ORANGE, Calif., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when employers throughout California continue to experience significant increases in their health insurance premiums, CaliforniaChoice today announced a zero percent increase for one HMO carrier and single-digit increases for almost everyone else participating in their small-group health purchasing alliance. CaliforniaChoice is the state’s leading authority on small-group (employers with 2-50 employees) healthcare benefits.
“While there appears to be a moderation in rate increases across the board, most employers are still facing the kind of double-digit increases which for many is simply unsustainable,” said CaliforniaChoice President Ron Goldstein. “Today’s employers need real solutions that will allow them to provide healthcare coverage without breaking the bank. We are happy that CaliforniaChoice has been able to buck the national trend by continuing to offer affordable healthcare benefits.”
According to Goldstein, there are many reasons for CaliforniaChoice’s ability to “hold the line,” two in particular. First, many health plans that participate in the program turn to CaliforniaChoice to handle a majority of the administrative tasks that they would otherwise need to perform themselves. This cost savings can then be passed along to participating employers. The second is the fact that CaliforniaChoice’s product offerings include a consumer-directed healthcare (CDH) option, which an increasing number of employees are finding attractive. CDH is a low-cost, high-deductible health plan for those seeking ultimate control and decision-making in their day-to- day healthcare expenditures.
“When real cost savings are achieved, both the employer and the employee benefit,” said Goldstein. “That means greater access to care and a reduction in the state’s uninsured.” As evidence of this, Goldstein points to the fact that 40 percent of the 10,000 employer groups participating in CaliforniaChoice today offered a health insurance benefit for the first time through this program.
Employers find purchasing health coverage an easy business decision to make thanks to CaliforniaChoice’s unique budgeting process. Instead of the health plan telling the employer how much they have to pay under the old “defined-benefit” model, it is the employer who determines precisely what they are capable and willing to spend on their employee’s health insurance. Employers establish this fixed budget -- which is known as their “defined contribution” -- and in doing so achieve cost controls and budget predictability.
Using their employer’s contribution as a sort of “voucher,” employees are then empowered to choose from multiple HMO and PPO carriers within the CaliforniaChoice spectrum of health plans. All of these health plans compete for business based on provider network, drug formulary, geographic convenience, reputation and, of course, price. Employees who want “richer” benefits than the employer is willing to fund simply contribute the difference out of their own pocket. And, CaliforniaChoice has found that just over 60 percent of their participants do indeed “buy up” to a richer plan.
CaliforniaChoice, a CHOICE Administrators program, is the state’s leading developer and administrator of employer-choice benefit models. Based in Orange, California, CaliforniaChoice currently delivers health coverage to over 150,000 members through more than 10,000 employer groups with 2-50 employees with six premier health plans participating. In 2002, the Health Insurance Association of America honored CaliforniaChoice with its prestigious “Innovators Award,” an annual recognition for a select company whose contributions have led to “true industry advancement.” Further information on CaliforniaChoice may be obtained at http://www.calchoice.com/.
CaliforniaChoice
CONTACT: Ross Goldberg of CaliforniaChoice, +1-818-597-8453
Web site: http://www.calchoice.com/
