Confluence Health announced that they are going to terminate the contract with Premera January 31,2022. We started hearing about the negotiations back in May so we double checked with the Premera Filings in June. Our county is zone 7 and you can quickly see how we are priced compared to the rest of the state. You can also see that Premera intends to be in our area because it is literally in their filed plans. If they don't reach an agreement then professionals already have solutions.
We have had insurance companies leave the area before. The last we saw this was Soundpath Health a Medicare Advantage Plan bought by Premera closed its's doors January 1, 2019. We saw it when Premera, Lifewise and Molina left the individual marketplace during a contraction. At any given time, there is about two hospital systems negotiating with an insurance company. Insurance professionals have dealt with this before and have plans for when this happens.
We are recommending to not do anything immediately. If you are still concerned then talk with who ever is your plan administrator, your HR person, or broker. They will be able to tell you how it affects you if they do not reach agreement plus after open enrollment they will be able to update you with options. Having a professional in your life is useful because they can use their education and training to assist you.
If you have a Medigap plan then it probably will not affect you. Talk with your plan administrator.
If you are part of a Large Group then they may take a little extra time changing companies.
If you are part of a Small Group then they may wish to swap to another small group plan or even do what a lot of companies are doing and go with a monthly bonus to you and utilizing the Enrollment Center / Washington Healthplanfinder. We started seeing this option a lot early on because the Healthplanfinder was delivering more options at a lower price in most cases. This will be doubly so because of the American Rescue Plan which will lower prices through 2022.
If you have an individual plan then contact who ever your work with or the Enrollment Center and we will assist you.
We are expecting this to be done by the start of Enrollment Season.
Medicare Open Enrollment starts October 15th.
Healthcare Open Enrollment starts November 1st.
Suzie Health Solutions runs the Enrollment Center located in Wenatchee, Washington. We charge nothing to educate and enroll people in Life, Health and Medicare plans. You can catch us on Facebook or our podcast: Suzilla.
Added information on 8/13:
Press release from Confluence |
FAQ |
Comments
Post a Comment