Displaying items by tag: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Individuals who buy their own health insurance would pay an average of 6.2 percent more for coverage next year under insurance carriers’ recent rate filings with state regulators.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation that is designed to better enable large employers to bid out their employee health coverage.

Here is the MiBiz Growth report for June 6, 2022:

Michigan’s two largest health insurers again seek to raise small business rates for 2023 as medical claims rise and pandemic-related costs are considered for the first time.

Legislation proposed in Congress would cap customers’ monthly out-of-pocket cost for insulin at $35, an idea President Joe Biden supported in his recent State of the Union address.

Costs to test, treat and vaccinate members for COVID-19 drove sharp earnings declines last year for Priority Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and both intend to work ongoing pandemic-related expenses into their rate requests for next year.

The high cost of medical claims tied to the COVID-19 pandemic drove Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to a loss in 2021 on its core health insurance business.

The recent merger between Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health creates the potential for Priority Health to make deeper inroads in the Southeast Michigan health insurance market.

The new health system that Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health plan to launch Tuesday will have considerable market clout in the Michigan health care market, raising concerns about the potential effect on costs.

Michigan now ranks as the second-least competitive market in the nation for health coverage, a status that stems from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s long-held position as the leading insurer in the state.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan joined four other Blues plans across the U.S. to form a new venture that seeks to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs.

The lifting of Michigan’s in-person work restrictions is a light at the end of the tunnel for remote workers eager to get back to the office, while others are hoping flexible work settings will stick long term.

Small businesses can expect larger increases in their health insurance premiums in 2022 than in recent years, even without costs associated with responding to the COVID-19 pandemic figured into the equation.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 25, 2021.

A health plan that for years has provided coverage for employees at beer and wine wholesalers in Michigan now looks to offer the same benefits to craft brewers, distilleries and wineries across the state, providing a potential lower-cost option to consider.

Here's the MiBiz Growth Report for March 28, 2021.

Small business clients of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan that renew their health policies in the second half of the year will see small rate increases of less than 2 percent.

The yearlong COVID-19 pandemic drove down earnings last year at West Michigan’s major health insurance providers.

In September, Dr. James Grant became chief medical director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, making the transition during the COVID-19 pandemic that has elevated telehealth to the forefront in the industry. While a COVID-19 vaccine became available a week ago, starting with frontline health care workers and long-term care facilities, the pandemic will drive much of what happens in the health care industry in 2021, according to Grant.

As reports continue to rank Michigan as one of the least competitive markets in the nation, the statewide trade group representing HMOs wants to ensure that insurance carriers are able to pursue business when employers bid out employee health coverage.

Health insurance open enrollment for 2021 starts Nov. 1 with small increases in rates for individual and small employer health care policies.

Michigan ranked second-lowest in the nation for what employers and insurance carriers paid hospitals for care compared to payments hospitals received from Medicare from 2016 to 2018.

COVID-19 has hit the world hard, including the business landscape. Many companies are struggling under the strain the pandemic has put on our economy, from decreased spending to wide-scale shutdowns. In the face of this economic uncertainty, businesses of all sizes and their employees are facing tough choices when it comes to spending. 

Health plans in Michigan should post strong earnings for 2020 despite poor results in the first quarter from investment losses after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health insurers across Michigan have proposed small average rate adjustments for 2021 policy renewals for both small employers and individuals.

GRAND RAPIDS — Priority Health President and CEO Joan Budden plans to retire at the end of 2020 after 12 years with the health plan, the last five as its chief executive.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered state officials to create rules requiring implicit bias training for Michigan health professionals as they seek licensure, registration and renewals as a way to ensure equity in health care access.

Bills to curb surprise medical billing in Michigan move forward in Lansing without the backing of physicians, who worry the proposed changes in state law would put them at a disadvantage when negotiating future reimbursement contracts with health insurance carriers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network will continue to waive copays and other cost sharing for treating for COVID-19 through the end of 2020.

The MiBiz Growth Report for June 7, 2020.