Humana Inc. will exit the employer-based insurance business over the next 18 to 24 months to focus primarily on government-backed programs such as Medicare for people aged 65 and older and its specialty businesses.
The U.S. insurer raised its forecast for the Medicare Advantage program it sells directly to individuals to at least 775,000 members from 625,000 on higher-than-anticipated sales and retention early in this year. Its employer group insurance business includes both fully-insured health insurance plans purchased by employers, as well as employer-sponsored health plans run by Humana.
“Following a strategic review, the company determined that the Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business was no longer positioned to sustainably meet the needs of commercial members over the long term or support the company’s long-term strategic plans,” Human officials said in a press release.
MEDICARE
Sponsored by AGA
Disaster or Emergency Special Enrollment Period
Your clients may qualify
Agents, did you know your clients may qualify for a special enrollment period if they have been affected by a FEMA declared disaster or emergency? Find out all you need to know about the emergency and disaster related SEP including how to stay compliant.
GROUP BENEFITS
Sponsored by BenefitMall
How Employers Can Hold Healthcare Industry Accountable
And save money in the process
The biggest void in the industry is that employers rarely define their business goals for why they purchase healthcare benefits and rarely monitor to see if their investment is working. Companies commonly do this with most other aspects of their business, but they rarely do this for their healthcare investment, which is often one of their largest expenses.
What can employers do? Dive deeper.
Best Employee Benefits In 2023
Most Important for Workers
Employees will always take more money if you offer it. But pay alone isn’t necessarily all it takes to attract and keep good employees. In a survey of employed workers and employers, Forbes Advisor found that 40% of employers say workers leave their job to find a role that offers better employee benefits. The survey also found that 62% of businesses have changed their benefit offerings in the past year. If you’re considering doing the same, keep in mind these new statistics about the best employee benefits.
Key Findings
- Employer-covered healthcare: 67% of employees and 68% of employers believe this to be the most important benefit.
- Life insurance: 45% of employees and 43% of employers named this a top benefit.
- Pension and retirement plans: 34% of employees and 34% of employers agree that planning for the future is vital.
- Mandatory paid time off: Employees value mandatory paid time off more highly than employers are aware: 31% of employees named this a top benefit, but it didn’t reach the top five benefits among employers.
- Mental health assistance: 33% of employers named this a top benefit while only 23% of employees listed it.
- 40% of employers say they believe workers leave their job to find employment that offers better benefits.
Forbes / / Read Article
BROKER RESOURCES
Exit Planning Case Study Session 1: Opening Conversations with Business Owners
Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your integrated exit planning skills and gain valuable insights from fellow members!
Please join us for the Exit Planning Institute (EPI SD) Chapter on March 15, 2023 at 2:30pm PT.
The meeting will take place via Zoom (details listed below.)
During this interactive meeting, we will use the case study provided by EPI for 2023, broken into 4 sessions. In this first session, the focus will be about how to approach an owner to open the exit planning conversation and cause engagement.
I look forward to “seeing” you all!-
Joe Strazzeri
Chapter President
For additional information call:
Shelley Lightfoot
Executive Director
Email: sl@scinstitute.org
858-200-1900
HOT PRODUCT FOR CALBROKER READERS:
“Special Offer to Learn Succession Planning to help your Group Health Clients”
Here is the link to the Basic Membership (normally $49/month) product on the academy: https://sciacademy.socialjack.com/product/basic-membership/
Once they open the link, they just click “add to cart” and then enter Calbroker23 in the coupon code field and complete the checkout process.
Voluntary Benefits 101
Free report busts myth that benefits are too costly for small businesses
Now more than ever, we’ve seen how critical voluntary benefits are for employees. We instinctively want to help our employees prepare for life’s unexpected challenges. Yet, with all the benefit plan choices out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
But it doesn’t have to be complicated, and it’s surprisingly affordable. Our Voluntary Benefits 101 Guide breaks down the common types of supplemental coverage employees want and need. Some of the highlights from our 101 guide include:
- Type of coverage that consistently ranks at the top for the most desirable benefits
- Busting the myth that voluntary benefits are too costly for small businesses
Download Colonial Life’s free guide
INDUSTRY NEWS
Amazon Achieves Closing of One Medical Deal, Officially Entering Doctor Clinic Business
Intention is to make it easier for people to get and stay healthier
For a limited time, One Medical membership is available to new U.S. customers for $144 (28% discount) for the first year—the equivalent of only $12 per month
Amazon closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical, bringing the giant online retailer into the hotly competitive business of owning and operating primary care physician practices and clinics.
The deal means Amazon will now provide One Medical’s “in office and 24/7 virtual care services, on-site labs, and programs for preventive care, chronic care management, common illnesses, and mental health concerns,” the companies said Wednesday.
Forbes / / Read Article
Amazon Press Release
Biggest Disruptors in Healthcare
Innovations by large retail & tech companies challenge traditional market
A new American Hospital Association (AHA) report takes a closer look at the biggest challengers to healthcare’s status quo, and challenges traditional providers to be innovative to survive in a competitive primary care market. The AHA’s “Health Care Disruption: 2023 Outlook” examines how seven of the biggest disruptors — Amazon, CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group, the Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Walmart, and tech companies Apple and Google/Alphabet — staked their claim in primary care, and used that platform to expand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The primary care market is estimated at about $260 billion, and analysts expect a third of that market to be dominated by non-traditional providers by 2030. That group includes a handful of large retail and tech companies that have entered the healthcare space with a wide range of innovative ideas and programs designed to give the consumer a choice on where to access care. To keep up with those disruptors and fit into an evolving industry, traditional providers need to assess their own ability to innovate to address care gaps and weaknesses.
Health Leaders Media / / Read Article
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN Healthcare
Most Americans Wouldn’t Trust Their Health Provider’s Use Of AI
New Pew poll finds majority uncomfortable relying on AI
A majority of Americans in a new poll say they’d be uncomfortable with their health care provider relying on artificial intelligence (AI) as part of their medical care, and less than half think using AI would lead to better health outcomes. A Pew Research poll released Wednesday found just 39 percent of U.S. adults say they’d feel comfortable with AI as part of their medical care — in practices like screening, diagnosis and treatment — while 60 percent would feel uncomfortable.
The Hill: Dive deeper
How ChatGPT became the next big thing Get on board – this rocket is blasting off
ChatGPT has captured the public imagination in a way the tech world hasn’t seen since the debut of the iPhone in 2007. Most of us are only now getting a glimpse of just how smart artificial intelligence has become. It’s awe-inducing—and terrifying. When ChatGPT launched to the public, it proved to be much more advanced than even many in the tech industry had expected. ChatGPT is a free (for now) site that lets users pose questions and give directions to a bot that can answer with conversation, term papers, sonnets, recipes—almost anything. In almost any style you specify.
The possibilities for ChatGPT seem endless. It recently passed all three parts of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, although just barely, as part of a research ex
periment. It might one day handle complex tasks better and more efficiently than humans have ever been able to. And it might lead us to dark places we can’t even anticipate yet.
Axios: Full story
FEATURED
ChatGPT Training Event
Artificial Intelligence is here
See how it can help your business
In this Zoom event, marketing expert MJ Finstrom, chief creative officer, Hutdogs, will show you how, in SECONDS, you can use Open AI’s ChatGPT to improve your business.
March 15, 9:00 a.m. PST Free on Zoom with registration.
FEATURED EVENT:
LAAHU 2023 Annual Symposium – Pasadena Convention Center. April 25, 7am to 5pm PST
Info: 800-676-1628. Register here.
Keynote speaker: Anoop Kumar, MD, is a leading voice for health and healthcare transformation, bringing clarity to the full spectrum of clinical medicine, mind-body integration, and human potential.
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
- March 4, 9:00-1:30 pm PST, by zoom: WIFS-LA Women’s Forum “Embrace Empowerment.” Info: janet@wifs-losangeles.org
- March 7, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm PST CAHIP Orange County Annual Carrier Panel Presentation includes Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield of CA, Kaiser, UnitedHealthcare, Providence, Scan. Register
- March 7, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm PST, Alignment Lunch and Learn-person or virtually for a refresher training on Alignment’s top Orange County plans. Register
- March 31, 10:30 AM PST, White Wing Insurance National Meeting to announce a new partnership with UnBlinded Co-Founder Sean Callgay
Learn more here: https://www.whitewinginsurance.com/unblinded Register here. - April 10, 9:30 am PST CAHIP Orange County 26th Annual Charity Golf Classic. Contact CAHIP-OC at (714) 441-8951, ext. 3 or at orangecountyahu@yahoo.com
CONFERENCES
- March 13-15, Ellevate Women’s Leadership 2023 Summit, JW Marriott just outside Las Vegas. Register
- April 11-14, Virtual Fourth National Medicare Advantage Summit by Global Health Care, Virtual/Online Live Video; Media Partners: Harvard Health Policy Review, Health Affairs and Inside Health Policy. Contact: (800) 503-0078. Registration@hcconferences.com, Register
- May 8-10, CAHIP Capitol Summit Sacramento. Registration is NOW OPEN. Register Here
Check out the March issue
COMPLIANCE:
Important Licensing CE Change for California Agents –
Fraud-Prevention Ethics Training
By Paul Roberts
AUTHORS AND ADVERTISERS WANTED!
Seeking expert thought leaders for editorial content starting in May 2023. See our editorial calendar for topic ideas.
Contact the editor at linda@calbrokermag.com
Find our writing guidelines here.
