2015 Nevada Health Insurance update

The department of Insurance has released the proposed rates for next year for individuals and small groups. I have put them together into our easy to use spreadsheets and are looking forward to being able to quote new policies soon. There seems to be some interesting trends. Anthem has decided to decrease their rates and offer totally new products, including an actual PPO product this next year. Sierra Health is staying with their product line up with relatively low increases and they are even introducing some lower cost alternative plan options. Assurant health, who last year was a big player has decided to join Humana at higher than market rates with increases as high as 30%+. Golden Rule is also putting their hat into the ring again this next year with rates equivalent to Assurant and Humana. Aetna has decided to stop offering Coventry plans, but they have kept the same kind of rates amongst the new Aetna plans that were similar to Coventry offerings with very strong low rates in the Bronze and Silver levels. Humana has also decided to increase their product offerings to expand into Platinum and Gold, but rates are still slightly higher than the lower priced Anthem, Sierra Health, and Nevada Health Coop Products. The Nevada Health Coop has introduced a whole lot of new offerings. They have expanded their Southern Simple and neighborhood plans to include platinum coverage and are introducing a whole new set of plans. Their rates are still amongst the least expensive.
Some big news for people who shop for coverage with subsidies is Assurant is going to be offering the first true PPOs on our exchange. This is good news to people who want more freedom and more choices f doctors. We are still yet to hear what provider network these plans will be using, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Aetna Signature Administrators network they used mostly last year.
As we get more updates about how our new federally facilitated marketplace will work, I hope to port more about those changes and hopefully we will be seeing some fixes to some of the biggest headaches we have been dealing with.

Going on vacation this summer?

Going on vacation this summer? Does your insurance have a network in the area you are traveling to? 

As many people travel during the summer it is important to check with your insurance carrier or broker to be sure you will be covered in that area.

Couple things to remember:

- HMO: Most will cover emergencies only when you leave the service area or state. Any other medical bill you may incur that’s not an emergency will be your responsibility and you will pay out-of-pocket. If an emergency arises, make sure and notify your HMO provider immediately. If this does not happen, the HMO may decline payment.

- PPO:  If you the provider is not contracted with the insurance, no matter what the circumstance, all costs will go towards your out-of-network deductible. You would need to pay cash and/or bill the insurance carrier directly as that provider does not have a contract with your insurance carrier. Make sure to keep detailed receipts so you can bill the insurance correctly.

This is why it is important to plan ahead. There are options if your insurance carrier does not cover the area you are traveling to. You can always look into travel insurance and Nevada Benefits can definitely help you with that. Below is a link found on our website regarding travel insurance.

https://www.sevencorners.com/insurance/HW8CCKK

Be safe, be prepared, and have a wonderful summer!