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New government website lets consumers compare insurance plans
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has just launched HealthCare.gov, a website designed to help individuals and small businesses compare both private and public health insurance plans. Through HealthCare.gov, consumers can find information on literally thousands of private and public health care products.
Important note about how our products appear on the site
Please note that our products are listed under our legal entities - not our brand names, which may cause confusion. We're currently working with HHS to correct this matter, and we hope to have our familiar brand names appear on the website soon. Until then, please be aware of how our products are listed on the website, state by state:
£ California: Blue Cross of California, Anthem Blue Cross Life & Health Insurance Company
£ Colorado: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc.
£ Connecticut: Anthem Health Plans, Inc.
£ Georgia: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia, Inc.
£ Indiana: Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.
£ Kentucky: Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, Inc.
£ Maine: Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Inc.
£ Missouri: RightCHOICE® Managed Care, Inc. (RIT), Healthy Alliance® Life Insurance Company (HALIC),
£ Nevada: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc.
£ New Hampshire: Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc.
£ New York: Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc., Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc.,
£ Ohio: Community Insurance Company
£ Virginia: Anthem Health Plans of Virginia, Inc.
£ Wisconsin: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin, Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation
In October, HealthCare.gov will also start including rate estimates for private insurance plans. We're working with the government to determine how small group information will appear in states with no community ratings.
HealthCare.gov can be a valuable tool for your clients, which is why we're working hard to have our recognizable names appear on it soon. We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available to us. If you have any comments or questions, please talk with your sales representative.
Getting to the bottom of health care costs
Did you know: Only three cents of every premium dollar is profit?
On average, 87 cents of every premium dollar you pay is spent covering medical care and services that members receive like doctor visits, hospital costs, prescription drugs and more according to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers medical cost trend report for 2009. Another 10 cents funds services we provide like claims processing, enrollment and billing and provider credentialing. That leaves 3 cents of every premium dollar for profits. Kaiser Health news has reported that the combined annual profits of the top 10 health insurers are equal to just two days work of national health care expenditures or just 0.5% of the estimated $2.5 trillion the nation spent on health care in 2009.
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