BREAKING NEWS

HealthPartners, CIGNA HealthCare to Offer New Nationwide Health Plan

HealthPartners and CIGNA HealthCare today announced a long-term alliance that will offer companies with employees residing in Minnesota and other states a national health plan using the HealthPartners and CIGNA provider networks.

The alliance features a simpler, single-administrator model that puts one plan in charge of your client’s entire health plan coast-to-coast. The unique approach avoids duplication of efforts and fees and ensures a consistent experience for employees, no matter where they live and work.

HealthPartners and CIGNA representatives will review alliance details at the Broker Conference April 25. You can register right now.

Talk to HealthPartners and CIGNA representatives at the April 25 Broker Conference.

Alliance highlights:

• The new national network, one of America’s largest,
  includes a half-million providers and 4,800 hospitals.
• Administrative efficiencies and simplicity are designed to deliver significant cost savings to your clients.
• Employees enjoy the same benefits, get help from the
  same customer service teams and are cared for through
  the same medical and disease management programs.

The alliance, which is effective January 1, 2007, has no immediate impact on our service to you or your clients and enables us to offer stronger capabilities long term.

Learn more at healthpartners.com

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The growing popularity of CDHPs is no surprise. In Minnesota, consumer-directed health plans helped hold premium increases to a modest 6% increase last year according to a recent article in the Star Tribune. The plan alone, however, cannot be successful without a change in consumer behavior.

According to a recent Watson Wyatt study, here’s what we do know about current CDHP trends:

• Employers offering CDHPs increased from 13% to 29% in 2005.
• 33% of employers are planning to add a CDHP plan in the coming year.
• 80% of purchasers think CDHPs are somewhat effective at increasing employee involvement in health care decision making.
• 59% of purchasers believe such plans are somewhat effective in controlling health care cost increases.

“Although the rate of increase in health care costs is slowing, the increase is on a higher base,” said National Business Group on Health President Helen Darling. “Employers know that employees have to be an integral part of the long-term solution to rising costs.”

HealthPartners has both the CDHP plans clients demand and the quality information, comparison tools and health improvement programs employees need.  

Here’s a sampling of what HealthPartners offers to improve member health and, therefore, drive down trend.

Jump Start
Frequent Fitness
Online Consumer Tools for Cost and Quality
Achieve Health Improvement Programs
CareSpan® Disease Management Programs

Jump Start participation is growing every day  – and the numbers are impressive:

• Nearly 7,000 members from more than 1,000 companies have gotten their free Jump Start in the first two months.
• One in four who took the free online health survey discovered that they are at high-risk for health complications. Fortunately, more than half of them chose to get direct follow-up from a HealthPartners health coach.
• The potential reduction in annual medical claims for those identified as high risk – about $3,000 to $5,000 per year. That’s a total reduction of more than $5 million so far in future claims.

And best of all, Jump Start is still going. Many employers have told us they’re going the extra mile to ensure participation. Barb Zilmer at the Bailey Nursery in Newport put together a promotional campaign for employees that helped them get huge participation and form a new Wellness Committee.

Want to help your clients increase their Jump Start participation? Download these free promotional items like posters, fliers and stuffers to support their efforts!

Help your clients get a Jump Start and save!

With HealthPartners, you can provide clients with a convenient medical, dental and spending account package – and so much more. We'll help your clients lower their long-term health care costs by engaging and empowering their employees to make savvy health care decisions.

Join us on April 25, 2006, to learn more about the enhancements we've made, as well as what we'll be doing for you and your clients in the coming year.

• Huge, Open Access Networks
  With 25,000 providers in Minnesota – and more than 470,000 nationally – we give your clients the freedom of choice. No gatekeepers, no referrals – no kidding!
• Coast-to-coast Coverage
  No matter where your clients are, we’ve got you covered. Give your clients the single national solution they’ve been looking for.
• Package Deal
  Give your clients the ease and savings of a single source for medical, dental and FSA coverage. Get seamless administration – including automatic claims processing and superior service.

2006 Broker Conference
April 25, 2006
8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Metropolitan Ballroom

There's still time to register. Register today!

When your clients demand proven cost-containment, sell them on the award-winning value of HealthPartners. In March, the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) awarded HealthPartners its prestigious 2006 Award for Excellence and Innovation in Value Purchasing. 

HealthPartners was recognized specifically for its composite outcome metrics, Outcomes Recognition and its Pay for Performance. These are just a few of the many cost and quality programs HealthPartners utilizes to ensure high-quality affordable care.

"A champion for quality improvement, HealthPartners' innovative measurement tools provide reliable and actionable performance information that enables delivery of better health for its members and better cost containment for employers," said Martin Sepulveda, MD, Vice President of Global Well Being Services at IBM and Chairman of the Board’s Award Committee. 

Learn more about the NBGH Award or NBGH.

And the Top 10 March to March Challenge Winners Are??? Join us at the 2006 Broker Conference to find out! Register here.

Congratulations to the 250-plus brokers who completed the March to March Challenge. We hope you enjoyed taking Jump Start for a test drive and will share your experience with your clients. We’ve provided a recap of the Weekly Winners, but you’ll have to attend the 2006 Broker Conference to find out who made the final Top 10!

Week 1 Winners

1. Larry Kitts, Horizon Agency
2. David Stewart, David Stewart Agency
3. Greg Davis, Wippman, Davis & Associates

Week 2 Winners

1. Joni Jackson, Acordia
2. Gene Olson, Enberg-Schaber
3. Kelvin Nelson, Minnesota Benefit Advisors, LLC

Week 3 Winners

1. Rick Sward, Lawrence Bohmbach Agency
2. Nicole Thurman, Associated Financial Group
3. DeEtte Wurm, Apollo Insurance Agency

Week 4 Winners

1. Maureen Mitchell, Schwarz Williams Companies
2. Karen Nagel, Minnesota Benefit Advisors, LLC
3. Cindy Dischinger, Affiliated Benefit Group
   
   

Bring your clients to the HealthPartners 2006 Purchaser Symposium: “Trend Busting Solutions for Managing Health Care Costs.” Guest speakers include Chris Farrell, a nationally recognized business journalist, financial expert and host of Right on the Money!, and HealthPartners CEO and President Mary Brainerd. The conference will be held June 13, 2006, at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. Program begins at 1:00 p.m., lunch provided.

Details will be arriving in your mailbox soon.

New and improved applications for our Individual and Family plans will be available May 1.

The new application now features several different billing options, including a monthly automatic account withdrawal, or mailed statements on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis.

Members are encouraged to select the convenient automatic account withdrawal feature, which results in fewer disenrollments due to non-payment and helps contain administrative costs.

Members must enroll using these new applications as of May 1. Applications will be available through healthpartners.com, your Individual Sales Account Executive or the Individual Sales Department at 952-883-5600.

A bigger network is better – more access for members, more satisfaction for employers and more sales for you. In the past year, we’ve added more than 500 clinics and 3,000 providers to our network. Our Open Access network now includes nearly 27,000 providers regionally, including 12,000 specialists. This means our Open Access network rivals Blue Cross’ Aware network, which claims to include 96 percent of health care providers in the state. Our recent additions include:

Medical – Minnesota
Foley Medical Center, Foley
Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital, Grand Rapids           
Total Health Clinic, Fridley

Dental – Minnesota
Open Cities Dental Health Center – North End Clinic, Saint Paul
Oakridge Dental Center, Oak Park Heights
Brainerd Dental Care, Brainerd
Family & Cosmetic Gentle Dentistry, Eagan

Medical – South Dakota
Interlakes Medical Center, PC, Madison
 
Medical – Wisconsin
Buffalo Clinic, SC, Osseo
Eau Claire Medical Clinic, SC, Baldwin
Eau Claire Medical Clinic, SC, Chippewa Falls
Eau Claire Medical Clinic, SC, Eau Claire
Eau Claire Medical Clinic, SC, Neillsville
Family Health Associates, Chippewa Falls
Javaherian, Abolghasem, MD,  Eau Claire
Memorial Medical Center, Greenwood
Memorial Medical Center, Loyal
Memorial Medical Center, Neillsville
OakLeaf Pediatrics Clinic, Eau Claire
Pine Grove Family Practice Associates, Eau Claire
Shell Lake Clinic, Shell Lake
Shell Lake Clinic, Siren
Southside Medical Clinic, Chippewa Falls
Southside Medical Clinic, Eau Claire
Turtle Lake Medical Associates, Turtle Lake

Important Contacts
Our Group Medical Plans
Our Group Dental Plans
Our Achieve ^SM Health Improvement Programs
Our CareSpan ^SM Disease Management Programs
Direct Connect to Broker Portal
Network Updates