Good news – our pooled dental plans continue to have strong financial performance. Even better news – we're reducing our new business rates on HealthPartners shelf dental plans as of April 1, 2009!  Also, for your clients who currently have a HealthPartners medical plan, we're offering a two-year dental rate guarantee if they purchase a HealthPartners dental plan. And, that means two hassle-free years for you! The 24-month dental rate also applies to new groups that purchase both a medical and dental plan. 

The rate sheets for these plans have been removed from our broker Web site. A new Web rate calculator is in production so you’ll be able to generate custom quotes for your groups, but in the meantime, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive for a custom quote.

In February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law. This new law includes a 65 percent federal subsidy for COBRA premiums for up to nine months.

Key COBRA subsidy information in this law includes:

• A nine-month premium subsidy for medical and dental coverage beginning on March 1, 2009 for individuals with a COBRA-qualifying involuntary termination event through December 31, 2009.
• The subsidy is 65 percent of the amount that is normally billed for the COBRA premium. So, if an individual qualifies for the subsidy, their bill should be 35 percent of what is normally billed.
• An individual is no longer eligible for the subsidy on the date they become eligible for other health plan coverage.
• The federal subsidy went into effect on March 1, 2009. There is a 60-day window to reimburse or credit after enactment to give employers and insurers time to put the process in place.

By law, the subsidy is administered differently depending on whether the employer group is covered by federal COBRA law or state continuation law.

• If an employer has 20 employees or more they are covered by federal COBRA law and will need to administer the subsidy and collect the subsidy reimbursement through a payroll tax credit.
• Employers with 20 or more employees must allow a special election for individuals involuntarily terminated back to September 1, 2008, who previously declined COBRA or took COBRA but subsequently dropped it. If the individual elects COBRA coverage during the special election period, the coverage will begin on March 1, 2009.
• If an employer has fewer than 20 employees they are covered by state continuation law and HealthPartners will cover the subsidy and collect the reimbursement.
• Currently, the special election period for those who previously declined continuation coverage cannot be offered to groups that are fewer than 20 employees and covered by state continuation laws unless action is taken at the state level to allow such special election.

Note: The number of employees is calculated by all employees, not just number of full-time or benefit-eligible employees.

HealthPartners is one of only 16 mail order pharmacies in the U.S. to earn a safety seal of approval from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The certification, called the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) safety accreditation was introduced in 1999 in response to concerns about the safety of drugs sold by internet pharmacies.

HealthPartners automated prescription filling facility is one of the largest in Minnesota, filling nearly 2,500 prescriptions per day. The automated facility has a prescription accuracy rate of 99.997 percent. Prescriptions are automatically reviewed for any dangerous drug interactions.

In addition to safety and accuracy members can also get free shipping and free consultation with the facility's 14 licensed pharmacists. In addition to online prescriptions, the mail order facility fills prescriptions that are placed on the phone, mailed or faxed.

To receive the VIPPS accreditation, a pharmacy must demonstrate compliance with state licensing and inspection requirements and meet VIPPS' standards for quality, safety and confidentiality. Out of hundreds of internet pharmacies, only 16 have earned VIPPS certification.

Visit healthpartners.com/mailorder for more information.

Some HealthPartners employer groups will begin receiving information about Medicare Secondary Payer Reporting Requirements this week. As you know, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new requirements in late 2008 for all health plans to gather additional personal information about group plan enrollees.

Groups whose coverage began January 1, 2009 or later will receive communication this week. In order to comply with the CMS mandate, HealthPartners must collect the following information from those employers by June 30, 2009.

• Employer Identification Number or Tax Identification Number
• Total number of employees for your family of companies (must include all employees, not just full time equivalents or health plan eligible employees)
• Social Security Numbers for all HealthPartners-covered employees, spouses/
  ex-spouses/domestic partners and disabled dependents

These groups should begin sending HealthPartners this information via their regular eligibility data submission. Information must be retroactive to January 1, 2009, or when coverage with HealthPartners became effective.

A background sheet with more information on Medicare Secondary Payer is available at healthpartners.com/broker/.

We will collect data from groups who had HealthPartners coverage prior to January 1, 2009 during open enrollment. More information will be sent to those groups in May.

At HealthPartners, we’re all about making life healthier, happier and hassle-free for your clients and their employees. As part of our hassle-free mission, we offer members a variety of online tools to help simplify personal plan management. One great new option to reduce mail and filing is our electronic Explanation of Benefits (EOB) option.

After a member visits a provider, we deliver an electronic EOB to a member’s secure inbox. These items can be viewed and deleted or stored for future reference. 

Learn more about our online tools and everything we’re doing to ensure member satisfaction.

HealthPartners leader Nico Pronk is editor of a new book on health improvement at work that offers a step-by-step guide to implementing a highly effective worksite health program. The American College of Sports Medicine’s new “ACSM’s Worksite Health Handbook: A Guide to Building Healthy and Productive Companies” second edition, connects health promotion research and best practices. The book compiles the contributions of nearly 100 of the top researchers and practitioners from Canada, Europe and the United States including more of our own leaders. Marcus Thygeson, MD, Jason Gallagher, director, health informatics, and Calvin Allen, senior vice president, human resources and corporate strategic planning, all contributed to chapters. Nico Pronk, PhD, is HealthPartners vice president of health management and JourneyWell health science officer.  Read the news release.

PowerHouse Hit the Deck joined our Healthy Discounts program on March 15, 2009.  PowerHouse provides members with total body resistance training and a cardiovascular workout – simultaneously. This portable and easy-to-use fitness program can be done anywhere, anytime, with no fitness equipment needed.  Members can take it on the road, or do it in the comfort of their own home. According to PowerHouse, benefits include weight loss, improved fitness, increased energy, stress management and improved sleep quality. HealthPartners members receive a 20 percent discount on the purchase of the PowerHouse Hit the Deck™ Program. 

We’ve updated our Healthy Discount partnership with Erik’s Bike Shop, which means more perks for members.  The Erik’s Bike Shop discount now includes:

• 10 percent off the regular price on any in-stock snowboard and snowboard-related accessories, parts and clothing
• 10 percent off the regular price on any in-stock accessories, parts and clothing for bicycling. Bikes, child trailers and skateboards are not included
• Special orders and repair service are not included

View all Healthy Discounts.

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

1. HealthWorks for Women – Lakeville, Minn.
2. Women’s Athletic Club – Hibbing, Minn.
3. Laps Family Fitness Fun – Clarissa, Minn.
4. Mercy Fitness Center – Moose Lake, Minn.
5. Wild River Fitness (formerly YMCA Osceola) – Osceola, Wisc.
6. New Richmond Area Centre (formerly YMCA New Richmond) – New Richmond, Wisc.
7. Grand Forks YMCA – Grand Forks, North Dakota

Learn more about Frequent Fitness.

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 – Minnesota
Xoua thao Medical Center – St. Paul
One Stop Medical Center, Inc. – Crystal

Dental – Minnesota
Greenhaven Family Dental, PLLC – Baxter
Riverside Dental Clinic – Minneapolis

Try out our new search function to see just how easy it is to find a network provider quickly and simply. Provider Search

Important Contacts
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Our Group Dental Plans
Our Individual and Medicare Plans
Our Achieve ^SM Health Improvement Programs
Our CareSpan ^SM Disease Management Programs
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