BIG NEWS! Blue Shield Offers Enhanced MAPD for UCLA

Blue Shield Offers Enhanced MAPD Plan for UCLA

Broker of Record protected whether member remains on current plan or chooses new Blue Shield Enhanced

UCLA Medical Group providers will no longer be in-network for the 6 plans* in the Los Angeles County service area, affecting Los Angeles and Orange and San Diego counties.

However, your impacted clients do have options. Beginning January 1, 2023, Blue Shield will introduce a new Individual Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (IMAPD) HMO plan, Blue Shield Enhanced (HMO), in the Los Angeles service area.

Please refer your impacted clients to our Customer Care, and we’ll help them with the best path to meet their needs. Whether the member remains on their current plan or chooses to transfer to Blue Shield Enhanced, the Broker of Record will be protected.

Please review [DETAILED BROKER FRIENDLY] FAQs for more detailed information, or feel free to contact your area broker sales manager. Read PRODUCER ALERT here.

Editor’s take: This will have an impact on local Southern California brokers, agents and clients. This is an opportunity to share with AND advise your affected clients.

Blue Shield Customer Care at 800-776-446 (TTY: 711) 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

Need to Know: 2023 Commission Overview

What’s in store for you this year?

Learn how carrier changes in commissions and benefits as well as new group rates will effect you and your clients.

CALIFORNIA CARRIER PARTNER UPDATES

Sponsored By Word and Brown.

Here’s an overview — courtesy of Word and Brown — of recent updates from California carrier partners. For details on any specific update, click on the related link. This will give you information on best options for your clients.
Dive deeper here.

LEGISLATION

Job Seekers in California See Pay Transparency Under New Law
Advise your clients to be prepared

California job hunters will no longer have to take a shot in the dark when asked about their salary expectations.Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a new law in effect requiring California companies with 15 or more employees to post job salary ranges, starting Jan. 1 of next year.

The state’s pay transparency law aims to help alleviate sex-based wage disparities by establishing a level field for pay practices. Full article here.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Share with your clients!
Blue Shield of California invests in pharmacy innovation to drive better health outcomes, equitable access, and lower costs

COO Sandra Clarke discusses key pharmacy partnerships

“Blue Shield of California is working on several market-based partnerships. We’re investing in companies that aim to help make prescription drugs more affordable by boosting price transparency and measuring their effectiveness.”

Read article.

Open enrollment for 2023 ACA coverage: what to expect
ACA open enrollment will look mostly familiar this fall
Record-high enrollment in ACA-compliant plans is likely to continue this year – thanks to an extension of the American Rescue Plan’s affordability provisions.

In general, this year’s open enrollment period will be fairly similar to last year’s, but with some changes that we’ll address in more detail below:

Each state will continue to use the same exchange/marketplaceplatform it used last fall (HealthCare.gov in 33 states, and a state-run platform in DC and the other 17 states). And most states will continue to use the same enrollment schedule they used last year.
The Inflation Reduction Act has extended the American Rescue Plan’s subsidy enhancements through 2025, so the subsidy rules that were in effect for 2022 will continue to be in effect for 2023. (There’s no “subsidy cliff” and the percentage of income that you have to pay for the benchmark plan is lower than it used to be.) From HealthInsurance.org,
Read more here.

OPEN ENROLLMENT RESOURCES

It’s Taking Longer to Get a Doctor Appointment, Survey Finds
Consider when recommending provider networks for your clients

Scheduling a new patient appointment with a physician takes 8% longer than it did in 2017 and 24% more time than it did in 2004, indicating a growing physician shortage in the U.S., according to a new survey from AMN Healthcare. Read article brief here.

“It’s a sobering sign for the rest of the country when even patients in large cities must wait weeks to see a physician,” said Tom Florence, president of AMN’s physician search division.

ReMark’s Global Consumer Study is out now
Lots of great consumer trend info to bring to your clients

The 9th edition of ReMark’s industry-shaping Global Consumer Study (GCS) is officially out. In this year’s study, we asked 100 questions to more than 12,000 people across 22 markets. Our insights reveal 10 key insights for insurers to empower consumers in the coming year.

From improving insurance literacy and data-optimising consumer experiences to embracing tech responsibly, we’re calling on the industry to put people at the heart of the insurance experience. DOWNLOAD THE STUDY NOW

How Digital Tools Promote Patient-Centered Care
More high-tech advances for better care

Using digital health tools to identify patients with symptoms of depression and make it easier for them to actively seek care is one of the projects highlighted in the 2021 annual report from AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research Program.

The report describes 21 completed and 25 ongoing AHRQ-funded research projects, including interventions that use digital healthcare tools to bring care to patients outside of traditional healthcare settings. The report also highlights emerging research that focuses on AHRQ’s priority areas, including the role of social determinants of health.

The report and the new blog AHRQ Views blog are available now.

GOOD NEWS

Seven Ways to Improve Your Relationships With Colleagues
Small moments of listening, sharing, and being present can make us feel more connected at work.

Excerpted from greatergood.berkeley.edu

There’s been a cost to COVID-related social distancing and the rise of remote work: a loss of social connection with our colleagues and coworkers.

As COVID guidelines ease, we have the opportunity to rebuild important social connections with colleagues that were lost or put on hold during the pandemic. Reaching out and connecting can be difficult. Many of us are out of practice in the social game, and it can feel vulnerable to reach out or start the sharing. But so many people are feeling lonely and isolated right now; many of them will appreciate your efforts, even if they are a bit skeptical or confused at first. And it’s worth the effort. “Vibing” with others feels good, makes us happier, and helps us be more successful in our work.

Micromoments make the difference.

Create opportunities for connection in your meetings. Whether in-person or online, kick off meeting agendas with a few minutes of a good connecting exercise. Some examples:

Check-in questions. These can be a fun way to learn about your colleagues. If it’s a small team, start with a quick check-in question around the table: “What was your first job?,” “What is your non-work-related superpower?,” or any of hundreds of others that can be found on the web. If it’s a bigger team, have everyone pair off to share their answers.

Focus on the positive. In his book, Are You Fully Charged?, Gallup senior scientist Tom Rath says that we should aim for 80% of our interaction time to be positive at work — talking about successes and strengths — and only 20% for areas for improvement or difficult conversations. These positive exchanges increase “our ability to communicate, collaborate and trust others.” Read more here: greatergood.berkeley.edu

CALENDAR

WEBINARS

Oct. 18, 12:00-1:15 pm PST – GGAHU Complimentary Webinar “Transparency: No Surprises!” ACA and CAA’s No Surprises Act, presented by the Word & Brown General Agency’s Sr. Director of Education, Paul Roberts. Register.
Oct. 25, 11 am PST, isolved Webinar: “Employee Benefit Trends & Opportunity” hosted by isolved’s Director of Benefit Services, Carla Adams. Register.
Nov. 4, 10:30 am PST, White Wing Insurance National meeting. Register.

CONFERENCES

Oct. 13, 9:00-5:00 pm PST – NAIFA Fall Conference: Continuous Connections. Retirement Planning Strategies, Digital Marketing and more. Register.
Oct. 16-18, Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) 2022 Annual Conference, Chicago. Register here.
Nov. 13-16, HLTH 2022 Health Innovation Expo, Las Vegas. Register
Dec. 1, EBRI 2022 Retirement Summit, Washington D.C. Online & in person. Register
Dec. 19-21, Money 2.0 Conference, White Wing CEO Joshua Schneeloch will present along with other experts. Las Vegas. Details
March 13-15, 2023, Ellevate Women’s Leadership 2023 Summit, JW Marriott just outside Las Vegas. Register here.

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CALIFORNIA BROKER Print Magazine October 2022 issue

Read feature stories

The Art of Transferring Trust BY DAN CLARK
Hall of Fame speaker and high performance business coach Dan Clark was recently the keynote speaker at the August IEAHU, OCAHU & SDAHU Medicare Senior Summit

Resilience and Health: In response to life’s adversity, how effectiv ely do you bounce back?
BY DR. MARK PETTUS, MD