payer to Medicare For All

Bringing single-payer health care to California was prominent in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign. But the obstacles to such a plan have led him to embrace a less ambitious strategy in Medicare for all. C...

Kaiser Permanente® Addresses Housing Insecurity in Oakland

Kaiser Permanente® unveiled several initiatives to create stable housing for vulnerable populations in Oakland, CA: About $5.2 million has been committed from The Housing for Health Fund to acqu...

Blue Shield of California Releases Q2 2019 Rates

Blue Shield of California’s Q2 2019 rates are available to quote. Blue Shield is reporting the following statewide average rate actions for all plans: PPO rates increase 1.5% in the second quar...

Western Health Advantage Offers New Payment Options

Western Health Advantage (WHA) has made it easier to install new groups by offering two more payment options. Option 1: For Groups Setting Up Ongoing Electronic-Funds Transfer (EFT) They can pay vi...

Sharp Health Plan Announces Q2 2019 Rate Update

Sharp Health Plan has announced their Q2 2019 rate update. All HMO plans will increase by 0.8%. There are no plan changes with this increase. Expect quoting to be available in the next week. As a ...

Western Health Advantage Releases 2019 Q2 Rate Update

Western Health Advantage (WHA) Q2 2019 rates are approved, and plans are available for quoting. While the overall statewide rate change shows 1%, all Platinum, Gold, and Silver plans received a rate p...

Compliance Alert: Employer Mandate Question

Our experts are always on call for compliance support. Here is the answer to a recent question from a broker about the ACA Employer Mandate: Question Does an inactive business still have 2018 e...

Governor Gavin Newsom Takes on Health Care

In his first act as California’s 40th Governor, Gavin Newsom introduced a series of health care-related executive actions and budget proposals. ACA Subsidies Extended to Higher Income Individuals and ...

DMHC Approves Cigna’s Acquisition of Express Scripts

The California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) approved Cigna’s acquisition of Express Scripts. “The conditions imposed on Cigna and Express Scripts will improve plan performance, increase ac...

Employees Drastically Underestimate the Value of Their Benefits

Comparability.com is a somewhat addictive website that asks online users to answer questions about their workplace. In one survey, employees estimate the value of their benefits including “healthcare,...

Prescription Drugs Are a Significant Factor in Higher Premiums

Prescription drug costs are a major contributor to driving up health plan premiums according to a recent report by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC). Health plans paid nearly $8....

Anthem Blue Cross Releases Q2 2019 Rates

Anthem Blue Cross made a huge overhaul to their portfolio in Q1 2019. They terminated plans, added plans, revised their plan names, and enhanced their tele-health offering. So what can we expect in ...

Benefit Trends for Part-Time Employees

With flexible work arrangements on the rise, more employers are considering benefits for part-time employees. Seventy-nine percent of employers surveyed by the International Foundation of Employee Ben...

Anthem Blue Cross Continues Negotiations with Sutter

A recent news release announced that Anthem and Sutter will continue negotiations past their 12/31/2018 contract end date. Negotiations appear to be leaning toward a renewal as Anthem announced that ...

Holden On Film Now Available on iTunes

Executive Producer, Phil Lebherz recently announced the ability to order the film Holden On through iTunes. Based on a true story, the film focuses on exposing the stigma surrounding mental illness. S...

Anthem Blue Cross Teams up with Act Wise for Integrated HSAs

HSA plans are gaining more traction as employers look for ways to save money and encourage their employees to get involved in their health care. It is important to have an HSA bank partner that integ...

Anthem and Enloe Extend Contract During Negotiations

The contract between Anthem Blue Cross and Enloe Medical Center in Chico, CA was set to expire on December 31, 2018. They have agreed to extend the contract to January 15, 2019. This is promising sinc...