"Blue Shield of California, one of the state's and Greater Sacramento's largest health plans, said Monday that its two biggest business units have been restructured to better coordinate service, 'balance executive responsibility for membership and income' and aggregate all large-group health insurance business under a single executive."
Officials at the San Francisco-based health plan said two primary shifts were made:
Responsibility for small-group sales has been moved to a new unit, the Small Group and Government Business Unit headed by Senior Vice President Lisa Rubino, which includes Blue Shield's Medicare-related business.
A new public-sector business unit focusing on labor, trust and other public-sector business has been added to the portfolio of Paul Markovich, the senior vice president in charge of the newly renamed Large Group Business Unit.
Blue Shield restructures major units - 2005-03-07:
Monday
Business Insurance - Corporate Risk and Employee Benefit Management news
"A California health insurance premium tax that now only applies to commercial insurers would be extended to self-funded programs offered by employers and nonprofit insurers under recently introduced universal health care coverage legislation.
The measure, A.B. 1670, would require all Californians to have coverage under a plan with a deductible no greater than $5,000. The state would, among other things, subsidize coverage of lower-income employees who work for small companies. The state also would set up purchasing pools through which employers could purchase coverage."
Business Insurance - Corporate Risk and Employee Benefit Management news:
The measure, A.B. 1670, would require all Californians to have coverage under a plan with a deductible no greater than $5,000. The state would, among other things, subsidize coverage of lower-income employees who work for small companies. The state also would set up purchasing pools through which employers could purchase coverage."
Business Insurance - Corporate Risk and Employee Benefit Management news:
Wednesday
Sonoma Index Tribune
Sonoma Index Tribune:
"Here in California, our local assemblyman, Joe Nation, D-Novato, has teamed with Keith Richman, R-Northridge, to author a bipartisan proposal called the Universal Health Care Act of 2005, AB 1670, that is a strong step toward addressing this vital issue.
The plan has elements that demonstrate its bipartisan roots. It would require all state residents to have health insurance, but would also make it their responsibility to pay for that coverage as much as possible. Just as automobile owners are required to have a minimum level of insurance on their vehicles, AB 1670 would require all residents of this state to have a minimum health-care plan for themselves and their dependents that has a maximum annual deductible of $5,000 per person and provides first-dollar coverage for all medically indicated preventive care.
It would require residents to submit proof of their health-care coverage with his or her annual state income tax return, unless they were covered by an employer's plan. If a person doesn't provide the proof of insurance, the state could provide it through the state 'pool' of insurance and charge the resident by retaining the cost of the premium from any tax overpaid by the resident."
"Here in California, our local assemblyman, Joe Nation, D-Novato, has teamed with Keith Richman, R-Northridge, to author a bipartisan proposal called the Universal Health Care Act of 2005, AB 1670, that is a strong step toward addressing this vital issue.
The plan has elements that demonstrate its bipartisan roots. It would require all state residents to have health insurance, but would also make it their responsibility to pay for that coverage as much as possible. Just as automobile owners are required to have a minimum level of insurance on their vehicles, AB 1670 would require all residents of this state to have a minimum health-care plan for themselves and their dependents that has a maximum annual deductible of $5,000 per person and provides first-dollar coverage for all medically indicated preventive care.
It would require residents to submit proof of their health-care coverage with his or her annual state income tax return, unless they were covered by an employer's plan. If a person doesn't provide the proof of insurance, the state could provide it through the state 'pool' of insurance and charge the resident by retaining the cost of the premium from any tax overpaid by the resident."
Monday
An Argument for a Universal California health plan
This article talks about the advantages that a Universal Coverage plan would have vs. the current remedies being proposed.
"The creation of a mandate to carry insurance is the latest idea coming out of Sacramento to remedy the health insurance crisis. Unfortunately, this kind of proposal may not be the right solution.
According to the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, 6.6 million Californians are uninsured.
The uninsured are disproportionately young and employed. They do not receive insurance from their employer, simply cannot afford it, or are not eligible for public health insurance.
The uninsured are less likely to see a doctor than an insured individual; and uninsured individuals rate themselves in worse health than insured individuals, according to the survey.
Lack of insurance is a serious problem because it leads to poor health outcomes."
Universal health plan more effective than making all Californians buy own insurance
"The creation of a mandate to carry insurance is the latest idea coming out of Sacramento to remedy the health insurance crisis. Unfortunately, this kind of proposal may not be the right solution.
According to the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, 6.6 million Californians are uninsured.
The uninsured are disproportionately young and employed. They do not receive insurance from their employer, simply cannot afford it, or are not eligible for public health insurance.
The uninsured are less likely to see a doctor than an insured individual; and uninsured individuals rate themselves in worse health than insured individuals, according to the survey.
Lack of insurance is a serious problem because it leads to poor health outcomes."
Universal health plan more effective than making all Californians buy own insurance
Company Actually Sees Health Care Costs Decline
But not at Asheboro Elastics. In fact, health care costs at the 230-employee textile company have actually gone down by more than a quarter in the last three years.
Yet nationally, health insurance premiums nationally have risen 59 percent between 2000 and 2004, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey says. In North Carolina, there have been double digit annual increases in health insurance for the last few years, according to Business Journal research.
So what's Asheboro Elastics' secret? An on-site clinic where employees get basic medical care, prescriptions and advice on preventing and managing chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Plus, the company negotiates to find the cheapest prices on drugs for employees.
Company Actually Sees Health Care Costs Decline
Yet nationally, health insurance premiums nationally have risen 59 percent between 2000 and 2004, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey says. In North Carolina, there have been double digit annual increases in health insurance for the last few years, according to Business Journal research.
So what's Asheboro Elastics' secret? An on-site clinic where employees get basic medical care, prescriptions and advice on preventing and managing chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Plus, the company negotiates to find the cheapest prices on drugs for employees.
Company Actually Sees Health Care Costs Decline
Friday
Health Insurance Bills Battle for Passage
SACRAMENTO - Health care in California is working its way to the top of a mountain of bills introduced this legislative session. By Wednesday, the deadline to submit bills, lawmakers had crafted more than 3,000 pieces of legislation – an increasing number dealing with some form of health care.
Tuesday, assembly members Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, and Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, introduced a bill that would require all Californians to have health insurance coverage. Wednesday, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, flanked by a cadre of her Democrat colleagues, outlined her bill – The California Health Insurance Reliability Act - that would accomplish a similar goal but through a very different process. It is estimated at 6.8 million Californians are without health insurance coverage.
The separate pieces of legislation promise to divide supporters inside and outside the legislature. The Kuehl Bill, SB 840, with the moniker “CHIRA,” would create a single payer system, much like the federal MediCal program. All California residents would be eligible, health coverage would not be lost because of a change in employment or a hike in insurance premiums or because he or she has an existing health problem, such as diabetes. Best of all, according to Keuhl, the plan will be affordable for businesses and individuals. “This bill will save money and save lives,” she said.
Health Insurance Bills Battle for Passage
Tuesday, assembly members Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, and Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, introduced a bill that would require all Californians to have health insurance coverage. Wednesday, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles, flanked by a cadre of her Democrat colleagues, outlined her bill – The California Health Insurance Reliability Act - that would accomplish a similar goal but through a very different process. It is estimated at 6.8 million Californians are without health insurance coverage.
The separate pieces of legislation promise to divide supporters inside and outside the legislature. The Kuehl Bill, SB 840, with the moniker “CHIRA,” would create a single payer system, much like the federal MediCal program. All California residents would be eligible, health coverage would not be lost because of a change in employment or a hike in insurance premiums or because he or she has an existing health problem, such as diabetes. Best of all, according to Keuhl, the plan will be affordable for businesses and individuals. “This bill will save money and save lives,” she said.
Health Insurance Bills Battle for Passage
New tack for California health insurance
"Boston University researchers released a study this week concluding that about half of all health care spending in the country is squandered on administrative waste, excessive pricing and fraud.
Yet Californians may soon have an alternative, at least if a state lawmaker succeeds in her latest effort to introduce universal health care.
State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, told me Thursday that she plans to unveil her California Health Insurance Reliability Act on Feb. 23.
It will be Kuehl's third stab at getting a universal-care bill through the Legislature. But this time things are a little different. "
New tack for health insurance:
Yet Californians may soon have an alternative, at least if a state lawmaker succeeds in her latest effort to introduce universal health care.
State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, told me Thursday that she plans to unveil her California Health Insurance Reliability Act on Feb. 23.
It will be Kuehl's third stab at getting a universal-care bill through the Legislature. But this time things are a little different. "
New tack for health insurance:
California Health Insurance Premiums Continue Double-Digit Increases
California Health Insurance Premiums Continue Double-Digit Increases, Increasing 11.4 Percent in 2004 - 61 Percent since 2000, New Survey Finds
OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
Average Cost of California Family Premiums Now Equals National Averages
Health insurance premiums for California workers grew 11.4 percent in 2004, significantly slower than 2003's 15.8 percent, but still the fourth consecutive year of double-digit increases, according to the 2004 Annual California Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the California HealthCare Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET).
The California increase of 11.4 percent in premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance was statistically equivalent to the national average of 11.2 percent and over six times the California inflation rate of 1.7 percent. Between 2000 and 2004 premiums have increased a total of 61 percent.
Historically, premiums in California have been lower than national premiums, but over the past several years they have steadily approached the U.S. average. At $10,013, a typical family policy in California is about the same as the national average of $9,950, the survey found. Single coverage averaged $3,685 in California in 2004, compared to $3,695 nationally. This year for the first time, the average cost for a family PPO plan in California exceeds that in the U.S. by 15 percent.
HMOs remained the least expensive type of health plan, costing nearly 30 percent less for single coverage than PPO plans. About 50 percent of California workers were enrolled in HMOs in 2004, compared to 25 percent nationally. However, health plan enrollment in California has shifted somewhat to PPOs over the past year. PPOs increased their market share from 29 percent in 2003 to 36 percent in 2004, according to the survey.
The percentage of California employers offering health insurance to their workers was 67 percent in 2004, about the same as in 2003. As with prior years, firms cited the high cost of coverage as the primary reason they did not offer health benefits.
On average, workers in California contributed $2,580 for family coverage and $474 annually for single coverage in 2004. Compared to 2003 levels, worker contributions grew 5 percent for family coverage and 13 percent for single coverage. However, workers' average share of the premium costs in 2004 fell slightly to 27 percent for family and 13 percent for single coverage.
"Health insurance premiums in California continued their double-digit climb and the average cost of a family plan is now the same in California as the rest of the nation. These increases are hard for employers as well as for working families who have seen their contributions for family coverage go up repeatedly over the past several years," said Mark D. Smith, M.D., president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation.
The California Employer Health Benefits Survey of is an independent survey based on the national employer survey conducted annually by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and HRET. Between 2000 and 2003, KFF conducted surveys in both California and the nation as a whole. Beginning this year, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) assumes sponsorship from KFF of the California survey, which is separate from and not included in the national survey.
"The California HealthCare Foundation's sponsorship of this special study makes it possible to compare our state with the nation on health care costs and coverage, issues which are very much on the minds of Californians," Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew Altman said.
A detailed chart pack summary of the survey is available at chcf.org. Results of the national survey, which was released in September 2004, is available at kff.org.
"The annual cost of health insurance for a California family of four is now equivalent to 75 percent of the annual earnings of a fully-employed minimum wage worker. This is one more indicator that the cost of health insurance is prohibitively expensive for many employers and workers," said Jon Gabel, vice president for Health Systems Studies at the Health Research and Educational Trust and one of the survey directors.
Other survey highlights include:
-- Nearly all large California employers - those with 200 or more workers - offered health insurance and 55 percent of the smallest companies with 3 to 9 workers provided coverage. Only 20 percent of California employers offered coverage to part-time workers.
-- Eighteen percent of small firms offered a high deductible health plan (a deductible of more than $1,000 annually for single coverage), compared with just 8 percent of all large firms.
-- Employees in California have much greater choice of health plans than workers nationwide. The survey found that 93 percent of workers in large firms (200 or more workers) in California were offered more than one health plan option in 2004, compared to 82 percent of workers in large firms nationally.
-- Almost half of all large firms (44 percent) reported that they were very likely to increase the amount employees pay for premiums in 2005.
-- Few employers viewed current cost containment strategies as highly effective with just 13 - 15 percent reporting disease management, higher employee cost sharing, or tighter managed care networks as "very effective."
-- Thirteen percent of California firms reported that they vary the contribution for family coverage based on whether an employee's family member has the option of obtaining coverage elsewhere.
-- About half of all covered workers faced some form of cost sharing for hospital admissions.
-- While nearly all active workers with insurance coverage had drug coverage in 2004, the use of tiered cost sharing, with higher co-payments for brand name drugs than generics, has grown rapidly with 81 percent of workers now in plans that use them. While average payments for drugs in each of the three tiers (generic, preferred, and non-preferred) increased in 2004, the average co-payment in California for a non-preferred drug ($25.90) remained lower than the national average ($33).
About the California HealthCare Foundation
The California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, is an independent philanthropy committed to improving California's health care delivery and financing systems. Visit www.chcf.org for more information.
About The Health Research and Educational Trust
The Health Research and Educational Trust is a private, not-for-profit organization involved in research, education, and demonstration programs addressing health management and policy issues. Founded in 1944, HRET collaborates with health care, government, academic, business, and community organizations across the United States to conduct research and disseminate findings that help shape the future of health care. Visit www.hret.org for more information.
Methodology and Sponsorship
The California Employer Health Benefits Survey is a joint product of the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) and Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET). The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at HRET, and administered by National Research LLC (NR).
The Kaiser Family Foundation sponsored this survey of California employers from 2000 to 2003. It is based on a national employer survey conducted annually by HRET and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The U.S. results in this study are based on that survey, and are available at www.kff.org.
The findings are based on a random sample of 790 interviews with employee benefit managers in private firms in California. NR conducted interviews from May to September 2004. As with prior years, the sample of firms was drawn from the Dun & Bradstreet list of private employers with three or more workers. The margin of error for responses among all employers is +/- 3.5 percent; for responses among employers with 3 to 199 workers is +/- 4.7 percent; and among employers with 200 or more workers is +/- 5.2 percent. Some exhibits do not sum to 100 percent due to rounding effects.
Contacts
CHCF
Daniel Danzig, 510-238-1040
or
HRET
Ted Pickens, 312-422-2634
OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
Average Cost of California Family Premiums Now Equals National Averages
Health insurance premiums for California workers grew 11.4 percent in 2004, significantly slower than 2003's 15.8 percent, but still the fourth consecutive year of double-digit increases, according to the 2004 Annual California Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the California HealthCare Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET).
The California increase of 11.4 percent in premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance was statistically equivalent to the national average of 11.2 percent and over six times the California inflation rate of 1.7 percent. Between 2000 and 2004 premiums have increased a total of 61 percent.
Historically, premiums in California have been lower than national premiums, but over the past several years they have steadily approached the U.S. average. At $10,013, a typical family policy in California is about the same as the national average of $9,950, the survey found. Single coverage averaged $3,685 in California in 2004, compared to $3,695 nationally. This year for the first time, the average cost for a family PPO plan in California exceeds that in the U.S. by 15 percent.
HMOs remained the least expensive type of health plan, costing nearly 30 percent less for single coverage than PPO plans. About 50 percent of California workers were enrolled in HMOs in 2004, compared to 25 percent nationally. However, health plan enrollment in California has shifted somewhat to PPOs over the past year. PPOs increased their market share from 29 percent in 2003 to 36 percent in 2004, according to the survey.
The percentage of California employers offering health insurance to their workers was 67 percent in 2004, about the same as in 2003. As with prior years, firms cited the high cost of coverage as the primary reason they did not offer health benefits.
On average, workers in California contributed $2,580 for family coverage and $474 annually for single coverage in 2004. Compared to 2003 levels, worker contributions grew 5 percent for family coverage and 13 percent for single coverage. However, workers' average share of the premium costs in 2004 fell slightly to 27 percent for family and 13 percent for single coverage.
"Health insurance premiums in California continued their double-digit climb and the average cost of a family plan is now the same in California as the rest of the nation. These increases are hard for employers as well as for working families who have seen their contributions for family coverage go up repeatedly over the past several years," said Mark D. Smith, M.D., president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation.
The California Employer Health Benefits Survey of is an independent survey based on the national employer survey conducted annually by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and HRET. Between 2000 and 2003, KFF conducted surveys in both California and the nation as a whole. Beginning this year, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) assumes sponsorship from KFF of the California survey, which is separate from and not included in the national survey.
"The California HealthCare Foundation's sponsorship of this special study makes it possible to compare our state with the nation on health care costs and coverage, issues which are very much on the minds of Californians," Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew Altman said.
A detailed chart pack summary of the survey is available at chcf.org. Results of the national survey, which was released in September 2004, is available at kff.org.
"The annual cost of health insurance for a California family of four is now equivalent to 75 percent of the annual earnings of a fully-employed minimum wage worker. This is one more indicator that the cost of health insurance is prohibitively expensive for many employers and workers," said Jon Gabel, vice president for Health Systems Studies at the Health Research and Educational Trust and one of the survey directors.
Other survey highlights include:
-- Nearly all large California employers - those with 200 or more workers - offered health insurance and 55 percent of the smallest companies with 3 to 9 workers provided coverage. Only 20 percent of California employers offered coverage to part-time workers.
-- Eighteen percent of small firms offered a high deductible health plan (a deductible of more than $1,000 annually for single coverage), compared with just 8 percent of all large firms.
-- Employees in California have much greater choice of health plans than workers nationwide. The survey found that 93 percent of workers in large firms (200 or more workers) in California were offered more than one health plan option in 2004, compared to 82 percent of workers in large firms nationally.
-- Almost half of all large firms (44 percent) reported that they were very likely to increase the amount employees pay for premiums in 2005.
-- Few employers viewed current cost containment strategies as highly effective with just 13 - 15 percent reporting disease management, higher employee cost sharing, or tighter managed care networks as "very effective."
-- Thirteen percent of California firms reported that they vary the contribution for family coverage based on whether an employee's family member has the option of obtaining coverage elsewhere.
-- About half of all covered workers faced some form of cost sharing for hospital admissions.
-- While nearly all active workers with insurance coverage had drug coverage in 2004, the use of tiered cost sharing, with higher co-payments for brand name drugs than generics, has grown rapidly with 81 percent of workers now in plans that use them. While average payments for drugs in each of the three tiers (generic, preferred, and non-preferred) increased in 2004, the average co-payment in California for a non-preferred drug ($25.90) remained lower than the national average ($33).
About the California HealthCare Foundation
The California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, is an independent philanthropy committed to improving California's health care delivery and financing systems. Visit www.chcf.org for more information.
About The Health Research and Educational Trust
The Health Research and Educational Trust is a private, not-for-profit organization involved in research, education, and demonstration programs addressing health management and policy issues. Founded in 1944, HRET collaborates with health care, government, academic, business, and community organizations across the United States to conduct research and disseminate findings that help shape the future of health care. Visit www.hret.org for more information.
Methodology and Sponsorship
The California Employer Health Benefits Survey is a joint product of the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) and Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET). The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at HRET, and administered by National Research LLC (NR).
The Kaiser Family Foundation sponsored this survey of California employers from 2000 to 2003. It is based on a national employer survey conducted annually by HRET and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The U.S. results in this study are based on that survey, and are available at www.kff.org.
The findings are based on a random sample of 790 interviews with employee benefit managers in private firms in California. NR conducted interviews from May to September 2004. As with prior years, the sample of firms was drawn from the Dun & Bradstreet list of private employers with three or more workers. The margin of error for responses among all employers is +/- 3.5 percent; for responses among employers with 3 to 199 workers is +/- 4.7 percent; and among employers with 200 or more workers is +/- 5.2 percent. Some exhibits do not sum to 100 percent due to rounding effects.
Contacts
CHCF
Daniel Danzig, 510-238-1040
or
HRET
Ted Pickens, 312-422-2634
California Health-insurance legislation has some possibilities
California Health-insurance legislation has some possibilities
"A bipartisan plan for health-insurance reform bears Californians attention.
While health-insurance reform has foundered in Washington, two committed California legislators have been considering how to construct a plan here in the Golden State.
Assemblymen Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, and Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, have spent several months studying and crafting a measure that would provide blanket health-care coverage in the state.
According to news reports, what they have come up with is similar to a national plan proposed by a think tank known as the New America Foundation. Known as a "universal coverage, universal responsibility plan," its goal is to make health-care insurance mandatory, with some low-income workers receiving subsidies."
"A bipartisan plan for health-insurance reform bears Californians attention.
While health-insurance reform has foundered in Washington, two committed California legislators have been considering how to construct a plan here in the Golden State.
Assemblymen Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, and Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, have spent several months studying and crafting a measure that would provide blanket health-care coverage in the state.
According to news reports, what they have come up with is similar to a national plan proposed by a think tank known as the New America Foundation. Known as a "universal coverage, universal responsibility plan," its goal is to make health-care insurance mandatory, with some low-income workers receiving subsidies."
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