Gov. Charlie Baker wants to increase premiums for state employee health insurance.
As Gov. Charlie Baker attempts — again — to require some state employees to pay more for their health insurance, unions are lobbying lawmakers to oppose the move. "This is nothing new," said David Holway, national president of NAGE, the National Association of Government Employees. "It's to be expected, and we feel very strongly that the Legislature will stick with its original appropriation." As part of the governor's budget vetoes, he struck out language that would have prohibited the administration from increasing state employees' contributions to their health insurance. Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore said the administration plans to save $30 million by requiring some employees to pay more. See full article: www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/07/gov_charlie_baker_wants_to_inc.html A recent study completed by the Washington D.C. based Health Care Cost Institute showed that only 3 states had higher medical care costs than NH. The HCCI study, researched costs for 240 services like primary care and specialist office visits, MRI's, CT Scans and complex procedures like knee replacements. The HCCI report used claims payment information provided by large national insurers Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare®. Criticism of the study cites the fact that these three national health insurers cover very few members in NH and do not have the same attractive contracted provider payment agreements like more popular regional insurers CIGNA, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of NH. The fact that health care costs in NH are expensive is interesting as NH is also one of the healthiest states in the nation- see recent USA Today article. For more information about NH Health Costs please see: April 30, 2016 Concord Monitor Article HCCI Press Release Steve Donohue is a health insurance specialist at Atlantic Insurance & Benefit Company in Nashua, NH. Ways to Save Brochure is a great resource for anyone looking to save money on Massachusetts Car Insurance.
The publication, prepared by the MA Division of Insurance covers the following:
Here at Atlantic Insurance & Benefit Company we specialize in working closely with MA residents to make sure they understand how to get the right auto insurance at the lowest possible price. Visit us online for a MA AUTO INSURANCE QUOTE or call us toll-free 1-888-882-2909. DOWNLOAD BROCHURE HERE The State of NH's Insurance Department has recently created a new service that helps individuals locate a lost life insurance policy.
The NH State Insurance Department working with over 300 insurance companies to assist residents finding information that may not be readily available. If you believe that a deceased loved one may have purchased a life insurance policy or an annuity contract, but cannot locate the appropriate documents you can visit the NH Insurance Department’s Website here: http://www.nh.gov/insurance/lah/lost-life-policy-locator.htm
Hundreds of NH towns and school districts forced to find new insurance following state order - CONCORD MONITOR ARTICLE Concord Monitor December 29, 2015 Property-Liability Trust cannot issue or renew insurance policies beyond June 30, 2016, after an independent hearing officer determined the embattled public risk pool is not financially viable. Click for Orignal Article Here The decision effectively shutters Property-Liability Trust, which provides property liability, workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation insurance to municipalities and school districts across New Hampshire. The public risk pool has 291 members – including several towns in the Concord area – that must find new coverage. Property-Liability Trust is one of two public risk pools, along with HealthTrust, that used to make up the former Local Government Center. The Local Government Center was dissolved in 2013 after regulators found it improperly withheld $33 million from member communities and illegally transferred money between its risk pools. Under a recent settlement with the state Bureau of Securities Regulation, Property-Liability Trust was required to seek permission before issuing or renewing its coverage policies. Its request to do so was denied in November by hearing officer Donald Mitchell. The Bureau of Securities Regulation, which is part of the secretary of state’s office and monitors public risk pools, opposed the petition. Mitchell found Property-Liability Trust inflated its financial position by about $1.5 million and unnecessarily raised workers’ compensation rates to support its property liability coverage line, according to an order dated Nov. 21. The order also questioned whether HealthTrust still subsidized Property-Liability Trust, by acting as its finance department and providing its human resource services, among other things. Former state Senate president Peter Bragdon was hired as executive director of HealthTrust in 2013, a job he took at the expense of his Senate leadership post. He left that position in September, and he continues to be paid until June 2016, according to reports by the Associated Press. Property-Liability Executive Director Wendy Lee Parker wrote in a letter to members that her organization doesn’t agree with certain assertions, characterizations and conclusions made in the order. During the hearings, Property-Liability Trust said its financial plan showed the public risk pool was able to pay all claims and rebuild its financial footing. The decision prohibits Property-Liability Trust from conducting any new business, but the public risk pool will be kept in “runoff” and take care of existing claims, a process that can last years. Property-Liability Trust is currently projecting it will close out its last claim by 2029, Parker said. She said Property-Liability Trust will continue to help its members find new coverage. Several municipalities and school districts in the Concord area are members of the public risk pool. Pittsfield selectmen will decide between two new insurers at a meeting today. Dunbarton has already switched its property liability coverage from Property-Liability Trust to Primex, at an annual savings of roughly $1,200, according to Town Administrator Line Comeau. (Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or at amorris@cmonitor.com.) After several quarters of rapid growth and profitability, Community Health Options has appeared to have hit a snag in the NON GROUP or INDIVIDUAL Marketplace. The organization has decided to suspend sales in the NH and ME individual markets later this month. Community Health Options has experienced higher than expected claims for the first 9 months of 2016. Many prior reports indicated Maine Community Health Options as a strong performer financially. Medical Loss Ratio 89% For the 1st three quarters of 2015 Community Health Options has been spending 89% of it's premium revenues on medical expenses and claims. Most small co-ops target a medical loss ratio of 85%. At this point we do not believe there is any reason for worry for following (4) reasons: 1. The insurer has re-assured us that the problem lies in their INDIVIDUAL market products- and that their GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE division is healthy. The individual market is a difficult arena for insurers and Community Health is not the only insurer to withdraw. Large insurers like Aetna and United Healthcare have withdrawn or plan to withdraw from several INDIVIDUAL state marketplaces as well. This action will NOT affect their group health insurance clients, or current individual members or recent Community Health enrollees. 2. Co-Op health insurers have strict oversight by BOTH State and Federal Agencies State of NH Insurance Dept. and Department of Health and Human Services oversight and funding requirements are designed to protect consumers. Community Health is in communication with State Insurance Departments for BOTH NH and ME. 3. In the past 20 years several insurers hit difficult times. Many of these insurers are still around, and thriving. Insures like Harvard Pilgrim, TUFTS and Blue Cross have all hit difficult times. As for the insurers that are NOT still around- their departures have been planned and often take 12 to 18 months. 4. IN NH there is a Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association that is designed to provide protection to consumers in the event of a liquidation of an insurance company. (At this point we believe we are no where near this happening- but want you to be aware of this protection.) We are happy to conduct off- anniversary market reviews for any Community Health Options client who feels uncomfortable. We will continue to monitor the status of Community Health Options and share with you new information as it becomes available. Additional Information: NY Times Article Community Health STOPS Individual Health Insurance Enrollment Union Leader- Insurance Carrier to Drop out of State Exchange Press Release from Community Health Options December 9, 2015 Press release from NH Insurance Department December 9, 2015 Community Health Options
Here at Atlantic Insurance & Benefit Company we realize a few things:
This is why we are so thrilled to partner with a company like SafeCo that offers technology that will meet the needs of all different kinds of clients. Our new online quoting tool below gives you the ability to get a quote at ANY time, it let's you do the basic data entry yourself, and gives you privacy. If you want privacy- here you go, if you want to get a quote at midn ight, here we are, if you don't want to get us all your info, but would rather enter it yourself, this works for you too! If you have any questions about how the new online quoting works give us a call at 603-882-2909, (or if you want to do it yourself-- don't call !!) CLICK BELOW TO GET A SAFECO AUTO INSURANCE or HOME INSURANCE IN NH and MASSACHUSETTS. Americans, long used to seeking bargains, look mostly at price when they're shopping for health insurance, a new survey shows.
More than half of those who looked but didn't buy anything on the new Obamacare exchanges said they couldn't find a plan they could afford, the survey found. And two-thirds who switched coverage said price was the main factor. "Consistent with these findings, many adults opted for a limited network of doctors and hospitals in exchange for lower premiums," the report reads. That's good news for those who could get subsidized plans on the exchanges, which are a way for people without employer-sponsored insurance to get decent coverage without necessarily paying the full premium all alone. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/obamacare-deadline/health-insurance-premium-cost-top-concern-insurance-shoppers-survey-n433261 A website developed by the NH Insurance Department has received much praise and national recognition for helping consumers research medical care costs. Today many consumers are faced with increased out-of-pocket costs and unfortunately with medical care, often people do not know the true out-of-pocket costs until AFTER a service has been rendered. NH Health Cost was developed to improve transparency and arm consumers with information prior to receiving medical care. How much will it cost for...? The site lets consumers research the expected cost for doctor's office visits, ER, High Cost Testing (X-ray, MRI, CT Scans) select surgeries, and in-patient and out-patient hospital care. The site has several attractive features including: - The ability to pre-price medical care in your area- or throughout the state - Shows costs for medical care with insurers Anthem, CIGNA and Harvard Pilgrim healthcare - Estimates out-of-pocket costs for those who have insurance- as well as the uninsured Here at Atlantic Insurance & Benefit Company we believe that armed with information, our clients can make smart choices when it comes to selecting the best medical care. It's great that people can get a clear idea how much a test or procedure will cost them PRIOR to receiving treatment. Please call us if you would like more information about the website or see resources below: Press Release from NH Insurance Department Great Keene Sentinel Article about nhhealthcost.nh.gov Steve Donahue is a health insurance agent in Nashua, NH. Stephen Donohue Insurance agent Nashua. Beam Technologies, a Columbus Ohio Start-up, wants to shake up the dental insurance market with a Connected Toothbrush. (Think the equivalent of fit bit- but for dental health!) They plan to premiere a dental PPO Plan in August geared at providing more affordable dental insurance through the use of technology- they will be offering dental insurance to small and medium sized businesses. If you are an employer and you want a quote on this new dental insurance for your employees- please give us a call at 1-888-882-2909. Please see great Fortune article about Beam Technologies here. Healthcare Reform (PPACA) allowed for the creation of Cooperative Health Plans. 2.4 Billion dollars in tax-payer loans were used to help fund non-profit co-op health plans to compete with for profit health insurers. 24 co-operative health plans were established throughout the US and to date most are fledgling. The good news for consumers in NH and ME, there is only one co-operative insurer that is profitable - that is Community Health Options. (Community Health Options recently re-branded -formerly known as Maine Community Health Options). Today, Community Health Options is thriving in NH and ME. Offering attractive features like no Primary Care Doctor Referrals, a nationwide network of providers, and a special program to reduce out of pocket costs for people with chronic conditions Community Health Options has seen continued growth in Maine and a nice expansion into NH. See some interesting statistics about Community Health Options below:
While it is clear that the cooperative health insurance model has not worked in other markets, we are thrilled that Community Health Options is successful offering individuals and businesses in NH and ME a new fresh alternative. Please see a some great articles about Cooperative Health Plans and Community Health Options: Health law's nonprofit insurance co-ops awash in red ink by Associated Press Reporter Ricardo Alonzo-Zaldivar Maine health insurance co-op is only one of its kind to earn profit last year, Portland Press Herald Please call us for a Maine Community Health Options Quote or click QUOTE Maine Community Health Options NH HEALTH INSURANCE. Steve Donohue is a health insurance broker with Atlantic Insurance and Benefit Company, serving employers and individuals throughout the northeast. Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield has offered to buy CIGNA Healthcare. In spite of a $53.8 Billion offer, which represents substantial premium to CIGNA shareholders, CIGNA has declined their offer.
(Nashua, NH) Atlantic Benefit Company recognized as Elite Broker by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare May 19, 2015.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare as a leader in our industry,” says Steve Donohue, owner of Atlantic Benefit Company in Nashua NH. “Our goal is to offer the best insurance products and the highest level of service to our clients. Working with Harvard Pilgrim the #1 ranked health plan in NH and one of the best health insurers in the country is our pleasure. “
Minuteman Health, has received a license to market health insurance products in New Hampshire.
Minuteman Health is a Massachussets based insurance cooperative that plans to market insurance to NH consumers through the exchange or marketplace. On March 19th, the NH Insurance Department released a bulletin that informed the public that the NH Health Plan will close June 30th of this year.
Citing an improvement in the ability for NH residents to access the Health Insurance Exchange, via healthcare.gov, Commissioner Sevigny has ordered the NH Health Plan to close. Atlantic Benefit Company revamps their website and adds all kinds of new features to service their existing and potential customers.
"We are just thrilled with the new functionality and capability of our website," says Steve Donohue owner of Atlantic Benefit Company. "We have worked with Agenity in the past and are thrilled with their new design and features." We are adding new features that will enable Atlantic Benefit Company clients to easily access their policy information, forms, etc. MVP Healthcare has decided to leave NH.
"In recent years MVP's membership in NH has diminished," says Steve Donohue NH insurance broker. "We are sad to see MVP Healthcare depart NH, they are an excellent insurer with flexible products and great customer service." Published:
Saturday, August 10, 2013 2nd insurer to offer plans in NH exchange in 2015By HOLLY RAMER The Associated Press CONCORD – A second health insurance company intends to offer coverage in New Hampshire under the federal Affordable Care Act, but not until 2015. July 11, 2013
Governor Deval Patrick said Thursday that he will not block the repeal of a state mandate for employers to provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty, though the Obama administration last week announced a delay in the federal program that was supposed to take its place. |
Media Inquiries(603) 882-2909 Archives
June 2023
Categories
All
|