Are You Losing Your Health Insurance?
There have been plenty of reports in the media of employers having their group insurance plans canceled by health insurance carriers due to health care reform. While there have been plenty of issues, complications, and confusion in regard to group health insurance plans as a result of health care reform…cancelation of group health insurance plans is not one of them.
There are many circumstances where a specific health insurance plan design is being terminated by an insurance company and an employer’s plan is being “routed” to a new plan design. While this may be viewed as problematic for an employer and their employees, it has been happening for years. This issue is most likely not being caused by health care reform, but is likely being exacerbated by it.
The reasons for these routings of plans are several and include:
- Normal year to year changes that insurers implement based on many circumstances.
- Restructuring of plans so that they can be classified in an appropriate Metal Level category (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze).
- Pricing – some plans were not going to be able to continue in the present format.
Employers now have a new alternative if they are being routed to a new health insurance plan for which they are not comfortable. The new alternative is individual health insurance. While there are many items that need further clarity (i.e. circumstances in which an individual may enroll mid-year, pre-tax / post tax, employer deductibility, etc.), it is clear that in many situations the individual health insurance plans are comparatively priced to other small group plans. In addition, the new individual health insurance plans are now Guaranteed Acceptance with no pre-existing condition qualifications.
We’re here to help!
Employers should still seek qualified professional benefits guidance if they considering moving their health insurance programs to an individual platform. Planning, implementation, and ongoing support are just as important as with a traditional group plan. Benefit Consultants that are adapting their practices to the Health Care Reform law such as Millennium Medical Solutions Inc. will be able to help. For more information on individual health plans, please call us as 1-855-667-4621.