Health Informatics

BUFFALO, NY (WIVB) — Many people will soon be dealing with big increases in their health insurance premiums.

The state approved rate hikes this week and in some cases people could see double digit increases.

University at Buffalo School of Management associate professor Charles Lindsey said these increases impact more than just healthcare.

“The National Bureau of Economic Research reported they’ve studied this and for every 10% increase in insurance premiums they find a 1.6% increase in the likelihood of someone being unemployed,” Lindsey said.

He said it also affects hours worked and that 2/3 of the increase comes out of an employee’s salary and 1/3 comes out of benefits.

Policy holders in Western New York are looking at a 12% increase for Highmark and more than 6% for Independent Health.

Lev Ginsburg from The Business Council said this is a result of inflation and even the pandemic.

“There are

Health Care Service Corporation, the parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in five states, is buying Trustmark Health Benefits, an administrator and designer of employer health benefits, for an undisclosed amount.

The agreement between Health Care Service and Trustco Holdings to buy its wholly owned subsidiary, Trustmark Health Benefits, comes during a period of renewed merger and acquisition activity among health insurers to expand their businesses. In particular, Trustmark Health Benefits, is a “third-party administrator” that will add to Health Care Service’s “capabilities to serve self-funded employers,” the companies said Thursday in announcing the deal.

“The acquisition will provide HCSC with additional capabilities to serve a broader set

Oscar Health will not pursue additional full-service +Oscar agreements for the next 18 months after facing challenges implementing its deal with Health First Health Plans, CEO and co-founder Mario Schlosser said Thursday.

The insurtech had sought to secure up to two deals a year for its +Oscar information technology services, which aim to help other insurers and providers transition to risk-based payment models, manage medical spending and engage patients.

Oscar Health announced the Health First Health Plans partnership last year to provide the not-for-profit insurer’s Medicare Advantage and individual policyholders access to Oscar’s member engagement, provider and broker services. The technology deal was set to go live at the start of this year, but has run into “post-launch challenges due to the complexity of integrations at this scale,” Schlosser said during the second-quarter earnings call. He did not provide details.

“We’re in the middle of work supporting integration there, and

ABOARD A C-40 MILITARY TRANSPORT JET—Halfway through his tenure in charge of the National Guard, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson’s quest to get all Guardsmen year-round health insurance has stalled.

Hokanson, who took over as National Guard chief in 2020, has repeatedly raised the prospect of insuring the approximately 60,000 airmen and soldiers who rely on TRICARE while activated, but aren’t otherwise covered by an employer, Medicaid or a private plan sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

But the prospective cost of permanently adding those part-time Guardsmen to the TRICARE rolls like their full-time counterparts, plus an untold number of dependents, remains elusive, he told Military Times in an exclusive interview during a trip to Arkansas on Monday.

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Providing basic TRICARE insurance to those service members alone could cost the federal government upward of $700 million each year, he said. He cautioned that the figure is about a year

Hundreds of thousands of public workers, early retireesm and school employees in New Jersey are facing potential rate increases of as much as 24% for health benefits under proposals being considered by the State Health Benefits Commission.

Rate increases being considered include a 24% increase for medical and a 3.7% increase for pharmacy benefits for active public workers, as well as a 15.6% increase in medical and a 26.1% increase in pharmacy benefits for public workers who retired before the age of 65, according to an email sent to county administrators from New Jersey Association of Counties Executive Director John Donnadio.

Donnadio said in the email that the figures, which haven’t been made public, were shared by an insurance and benefits broker.

StateTreasury spokeswoman Jennifer Sciortino acknowledged rate increases were being considered and added that rates for active members and early retirees would likely increase between 12-20% across the various

Illinois residents who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchange will likely see prices rise for next year — in some cases by double digit percentages.

Ten Illinois insurance companies that sell plans on the exchange, at healthcare.gov, are proposing average rate increases of about 3% to nearly 16% for plans in 2023. Consumers can begin shopping Nov. 1 for plans on healthcare.gov for next year.

The state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, is proposing an average rate increase of 5.3%. Celtic Insurance Co., which sells plans called Ambetter, is proposing an average rate increase of 13.7%. UnitedHealthcare of Illinois is proposing an average rate increase of nearly 16%.

Nearly 230,000 Illinois residents have individual Affordable Care Act plans through Blue Cross. About 54,000 people could be affected by the rate change from Celtic/Ambeter, and about 5,500 with UnitedHealthcare could be affected, according

Report changes that may affect insurance subsidies

Over the past two weeks, we’ve focused on the story of Bob, a recent retiree. We’ve gone over his pre-retirement experience and his journey through the processing of his retirement application. This week, we’ll look at his health insurance choices.

Bob has an ongoing dilemma when it comes to health insurance. He arguably doesn’t really need Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage or Medicare, because he is a veteran with a service-connected disability. That means all of his medical needs (service-connected and otherwise) are provided by the Veterans Health Administration, at no charge. VHA does bill private insurers (including those in FEHB) for the non-service connected care it provides.

Nevertheless, Bob enrolled in FEHB during his civilian service at the Federal Aviation Administration for a couple of reasons: in case he should need it for a future spouse, should he remarry, and in order to meet the requirement of being