Earlier this year, you may have heard that the largest health insurance company in TN has pushed for a 62% rate increase on their 2017 individual plans. Since 2015, the increases have looked like this: 19% in 2015, 36% increase in 2016, and now a 62% increase on average for 2017 for On- and Off-Marketplace plans. The news got worse today when BCBST released statement stating they will not offer plans in TN’s three largest metropolitan regions: Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville. Please refer to 2017 Marketplace Participation Q&A distributed by Blue Cross Blue Shield to see if you will be impacted (http://www.bcbst.com/docs/brokers/2017/2017_Marketplace_Q&A.pdf). Keep in mind that this impacts only the individual ACA plans. Those that have group plans, Medicare, or Medicaid coverage with BCBST will not be affected.
Other changes coming that will have an impact include:
-BCBST will limit the number of plans available in TN regions when plans will still be available. There will now be only four options: 1 bronze plan, 2 silver plans, and 1 gold plan, and all will be on the S Network.
-Blue Cross Blue Shield will no longer pay broker commission on new business. Some carriers have already done this and it may be safe to assume others will follow suit. Although, many brokers have already left the market after large commission cuts, this will definitely impact how and where consumers can get guidance.
-BCBST will no longer take credit payments and will end their direct enrollment platform to help cut operational costs.
Why is this happening? BCBST anticipates by the end of the year, they will have had a loss near 500 million on ACA plans. There are also uncertainties with ACA on the federal level which makes the largest health insurer in TN want to limit its exposure.h
We anticipate that 1 or more carriers will remain in the impacted areas. As this was just released today, we are working to gather as much information as possible so that our clients can be informed and prepared for upcoming changes.
For any questions, please email us at patrick@fieldstoneip.com.
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