Based on your feedback, we’ve improved our Voluntary Dental plans to be more competitive in the marketplace.

Whether your clients are looking to add a voluntary dental plan or convert to a different voluntary dental plan, HealthPartners has the solution for you!

Key features:

• Participation – requirements reduced to 25 percent
• Choice – your clients will love that their employees have the freedom to see any dentist they choose
• Access – we offer the largest PPO Network in the state
• Savings – deep discounts when members visit a dentist in our PPO network
• Convenience – automatic claims crossover when paired with our Empower^SM FSA
• Flexibility – custom plan designs based on what your clients want
• Orthodontics – exclusive orthodontic discount program built-in
• Affordable – aggressive pricing options

Boost client and member satisfaction when you point out our no referral policy. With our plan, members are free to see any of 27,000 providers in our Open Access network – the largest network in the region. These include primary care doctors, specialists, hospitals, mental health providers, chiropractors and occupational, physical and speech therapists. What’s more, they don’t need a referral to see specialists in the network. And they’re covered when traveling for business or pleasure.

By eliminating the referral process, we’re making it easier for you to sell our product and for members to understand how to use the network. The results? Increased member and employee satisfaction, fewer complaints for employers to handle and reduced appeals and paperwork for members.

How will members know which providers they can see without a referral?
When members need specialty care, members can visit healthpartners.com, log on and view their specific benefits or call Member Services to find out which providers they have access to.

Sell convenient access – sell HealthPartners 

HealthPartners has the right providers, programs and support resources to identify and help members who have, or who are at risk for, diabetes. That means your client’s employees are getting the right care – and using health care resources effectively, resulting in better cost containment for you. Overall, our diabetes program provides an expected 1.1–1.5: 1 return on an employer’s investment.

FSAs are a great benefit – but many employers aren’t taking advantage of them. We can help change that, and save money for your clients and their employees. We make FSA implementation and administration simple by providing:

• Personalized service
• Hassle-free reimbursement
• Automatic crossover

Background:
In late October, federal tax rate and cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) tables for 2006 were released by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).The tables include the minimum deductibles, out-of-pocket expense maximums, and contribution limits applicable to health savings accounts (HSAs).
Federal HSA regulations do not allow embedded deductibles within a family contract to be less than the family minimum. The 2006 cost-of-living adjustment raises the minimum individual embedded deductible to $2,100, which is the same as the new family contract amount. Our higher amount exceeds the minimum so if adjustments are made for 2007 we will not have to retire this plan.

Your clients are concerned about the health and safety of their employees – and we are too. That’s why we offer clients a comprehensive disability management program with five key areas of concentration to help them get back to work safely and quickly. Our programs focus on:

• Certified Workers’ Compensation Managed Care Plan
• Return-to-Work Case Management
• Workers’ Compensation Bill Review & Provider Payment
• Occupational Medicine Services
• Consulting Services

Our new advertising campaign will help you increase sales opportunities in Western Wisconsin. We’re directing employers to contact their broker for more information, so be ready and keep your eyes peeled for these ads to be appearing soon….

When it comes to Medicare plans, you can rest assured that HealthPartners is delivering care that counts. In October, U.S. News & World Report ranked HealthPartners No. 15 in the U.S. for Medicare plans. Our members rate us tops in easy access to care, prevention, treatment for diabetes and heart disease, and overall member satisfaction, as well as mental and behavioral health.

The rankings were compiled from data collected and analyzed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a private, non-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations.

Learn more online at www.usnews.com or at HealthPartners Medicare plans.

A little prevention goes a long way toward better employee health and better cost savings for your clients.

Now HealthPartners is contacting members due for select preventive services – and reminding them to make an appointment with their personal care physician.

Members will get automated telephone-based reminders for these services: mammograms, pap smears, colorectal screenings, and immunization reminders for children based on their age. That means members will get the right preventive services at the right time for better health – and lower cost trends – in the long run.

Let your clients know that their employees are in good hands!

Our second annual purchaser symposium October 13 gave our audience of about 500 employers, brokers, consultants, benefits administrators and community leaders a chance to put health care spending under the microscope.

• Dr. Elliott Fisher, a professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, discussed his landmark research that shows higher spending on health care services does not result in improved health outcomes for patients. He calculates that if all U.S. regions adopted the practice patterns of the most effective regions , such as the Twin Cities, the nation could reduce health care spending by 30 percent. Dr. Fisher’s solution? Provide better information so patients can make informed choices, slow the growth of new facilities, and foster provider accountability for quality and cost.
• Mary Brainerd, HealthPartners President and CEO, spoke about how we’re partnering with providers, members and purchasers in ways that address Dr. Fisher’s concerns. Mary highlighted how HealthPartners:
• Partners with providers through programs such as Pay for Performance, preferred networks and how we measure and report quality results
• Partners with members by providing easy to use cost and quality information, decision support tools, benefit incentives and our Achieve SM health improvement programs
• Partners with employers by providing tiered plan designs, consumer-driven health plans, customized networks and administrative ease

Check out Mary’s presentation at healthpartners.com.

If you’re interested in learning more about our individual Medicare products – read on! In December, we’re offering a comprehensive training course to help you get up-to-speed on what’s new with Medicare. Please join us on December 9 or December 14 to:

• Get a Medicare overview
• Learn about Part D
• Find out about HealthPartners 2006 products
• Meet your HealthPartners account executives
  

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 31,000 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
Bloomington Lake Clinic in Bloomington
Bloomington Lake Clinic , Edina
Bloomington Lake Clinic in Mendota Heights
Bloomington Lake Clinic in Minneapolis
Chain of Lakes Medical Clinic, Cold Spring
Fairview Hugo Clinic, Hugo
HealthEast Salud Integral, St. Paul
Stephens Health Services – Integrated Health Center , Alexandria
United Clinics of Faribault County – Blue Earth
United Clinics of Faribault County – Wells
United Clinics of Faribault County – Swea City
United Clinics of Faribault County – Winnebago

Dental – Minnesota
Oakdale Family Dentistry, PA
Riverside Family Dental, PA
St. Anthony Park Dental Arts, PA
The Smile Center – Savage
Thomas E. Spray, DDS, PLLC

Medical – South Dakota
Kass Clinic, Rosholt
Sioux Valley – Clark, Clark
Sioux Valley Clinic – Family Health Center , Sioux Falls
Sioux Valley Clinic – Vascular Associates, Sioux Falls

Beyond Benefits – last month, our new monthly e-newsletter delivered relevant health care news employers can use right to their desktops. This month, we are ready for the next issue. We’ll be sending it to our broker partners too, so you can see firsthand what information your clients will be receiving.

News employers can use

• 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

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