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Losing United Healthcare (UHC) or Aetna/Coventry? – Consider BCBSNC

Thursday, November 3rd, 2016

render of easy button, isolated on whiteOpen Enrollment began Tuesday, November 1st and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has you covered!  2016 has seen a big upheaval in the NC health insurance market, but BCBSNC has remained steadfast and will be offering health plans in all 100 counties of North Carolina for 2017.  In fact, BCBSNC will be the only insurer offering ACA plans in most of the state.  With the exit of both United Healthcare and Aetna, many North Carolina residents will be facing a change in their health insurance policy and NC Health Plans is committed to helping make that transition as easy as possible.

Former Aetna and United Healthcare members who have a Marketplace plan will be automatically mapped to a new BCBSNC health plan (Blue Advantage, Blue Select, Blue Value or Blue Local).  If you are a mapped customer it is important that you review all your health insurance options with Blue Cross Blue Shield NC and we can help you do that effectively.  We can generate a quote, assist you in determining subsidy eligibility and help you decide if you are better off with a plan other than the one to which you have been mapped.  Keep in mind, the Open Enrollment period is the time to make these important decisions and after Open Enrollment you may not be able to make a plan change until next year.  Make sure to look at all the options available to you before making a decision.

For former Aetna and United Healthcare members who do not have a Marketplace plan, you will not be automatically mapped to a BCBSNC health plan and you will need to shop for a new health plan.  We will assist you in reviewing your options and have the most up-to-date tools available to make your enrollment as stress-free as possible.

If you are currently a Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina member, you should also review your options for 2017.  If you need to make a change to your existing coverage or simply want to compare your current plan with new plans available in 2017, we can assist you with all your NC health insurance needs. For more information on North Carolina insurance coverage, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Announces Participation in ACA for 2017!

Thursday, September 22nd, 2016

bigstock-141086612Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina announced today that they will be offering individual health insurance plans on the federal Marketplace for 2017!  This is good news for North Carolina residents and comes as a sigh of relief for consumers in the wake of Aetna’s announcement earlier this summer that they would no longer be participating in the ACA in NC.  Aetna was the second major health insurance company to pull out of the Market, following United Healthcare’s similar announcement in April.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC’s decision to participate in the Marketplace reaffirms the North Carolina-based company’s commitment to providing quality, sustainable health insurance to the residents of North Carolina.

For 2017, BCBSNC will be the only health insurance company offering Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans in all 100 counties of North Carolina, meaning the company will absorb over 250,000 more customers than originally anticipated.  In light of this news, Blue Cross Blue Shield NC announced they will be revising their initial rate filings, with new rates being public sometime in October.

Over the past two years, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has weathered Marketplace changes, reporting $405 million in losses on Affordable Care Act plans alone. These losses have played a major role in BCBSNC’s debate over whether to participate this coming year in the ACA and similar losses are what Aetna and United Healthcare cited as their reasons for exiting the market in 2016.  Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina reiterated today that they are “doing everything [they] can to make the ACA work for North Carolina.”  Without Blue Cross Blue Shield NC’s participation in the Marketplace, 600,000 residents of NC would be at risk of losing their coverage, which is not something the company was willing to risk.  “This is our home too,” says Brad Wilson in an article released by BCBSNC earlier today, “and it’s important that our families, friends and neighbors – our customer – have access to the coverage they need.”

For more information on North Carolina insurance coverage, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents.

NC Health Insurance Weathers Marketplace Changes

Monday, September 12th, 2016

Attachment-1The NC Health Insurance landscape has changed dramatically since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in 2010 and implemented in 2014.  Otherwise known as Obamacare, the ACA was the single biggest change in health insurance history since Medicare took effect in 1965.  Over the last six years, North Carolinians have seen significant changes in how they purchase health insurance, what is available to them as consumers, how health insurance effects their taxes, and how much it will cost to insure themselves and their families.  In fact, in 2015 health insurance in North Carolina saw some of the biggest rate increases in history with the average cost of plans increasing over 25%.

As Open Enrollment 2017 approaches, North Carolina, as well as many other states across the nation, are experiencing a new upheaval as some of the largest insurance companies in the U.S are pulling out of the ACA Market altogether.  In April 2016, United Healthcare announced that it would pull out of most of the nation’s exchanges, including North Carolina, which was a big hit to the residents of the state, leaving only two companies offering individual health insurance plans.  A statement by UnitedHealth Group cited a “smaller overall market size and shorter-term, higher-risk profile within this market” as the reason the company chose to exit.

But that was just the beginning.   (more…)

Open Enrollment 2017 – Are you Ready?

Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

Are You Ready? card with colorful background with defocused lighOpen Enrollment 2017 begins November 1st and runs through January 31st, so if you are currently uninsured or need to make a plan change, you will be able to apply and obtain coverage in just a few months.  Open Enrollment will not begin until November 2016, but you can begin preparing even now. Although you cannot generate a quote with 2017 rates for a few more months, there are a number of questions you can ask yourself, as well as some important pieces of information you can gather so that you are ready to successfully navigate Open Enrollment 2017.

As you prepare, there are a few important things to consider:

  • Are you looking for a policy for yourself or are you including family members on your policy?
  • Do you think you will qualify for a government subsidy? (Subsidies determined by Modified Adjusted Gross Income and the number of people in your household).  Also, your subsidy will be based on projected 2017 income.
  • What kind of BCBSNC health plan are you looking for?  Do you prefer a high deductible plan or something with co-payments?
  • How important is the size of your network when it comes to health care providers in your area?

Also, remember that in order to secure an effective date of January 1st, you must complete your application by December 15th. (more…)

 
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