FREE Health Assessments for Members
How does HealthPartners add value to your sales efforts? Here’s one example:

Beginning this winter, members will receive a complimentary “Jump Start Kit” to get them quickly on the road to better health. The “kit” includes our online health assessment plus free membership in our award-winning 10,000® Steps fitness program.

The goal is to make it easy for your clients’ employees to learn their “personal health score,” get active, lower their health risks – and reduce long-term cost trends. What’s more, your clients don’t have to lift a finger – we’ll do all the work for them.

How big a financial boost is this for your clients? Studies show one in five employees either have diabetes or heart disease or are at risk for developing them over the next two-and-a-half years. Potentially, that’s quite a hit to the bottom line in the form of costly medical claims.

Our health assessment identifies these employees and enrolls them in programs that help prevent or manage these diseases. No other local plan has an assessment tool with this type of seamless, sophisticated integration.

Quick, name another health plan that’s doing this for your clients today – on a free basis!

Add “Jump Start” to our lineup of Achieve^SM health improvement and CareSpan^SM disease management programs and you can see why we consistently rank as Minnesota’s top-rated health plan and one of the best nationally.

Look for more about our “Jump Start Kit” at the “Buying Smart” symposium Oct. 13 or contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive.

To drive client satisfaction and meet growing demand – we’re growing too!

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. With no referrals!

This means our Open Access network rivals Blue Cross’ Aware network, which claims to include 96 percent of health care providers in the state. And if you don’t believe it, just put our provider directories side-by-side and start thumbing! You’ll see what we mean.

Our plan is to keep growing. This month alone, we’ve added well-known providers and clinics in Greater Minnesota, as well as the Metro area including:

• ANW General Medicine Associates in Minneapolis and Edina
• Braaten Medical Clinic in Fairmont
• Edward J. LaDue, M.D. in Mahnomen
• Scenic Rivers Health Services in the Cook area

Our hard work is paying off. Recent industry surveys show we rank at the top of the list when it comes to providing members access to the care they want and need.

Sell your clients on greater access and no referrals – sell HealthPartners!

HealthPartners Has the Product Advantages You and Your Clients Need in Wisconsin

Our one-stop, total-solution products save you and your clients time and money. Our medical, dental and FSA products are designed to work perfectly together – so you get the best products, convenient service and support through one outstanding partner: HealthPartners.

Medical Plans

• Large Groups – Customize a plan that fits your clients perfectly from our loaded menu of fully and self-insured plans – featuring copay plans, high deductible plans and plans that can be paired with an HSA, HRA or VEBA.

• Small Groups – A wide range of fully insured plans with 25 comprehensive design options, easily customizable for a “just right” fit for your clients

Outstanding Network Access

A huge network that includes in-network national coverage for employees living or traveling outside the service area.

Here are just a few of our great network partners:

• Care North – Saint Luke's
• Duluth Clinic – Saint Mary's
• Marshfield Clinic – St. Joe's and Sacred Heart Hospitals
• Gundersen Lutheran Clinics and Hospitals
• Midelfort Clinic & Satellites – Luther Hospital
• WWMA – Hudson Physicians, Hudson Hospital , New Richmond Clinic, Holy Family Hospital , River Falls Clinic, River Falls Medical Center
• Mayo Clinic Rochester – Specialty Care
• And more!

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Our FSA provides the convenience of automatic FSA claim reimbursement from HealthPartners medical and dental plans and easy online account tracking – a plus your client’s employees will love. And higher FSA participation rates will give your clients an added tax advantage.

Dental Plans

• Plans you and your clients can sink your teeth into, with customizable designs to fit every need – with Open Access networks and discounts with network providers
• 100 percent preventive coverage on all plans, voluntary plan options, and rates starting at $17.76

Medical, Dental and FSA solutions that work – and that’s just the beginning! So tell your clients about the new kid on the block in Wisconsin , and start selling big!

Contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive today!

As the busy season approaches, we want to remind you of the guidelines for 1.25 small employer groups that went into effect September 1, 2004 .

• New and renewal small employer groups that are rated at a 1.25 will be allowed to offer only one plan.
• Existing 1.25 groups with two plans already in place may retain the two plans.
• If an existing 1.25 group has two plans and wants to change plans, it can choose a new plan but must drop those in place and offer only one plan.
• If an existing group is at a 1.22 table and requests an off-cycle change, per our guidelines, it will receive a 3 percent increase. This increase brings the group to a 1.25. This means the group is allowed only one plan. If two plans exist at the time of this change, the group will have to reduce its plans to one.
• If an existing group currently has two plans and they are at the 1.25 table or are put at the 1.25 at renewal and HealthPartners is eliminating one of the two plans, the group will be allowed to keep two plans.

Help your clients cash in on the benefits of converting to a HealthPartners Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plan. Why HealthPartners? Because we take total responsibility for FSA plan administration, which ensures that your clients are well cared for.

Only the HealthPartners FSA plan provides:

• Single-source Responsibility: We administer FSAs in-house using state-of-the-art processing systems for faster, more accurate reimbursement.
• Full Integration: We integrate FSAs with our medical and dental plans for simplified administration, claims reimbursement and expense tracking. No third party reports or responsibilities to deal with!
• Employee-friendly Service: Online tools like our Medical and Drug Cost calculators will help engage your clients’ employees. We empower employees to manager their health care costs and dollars wisely.
• Guaranteed Savings: Since there are no income or employment taxes with an FSA, your clients save $.0765 in FICA taxes for every dollar contributed by them or their employees.

If that’s not enough, HealthPartners FSA plans are competitively priced – encourage your clients to convert to a HealthPartners FSA today!

For additional information, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive .

On October 1, 2005, nationwide private organizations offering a Medicare Part D plan in 2006 began marketing their products and services to all Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. Open enrollment begins November 15, 2005 and ends May 15, 2006.

That means your clients’ retirees will be receiving a lot of information over a short period of time regarding their options. This information will come in the form of direct mail, outbound calls, newspapers, television, etc. Here is what we are doing to help simplify this plan for retirees.

Medicare Part D Brochure

HealthPartners Medicare plan is one of the highest rated plans in the nation and our commercial plan is the highest ranked plan in Minnesota according to the U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2005. The rankings, based on clinical quality, member satisfaction and NCQA Accreditation, are featured in the latest edition of U.S. News & World Report which arrived on newsstands today. The report compares quality of care and customer satisfaction for more than 450 commercial, Medicare and Medicaid plans from across the nation.

"For consumers who are choosing health plans during open enrollment, this provides objective information to help them decide which health plan is the best value," said Mary Brainerd, HealthPartners president and CEO.

• According to the report, HealthPartners Medicare plan is the 15th highest ranked plan nationally.
• HealthPartners commercial plan is the top-rated plan in Minnesota and is ranked among the top five in the region.
• The print-edition of the magazine identifies the top 50 commercial plans and top 25 Medicare and Medicaid plans in the nation.
• The online edition at www.usnews.com identifies all plans' rankings and includes detailed information about each plan's performance in selected areas.

HealthPartners scored higher than the national average on measures for diabetes, depression, asthma care and cancer screening.

The health plan ranking is the latest in U.S. News best of reports, which also include colleges and hospitals. It is issued in conjunction with the NCQA's annual State of Health Care Quality report also recently released. The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations.

If you have questions, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Executive.

Introducing Beyond Benefits – our new monthly e-newsletter that will deliver relevant health care news employers can use right to their desktops. We’ll be sending it to our broker partners too, so you can see firsthand what information your clients will be receiving.

• How health care trends impact employers and their employees
• How HealthPartners can help employers even more in improving employee health and managing costs
• Plus easy-to-use info employers can pass on to employees about staying healthy and better managing their health care dollars

Protect your clients from the flu – have them call today to schedule their on-site flu shot clinic!

Catching the flu bug in any organization means lost workdays and doctor visits for employees — and lost productivity and rising health care costs for employers. HealthPartners Corporate Influenza Prevention program offers an easy way to stop the flu before it starts spreading in your clients’ companies.

For maximum convenience, we come right to your clients! In partnership with our vaccine vendors, we work with employers to schedule the place (at one location or many), date and time.

Best of all, it’s free for HealthPartners members!

• For HealthPartners members and their covered dependents, the flu shot clinic is a covered benefit.
• For plans that require a copay, HealthPartners waives the copay.
• We also offer a program for all employees, including those not covered by HealthPartners. The cost range for non-members is approximately $20-$30 per person.

Now it's even easier to administer group accounts. When you call the Broker VIP Line, you now have the option to use an automated system to check eligibility. And best of all – it's available 24/7. But don't worry, you still have the option to speak directly with a friendly representative during regular business hours.

Save time and add pizzazz to your Open Enrollment presentations with with our new turnkey materials and resources. Stay tuned for more information.

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