Displaying items tagged: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Priority Health and several other health plans in Michigan intend to maintain full coverage for preventative care for now.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan wants to scale back a planned rate increase for small businesses that renew their employee health policies in the latter half of the year.

An emerging new generation of cell and gene therapies has insurers concerned about the effect on the cost of health coverage.

GRAND RAPIDS — Priority Health nearly tripled earnings in 2022, although how that may affect upcoming rate proposals for next year is unclear for now.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan reported Wednesday a net loss of $777 million in 2022 due to rising operating costs, losses from its market portfolio and ongoing COVID-19 response.

Anew deal with Corewell Health West extends Lansing-based Physicians Health Plan’s care network into West Michigan.

The new contract with Sparrow Health System provides an opportunity for Priority Health to carve out a much larger presence in the Lansing-area market, although growth may not come easily.

GRAND RAPIDS — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has signed a seven-year lease renewal for its downtown Grand Rapids headquarters, providing a sign of confidence amid widespread uncertainty in downtown commercial office space. 

GRAND RAPIDS — The advanced medical technology behind BAMF Health Inc.’s new Grand Rapids clinic offers great promise in diagnosing and treating cancer.

Individuals who buy their own health insurance would pay an average of 6.2 percent more for coverage next year under insurance carriers’ recent rate filings with state regulators.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation that is designed to better enable large employers to bid out their employee health coverage.

Here is the MiBiz Growth report for June 6, 2022:

Michigan’s two largest health insurers again seek to raise small business rates for 2023 as medical claims rise and pandemic-related costs are considered for the first time.

Legislation proposed in Congress would cap customers’ monthly out-of-pocket cost for insulin at $35, an idea President Joe Biden supported in his recent State of the Union address.

Costs to test, treat and vaccinate members for COVID-19 drove sharp earnings declines last year for Priority Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and both intend to work ongoing pandemic-related expenses into their rate requests for next year.

The high cost of medical claims tied to the COVID-19 pandemic drove Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to a loss in 2021 on its core health insurance business.

The recent merger between Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health creates the potential for Priority Health to make deeper inroads in the Southeast Michigan health insurance market.

The new health system that Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health plan to launch Tuesday will have considerable market clout in the Michigan health care market, raising concerns about the potential effect on costs.

Michigan now ranks as the second-least competitive market in the nation for health coverage, a status that stems from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s long-held position as the leading insurer in the state.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan joined four other Blues plans across the U.S. to form a new venture that seeks to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs.

The lifting of Michigan’s in-person work restrictions is a light at the end of the tunnel for remote workers eager to get back to the office, while others are hoping flexible work settings will stick long term.

Small businesses can expect larger increases in their health insurance premiums in 2022 than in recent years, even without costs associated with responding to the COVID-19 pandemic figured into the equation.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 25, 2021.

A health plan that for years has provided coverage for employees at beer and wine wholesalers in Michigan now looks to offer the same benefits to craft brewers, distilleries and wineries across the state, providing a potential lower-cost option to consider.

Here's the MiBiz Growth Report for March 28, 2021.

Small business clients of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan that renew their health policies in the second half of the year will see small rate increases of less than 2 percent.

The yearlong COVID-19 pandemic drove down earnings last year at West Michigan’s major health insurance providers.

In September, Dr. James Grant became chief medical director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, making the transition during the COVID-19 pandemic that has elevated telehealth to the forefront in the industry. While a COVID-19 vaccine became available a week ago, starting with frontline health care workers and long-term care facilities, the pandemic will drive much of what happens in the health care industry in 2021, according to Grant.

As reports continue to rank Michigan as one of the least competitive markets in the nation, the statewide trade group representing HMOs wants to ensure that insurance carriers are able to pursue business when employers bid out employee health coverage.

Health insurance open enrollment for 2021 starts Nov. 1 with small increases in rates for individual and small employer health care policies.