New Interactive Cost Comparison Tool
As part of our continued efforts to provide transparency to consumers, HealthPartners recently introduced an online tool where members can find and compare prices of nearly 100 healthcare services offered by 500 clinics and hospitals in the Twin Cities metro area.
Members can now look up and compare the provider costs of services in these common categories:
- Office visits
- Lab services
- Immunizations/vaccines
- X-Ray
- MRI/CT scans
- Pregnancy/delivery
This tool will quickly compare up to three providers at a time, so it’s easy for members to get a clear view of their healthcare costs and out-of-pocket expenses, plan their healthcare budgets and save money.
This tool is especially helpful for members who have plans with a deductible, coinsurance or an account-based HSA, HRA or FSA.
This tool is an enhancement to the cost information already available to members. To find out more or to try it out for yourself, simply log on to healthpartners.com and look for “Compare providers based on cost.”
Headlines
Voluntary Dental Plan Pays For Itself
Now is a great time to sell HealthPartners Voluntary dental plans. If you’re puzzled about how to convince clients to offer this to their employees, the best argument is that it pays for itself.
HealthPartners Voluntary dental plans include 100 percent coverage for dental checkups, teeth cleanings and X-Rays every year. And, by taking advantage of tax savings and discounted fees at network dentists, your clients’ employees can save on the cost of their dental visits. Plus – it won’t cost them a dime.
Regular Care Approximate Costs
Routine exam: $44 X 2 per year= $88
Teeth cleaning: $85 X 2 per year = $170
Bite-wing X-Rays: $55 X 1 per year = $55
Total cost without insurance: $313
Total cost with insurance: $0
Tax Advantage (individual tax savings may be greater)
Monthly tax savings: $33.25 x 32.05% = $10.66
Monthly cost after tax savings: $33.25 - $10.66 = $22.59
Cost per paycheck (24 paychecks): $22.59 / 2 = $11.30 (OR weekly cost = $5.64)
Annual premium after tax savings: $271.08
Bonus Round
Sealants: Approximately $47 per tooth (cost with insurance = $0)
Fluoride treatments for children: Approximately $37 (cost with insurance = $0)
For example, if an employee had a dependent who received routine care, got sealants on eight teeth and a fluoride treatment, it would cost $726 out-of-pocket, but with HealthPartners Voluntary dental it would cost $271. It’s dental insurance that pays for itself … and then some.
Plus, HealthPartners Voluntary dental plans offer coverage for other dental services. Here are some typical costs for those services:
Crown: $1,000
Root canal: $1,084
Filling: $107
For more information about HealthPartners Voluntary dental plans, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive.
Medicare Secondary Payer Reporting
At the end of 2008, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new requirements for all health plans to gather additional personal information about group plan enrollees. Medicare intends to use this data to coordinate benefits of people who have both Medicare and group health plan insurance to ensure Medicare is not paying claims that should be paid by insurance plans.
HealthPartners will fulfill this requirement and will need employers’ help in gathering key data. We hope you will support your clients in this effort. We will begin testing data files with CMS between April and July 2009.
All employers will receive communication in the near future about when HealthPartners will be gathering this information.
- For groups who had HealthPartners coverage prior to January 1, 2009, we will be gathering this information during 2009 Open Enrollment. At that time we will need the Tax ID Number, total number of employees (total number of people employed, not FTEs or health plan eligible employees) and Social Security Numbers (SSN) or Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) for employees only.
- For groups whose coverage began January 1, 2009 or later, we will need to gather this information as soon as possible – by July at the latest. We need the Tax ID Number, total number of employees (total number of people employed, not FTEs or health plan eligible employees) and SSN or HICN for employees, spouses/ex-spouses/domestic partners and Medicare-eligible enrollees.
HealthPartners will not be creating any new operational processes. The data will be collected through existing eligibility and open enrollment channels that employers are familiar with.
For more information, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive.
HealthPartners Individual Plans vs. COBRA
As the unemployment rate continues to grow, more people are facing tough decisions about their health insurance. COBRA coverage is often too expensive for unemployed individuals, even with the subsidies that are offered in the new stimulus bill.
If you have clients who want an affordable alternative to COBRA coverage, we have great options for them. Our Individual medical plans start at just $76 per month, plus we have personal dental plans that start at $18 per month.
These plan options may also be of interest to groups that are facing workforce reductions and want to ensure the health of their employees.
Visit healthpartners.com/brokerdirect for more information or contact Jared Moen at 952-883-7478 or jared.a.moen@healthpartners.com.
Recently Disenrolled Medicare Clients
If you have clients who recently had their Metropolitan Health Plan Private Fee-for-Service plan canceled, HealthPartners has just the new plan they're looking for.
Our Freedom plans offer a range of monthly premiums, medical benefits and prescription drug options. Members receive generous travel benefits, access to fitness club programs and other healthy discounts.
Plus, they can keep their doctor and hospital with our open access network of more than 29,000 providers, including St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic Health System and Park Nicollet Health Services.
Your clients have until March 31 to enroll in a new Medicare plan before they would face a late enrollment penalty.
For enrollment materials, please contact your HealthPartners Medicare Sales Executive.
HealthPartners Is Getting “Greener”
No matter what plan your clients are on, their members can quickly and easily create their own provider directory – online!
No bulky directories to store and no waste!
Members can also find additional resources online like regional PDF directories for both the CIGNA and DenteMax national providers. These directories are available for Brokers and Employers and can be found in the Broker Portal on the web. The quick link to this page is located in the Broker Toolkit under Selling HealthPartners.
These are just two ways you are helping HealthPartners go “green.” By creating personalized online directories instead of printing and storing the 400 page versions, we will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in printing costs, not to mention postage and freight costs.
Thank you for your stewardship!
In Every Issue
Frequent Fitness Update
Our Frequent Fitness program continues to grow. Members now have even more choices and chances to save money while achieving a healthy lifestyle. Now, members who enroll or are enrolled in the Frequent Fitness program will have access to more than 860 locations in the HealthPartners service region.
The Frequent Fitness program offers fully insured members (two per household) up to a $20 reimbursement for working out 12 times a month.
New clubs to join Frequent Fitness effective February 1, 2009
- HealthWorks for Women – Lakeville, Minn.
- Women’s Athletic Club – Hibbing, Minn.
- Laps Family Fitness Fun – Clarissa, Minn.
- Mercy Fitness Center – Moose Lake, Minn.
- Wild River Fitness (formerly YMCA Osceola) – Osceola, Wisc.
- New Richmond Area Centre (formerly YMCA New Richmond) – New Richmond, Wisc.
- Grand Forks YMCA – Grand Forks, North Dakota
Learn more about Frequent Fitness.
Network Updates
As our client base and membership continues to expand, so does our network. In fact, we’ve recently added a large number of providers. We’re committed to providing access to the providers your clients demand – nationwide. No matter where your clients live, work or travel, we’ve got them covered. Additions last month included:
Medical – North Dakota
CLINICARE – Cavalier
Medical – South Dakota
Avera Pediatrics Plus – Mitchell
Medical – Wisconsin
Marshfield Clinic Bloomer Center – Bloomer
Dental – Minnesota
Amana Dental – Minneapolis
Chanhassen Dental, PA – Chanhassen
Chart & Mohs Dentistry, PA – Duluth
Dental Care Associates of Buffalo, PA – Buffalo
Lakes Dental Clinic – Forest Lake
Shoreline Dental Associates – Duluth
Try out our new search function to see just how easy it is to find a network provider quickly and simply. Provider Search
Library: Quick Links to Great Resources
Important Contacts
Our Group Medical Plans
Our Group Dental Plans
Our Individual and Medicare Plans
Our Achieve SM Health Improvement Programs
Our CareSpan SM Disease Management Programs
Direct Connect to Broker Portal
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