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| September 24, 2013 |
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IBC enhances Blue Solutions products for 2014 and beyond |
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As we prepare for a new era in our industry, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) is committed to helping your customers continue to provide their employees with the comprehensive coverage they know and trust.
We are pleased to announce several enhancements to our Blue Solutions and Blue Choice® products for your small group (2 – 50) customers that give them even more flexibility to offer their employees a total benefits package at a price that's right for their business.
Beginning with January 1, 2014 effective dates:
- All plans are fully compliant with the health care law, featuring 10 essential health benefits and new metallic categories that make it easier to compare costs across all plan types.
- We are offering robust new capabilities for health spending accounts that make it easier for employers to manage these accounts and help members make more informed decisions about their health care dollars.
- We added a new $4 generic program to the existing prescription drug coverage for Blue Solutions plans to help members get the most value from their pharmacy benefit.
- Enhancements to our most popular wellness reimbursements encourage members to change behaviors, such as tobacco use, that are high drivers of costs.
You can begin quoting the new plans through ROAM at the end of October.
Blue Solutions plans provide members with a fully compliant suite of benefits
No matter which Blue Solutions plans your customers choose, they can be assured that they are fully compliant with the requirements of the health care law. All plans with January 1, 2014, effective dates cover the essential health benefits including:
- Pediatric dental —We added dental coverage for dependents up to age 19, which includes medically necessary orthodontia.
- Annual vision exams and eyeglasses for both adults and children — Our previous plans covered this benefit every two years.
- Rehabilitative and habilitative services — We combined physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy into one category, with an equal number of visit limits.
- Mental health/substance abuse — Our previous plans covered this benefit, but we removed visit limits.
Because we have updated these plans to meet the health care law requirements, we are officially discontinuing all Blue Solutions plans currently available in the market. We will no longer sell any current Blue Solutions plans effective December 31, 2013. We will also discontinue medical underwriting at that time, in compliance with the health care law. In 2014, customers will be rated based on age, family size, geography, and tobacco use.
Robust new capabilities make managing health spending accounts easier
As your small, mid-market, and large customers migrate to our new core operating platform beginning in January 2014, we are offering robust new capabilities that make managing health spending accounts easier and less time consuming.
Employers will have access to new reports and tools through the employer portal at ibxpress.com to enable them to manage enrollment, account activity, and account funding.
Members will also have access to new information and tools through ibxpress.com to help them understand and manage their health expenses—including a plan activity statement that integrates medical claims and spending account payments. Employers will also be able to choose to allow members to set up automatic payments to providers or themselves from their spending account to give them more control over their health care dollars.
IBC Select Drug Program helps members save more money
All Blue Solutions plans include prescription drug, vision, and pediatric dental coverage so customers' employees have access to the fullest array of health benefits. We have added a new $4 Preferred generic benefit to the IBC Select Drug Program® to all Blue Solutions plans to help members save more money on their health care.
The new $4 Preferred Generics drug program means low out-of-pocket costs for certain preferred generic drugs, which are typically used to treat chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease.
We also offer your customers the option to add two additional specialty services – IBC Adult Dental and GeoBlue® travel insurance – to their Blue Solutions medical plans to provide their employees with the most comprehensive benefits package.
Enhancements to wellness reimbursements encourage continuous health improvement
We want to empower your customers' employees to take more control of their health, so we are enhancing our wellness reimbursements to target three modifiable behaviors that are some of today's biggest drivers of health care costs–fitness, weight management, and tobacco use.
To make it easier for members to participate and get rewarded for their healthy choices, we are no longer requiring members to enroll to be eligible to receive their reimbursements. In addition, the following changes to reimbursements take effect for small, mid-market, and large groups when they migrate to our new core operating platform beginning in January 2014:
- Fitness—Reimbursement of up to $150 of fitness center fees for completing 120 workouts at an approved fitness facility. No change to reimbursement amount.
- Weight management—Reimbursement of up to $150 for completion of an approved weight loss program, which now includes Weight Watchers® online. Previous reimbursement was $200.
- Tobacco cessation—Reimbursement up to $150 for completion of approved tobacco cessation program. Previous reimbursement was $200.
Additionally, there will be no reimbursements for the cost of lactation consultations or the purchase of breast pumps. As part of the health care law's requirements for women's preventive health services, many IBC health plans now cover in-network lactation consultations and the purchase of a non-hospital grade breast pump and breast pump supplies from an in-network supplier with no member cost-sharing.
Customers will have improved renewal materials
Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to support your customers as they make their coverage decisions for 2014.
As part of a planned series of renewal communications, we will mail your small group (2 – 50) customers a new customers a new Blue Solutions kit prior to their renewal date that includes easy-to-use materials with everything they need to know about what the product suite offers.
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PLAN INFORMATION Plan Overview Blue Solutions Metallic Plans New HMO Proactive Plans HMO Gold Proactive and Silver Proactive Blue Solutions Matched Plans |
The Summary of Benefits for the Blue Solutions 2014 products will be available later in the month, and we look forward to sharing more information with you over the next few months and to helping you make this transition as smooth as possible for your customers.
If you have any questions, please contact your IBC account executive.
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