And now America's
Healthcare Advocate, Cary Hall.
Hello America, welcome to America's Healthcare Advocate.
Show.
Broadcasting coast to coast across USA here on the HIA Radio Network.
My producers today Mr.
Garner Cowdrey
behind the microphones and Dave Thiessen behind the cameras as always.
I'm Cary Hall, the host of America's Healthcare Advocate.
Thank you for joining us today
and making us one of the most listened to talk shows across the country.
And you know that you can always go up on our website or on our YouTube
channel and 16 podcast channels to listen to these shows.
If you miss one or you want to listen to it during the week.
So they're up there.
So joining me in studio today, this is a show that I've wanted to do
for a couple of months now because of what we see coming.
And the show today is going to focus on ACA.
We're going to talk a little bit about small Group too,
but primarily what's going to happen
with the ACA plans as we get close to open enrollment.
So I'm going to share a little something with everybody.
These are some predicted increase numbers
in states in and around the Midwest.
I've got the whole list of all 50 states.
But let me give an example here.
Kentucky's looking at a 29% increase.
Indiana's looking at a 26% increase.
Illinois 29%.
Kansas on average is 30%.
Joining me in studio now, Misty Snodgrass.
It's going to be a big disruptive year for ACA.
And by the way, Misty Is the director of ACA
and, Medicaid for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas,
and she's here today to talk to us about that
and what they are doing to try to help people.
In terms of containing costs and get them across the board so it's shocking.
I haven't seen numbers like this.
I can't remember the last time I saw numbers like this.
No, this is unprecedented.
Thanks so much for having me.
And to your listeners, I'm really appreciative
to be here to help educate on what's going on.
But, yeah, these numbers are unprecedented.
We're doing our best to hold that the rates down we are going to be taking,
you know, a hit financially.
But we want to make sure that people have access to coverage.
And so we are working really hard to help improve health outcomes here
at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.
But yeah these rates are unprecedented.
And we've not seen anything like it.
Yeah. Now I will say this.
That level of increase does not apply to the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan,
but it certainly applies to a whole host of other carriers I've seen out there.
And on top of that, top cause more confusion
and disruption in the marketplace: Aetna is leaving
and 1 million people across the country are losing their coverage.
So it's going to be a very disruptive year.
And I think what I'm trying to do with these kinds of shows.
And thank you for being here because you're truly an expert at this,
is tell people what they need to do to get ready.
Yeah. Don't wait until No.
Because you know,
as I told you, I’m a
27 year recovering broker from when I had Benefits by Design.
We even talked,
starting now,
throughout up until we get to the Open Enrollment Period and it never failed.
People procrastinated and waited, and then they're all trying to get in
at the same time.
And it's very, very difficult and can cause a lot of frustration
and all the rest of it.
So it's far better to be proactive right now.
So what what are you telling people if they want to call you and consult?
What are you telling people.
Yeah, no, I think I think that's a great question.
I think this year is different
than even the last few years, which have been a lot of a lot of changes.
And so, you know, first of all, open enrollment for
this year is going to go until January 15th of next year.
That's changing. So just be prepared.
But you know, get in early, start looking at the plans.
Start looking at the prices. Go to healthcare.gov.
Go to our website bcbsks.com and start to look and see what the prices
are going to be in the impact to you because you're able to plug in
what prescription drugs you're using, what providers
you're using, and start to see what the price of impact is going to be to you.
Because it is going to be felt by the majority of Americans.
But if they call you guys and they just want to talk to somebody, this.
That's where yeah.
This is where you're different than what I call the conglomo carriers, okay?
Because your customer service is right there in Topeka. Yep.
It's Kansans Helping in Kansans.
You've won multiple awards for customer service
because people can actually call and talk to somebody.
Yes. Okay.
And you can also do that with your local broker.
Obviously if you've got a broker you've used
and he's helped you or she's helped you, that's what you should do.
As long as you can get in touch with them, do it.
But otherwise they can call you, just talk to you
and get get an understanding of, okay, what do I need to be concerned about?
What's my plan going to look like?
Like, I'm one of those people that had the Aetna plan.
I'm losing my coverage, you know, or I'm one of those people who just found out
I got my renewal letter and I have a 27% increase. Yes.
All right, So talk a little bit about that. Happy to do it.
We love our customer service team.
They're actually part of the team I'm on.
So we're able to work with them and they're they're fantastic.
They want to talk to our members.
They're not trying to get you off the phone.
They are locally based in Kansas.
You're able to answer, they're able to answer any questions,
even about your claims, or your billing or what you may have
and what the different kind of products that are being offered.
So they're able to help you,
call the one 800 number and they're able to,
you know, answer any questions that you maybe have.
We also have a great sales team, that is able to actually help answer questions.
And they're not trying to sell you a product.
They're just trying to find the product that works best for you.
And so you're able to call either our customer service or our sales
team in-house and have those questions, Or also go to brokers
and be able to answer the questions you may have.
Yeah. Our customer service team is second to none.
They have a very quick metric related to answering.
You know, a lot of people don't want to sit on a call
and wait and hold, be on hold.
They answer very quickly.
They answer your questions concisely, and their goal is to answer your questions
on your first call.
So you're not having to call back repeatedly.
So they're they're wonderful. You've won multiple awards for this.
You continue to win multiple awards for it.
And you know, I always this is the example I use when you
a lot of times people will call one of these national carriers or one of these
call centers that’s advertising in which we see all the time on television.
You get: “licensed brokers, call and they'll help you”.
You call and you ask a question like,
what hospitals are in Kansas City north of the river?
And they're going, what river?
Yes, yes, I'm talking to somebody that really understands the market here.
Okay.
So, you know, the same thing applies here if you're out in Salina.
Yeah.
Or you're in Topeka or you're in Wichita.
Western Kansas, very, very rural area.
Yeah. Yeah.
That that's critical.
So it's important to know the state and know what's available there.
And also how you marry up the providers to the program and all the rest of it.
So that that's critical.
I think. So before we go to break.
We’ve got about two minutes left.
You are in all counties in Kansas, all 103.
A lot of the carriers arn’t.
So address that right before we go to break here. Yeah.
Just to clarify, we don't have Wyandotte and Johnson because BlueKC has it.
Yes, but 103 of 105 most of our competitors or the other carriers are not.
They’re only in certain areas.
They tend to cherry pick areas.
We’re in the far you know, we touch the Colorado border.
We go all the way to the frontier
side of the Kansas, frontier part of our state.
And so, yeah, it is a priority for us to serve all counties, regardless
of whether or not it's a profit or not for profit, mutually owned company.
And so our focus is on serving Kansas, making sure
we're improving health outcomes, reinvesting in our communities.
And so it is a priority to be in all counties
regardless of what the, you know, margin is in that in that area.
That's one of the reasons why they're different.
You know what I like to say about these local BlueCross plans?
They’re main street, they're not Wall Street.
We'll be right back after the break.
You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate
broadcasting here on the HIA Radio Network.
Coast to coast.
If you want information, you can go to the website.
BCBSKS.com.
That's BCBSKS.com.
The phone number.
Once again,
if you want to call one of those lovely people
at their customer service center and they're happy to help you.
866-906-5253.
Stay tuned.
We'll be right back after the break.
You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate here on the HIA Radio Network.
Coast to coast across USA.
Welcome back.
You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate show broadcasting
coast to coast across USA here on the HIA Radio Network.
I want to do a shout out to KSAL 1150.
Our great affiliate up in Salina, Kansas is very happy to be on the air there,
and they're part of our family for America's Healthcare Advocate
broadcast me shows out throughout Kansas in the area around Salina.
I want to welcome them again.
Little shout out to all the folks up there in studio with me, Misty Snodgrass.
She is the director of ACA and Medicaid at Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Kansas, and we're talking all things ACA.
We're going to do a little discussion about group here as well.
But you heard in that last segment.
Now you're going to hear me repeat this.
Don't wait until the last minute.
Open enrollment is going to start here.
We're going to talk about that in a minute.
But what you need to know is this is going to be a different year.
It's going to be tsunami.
There's going to be massive displacement and other issues going on.
Now's the time to get ahead of this if you're on an ACA.
So let's just go through the dates. Yeah.
Because it gets a little confusing for folks.
So it opens up on November 1st.
Then what happens.
Yeah.
So you're able to start selecting your plans or even comparison shop.
But as you said start early.
Don't wait until the end of December thinking that, oh, I'm
going to be able to be covered January 1st.
You need to be enrolled by December 15th, to be covered by January 1st,
or enroll by January 15th to be covered by February 1st.
There are some special enrollment periods,
but they're not the big special enrollment period that used to be there.
So there are fewer events such as life events, moving, pregnancy, having a child.
And so you really got to act now and things are changing by the minute.
And so stay up to date as to what's happening.
We're doing our best to educate our members
about what's coming down and what the changes are occurring.
We're putting that in our renewal letters.
We're also putting information out via social media,
and our website to make sure people understand what's happening.
Because, you know, there's been a lot of confusion, a lot of changes.
And so make sure you stay on top of it because you can't
wait because you're going to be, you know, delayed in your coverage.
And it is a major disruption in the ACA market.
Yeah, I cannot recall and I can't how many years ago
when I was doing this, writing it from the day they started,
you know, ACA, Obamacare, I've never seen anything quite like this.
And Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas has been in market.
You were one of the pioneers. Yeah.
It was you guys.
Blue cross of Kansas City I think were the first carriers.
We were Actually in the market. Approved and up and running.
That's right. Yeah.
And a lot of people left in 2017 and 2018, but not to the degree that is happening
now or the rate increases that are happening. And we've stayed.
We’ve stayed the journey. Our focus is on serving Kansans.
And so we're going to be here to stay
even through all the turmoil we’ll do our best to educate our members.
Yeah.
You know, when you're 80 years plus,
I think people can realize the Blue Cross of Kansas isn't going anywhere.
Just so you understand.
All right.
So let's talk about four and five Kansans
in the past found plans for $10 a month or less.
Yeah. It and then that's going to change.
That is going to change okay. So let's just start with that one.
And what's going to happen to the subsidy levels and all the rest of it.
Yeah.
So you may or may not be aware there were increased subsidies
that passed with the American Rescue Act.
Up to 400%. Exactly. That exactly.
And so there wasn't really a big cliff.
You know, the last few years post-Covid,
however, those are set to expire at the end of this year.
And if they are not renewed by Congress, then that's when more and more
Kansas are going to be paying more and more.
Like you said, you know, $10 per month, it could jump to hundreds of dollars
per month.
Some estimates are it's going to increase by like approximately 70% nationwide.
So it's just going to be depending on what your income is and also what
subsidies you're eligible for.
And so it's going to go back, if Congress doesn't act, to the original subsidies
which are between is, you know, 100 and 250% of federal poverty level.
And so make sure you're checking to see if you're still eligible for subsidies,
because you may get a surprise bill if you if you're not aware of it.
So the other thing is self-affirmation.
People being able to self affirm.
And that was allowed. Yep. It’s not allowed now.
There's a lot of changes coming.
You're going to. Talk about some of that.
And there's court cases actually on a lot of this stuff.
So it's changing by the day you know.
We talked about that off camera before the show. Absolutely.
And so some of the things that you have to affirm
that you are making a certain amount, you're new going to have to provide
additional documentation. And so Tax returns.
Exactly.
You're going to provide concrete documents as to what your income is versus
saying I do make this amount.
And so there's a lot of changes coming.
Make sure you're up to date with them.
We're going to keep our members informed
because there's court cases now pending out there.
There's decisions being made.
So stay abreast of all the changes that are coming.
And once again, if
this concerns you, you can give them a call.
You can have a conversation just to understand
what's happening or where you're going to go.
All right.
And then you'll understand what your choices are.
If you're educated about what's going on, you can make a better decision.
You know, you can always call them at 866-906-5253.
Like Misty said, they're more than happy to talk to you
and just explain what's happening
because there are a massive number of changes coming in the marketplace.
So what do you think's going to happen now when we see that
coming in terms of the reduced subsidies,
the increased costs, all the rest of it, it looks to me like a lot of people
are going to start losing coverage. I think that's a good possibility.
We've estimated about 30% of Kansans, based upon the data,
are going to lose their health insurance coverage
because of the increased cost as well as potentially subsidies going away.
And so we are doing our best to keep our rates low,
and we're working on affordability.
That is a top pillar of our company
to make sure that we can have, you know, whether or not
you're eligible for subsidies or the cost sharing reductions.
We're actually prioritizing affordability.
We're working on various programs to make sure that we are,
trying to keep our costs and our rates low so that we can serve
more and more Kansans.
That's our ultimate goal, is to serve more and more Kansans.
And that's what you guys do really well because you're focused on Kansas.
You're not in and
serving all 103 counties that you serve.
And that's a significantly different, task
or goal rather than what we see from some of the national carriers.
You know, in the marketplace.
So talk a little bit about as far as, SEPs are concerned and qualifying events.
So we're going to go to break here in a few in about two minutes.
But let's do that first.
So you know it used to be you could be able to sign up for,
you know, a special enrollment period year round.
And that has changed.
And so we're now only going to be available
to have special enrollment periods for “qualifying life events”.
So an example of a qualifying life event would be a job loss.
We know a lot of people, especially in certain communities
there's layoffs occurring
and they're going to the marketplace, ACA going to healthcare.gov
or going to their local carrier's website and selecting a plan.
And they are now only going to be able to do that for a job loss or for,
the birth of a child or if they're moving into a different state.
And so that's going to be, a different thing.
You know, when ever you are able to do it much more broadly.
It's only going to be during those certain types of events.
And they're narrowing it.
And I'm going to guess, based on the fact that, you know,
the whole self-affirmation income thing and all the rest of its changed,
that you're going to have to be able to present documentation
or show 100%.
Yeah.
And so it's more important than ever to explore what your options are and
to get ahead of this before, you know, there's a lot of confusion
or you're trying to figure this out the week of Christmas to get covered
It's probably not a good time to be doing this.
No, no.
Yeah.
It's probably no,
not when you're trying to figure out how am I going to pay
for all the Christmas presents I bought. Okay.
And everything else is going on now I got to figure this out
probably a good idea to get in front of this a little bit. Yes.
You need to start looking ahead now, having conversations with, you know,
salesmen and your brokers, your customer service teams
to figure out what's happening because it is really important
for getting a handle on what this is going to cost. Yeah.
And this is going to this is going to hit a lot of Kansans.
And you just heard
Misty say they're anticipating 30% of the people being displaced in Kansas.
I've heard that over.
I've heard that from CEO of Blue Cross of Nebraska, Blue Cross of Kansas City.
And now you're sitting here listening to Misty,
who's the director for ACA and Medicaid, say exactly the same thing
regarding Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.
So there's a lot coming and a lot of changes coming.
We'll be right back after the break.
We're going to talk a little bit more about how some of this is going to work,
and we'll get in the weeds a little bit on some of the things that you need
to understand moving forward about cost benefits and all the rest of it.
And what are they offering at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas?
We'll be right back after the break.
You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Broadcasting
here on the HIA Radio Network coast to coast across USA.
Welcome back.
You're listening to America's
Healthcare Advocate show broadcasting coast to coast across USA.
My producers today, Mr.
Dave Thiessen, Gardner Cowdrey in studio with me, Misty Snodgrass.
She is the director of ACA and Medicaid.
You can obviously tell this lady knows what she's talking about.
All right.
And this is kind of like drinking from a firehose for a lot of you out there today.
But the idea here is to bring information to you
so you are prepared for what is about to happen.
Because I've said this, you know, on a couple of shows I've done up to now,
and I'm saying it again today, these changes are going to be massive,
and there's going to be a lot of panic in people about what do.
So the last thing you want to do as we've talked about is wait.
Which is why if you call that customer service number at 866-906-
5253, that's not a sales number.
Those people are there to help you try to understand what's in the marketplace.
They're not there to try to sell you something like some of these high pressure
sales outfits you see on television once again 866-906-5253 or BCBSKS.com.
All right.
So let's talk a little bit about some of the plan differences plan designs.
And then specifically zero in on these silver plans.
And what we're going to see with these CSRs.
Yeah.
So I think that's a great question because everybody's going to be shopping
and it can be really overwhelming.
I know whenever I've helped
a lot of friends that have what is what is the metal tier, what is
what is this MOOP, what is this deductible?
What are all these things meaning.
And so I think it's really important to educate everyone on the benefits
they're choosing.
Because you may go to the lowest price, but is it giving you the most value?
Is it going to be there when you need it?
Is it going to be there when you're sick?
Is it going to be there if you get a diagnosis?
And so I think it's really important.
One of the plans that we have is a high deductible plan.
We are the only one that we know of in market that has a high deductible plan.
So that gives members options for what to choose for them.
And these costs, CSRs, those cost savings reduction plans are able to help, offset
some of the costs associated with copays, co-insurance that might be able to,
be there, there in the market, in the silver plans.
And so they're able to help, individuals that have higher
specialist visits, be able to help offset those costs.
What do they have to do to get enrolled in a CSR type program?
So they're able to see if they're eligible.
So there is some income eligibility for a CSR.
So it's not available to everybody.
But they are able to see if they're at a certain
income level whether or not they're eligible for those CSRs.
That between the 100 and 250% income. Yep.
So basically if you're in that category this can make a big difference.
But if you're not in that category then you can't enroll in it.
That's right.
And about 93% of Kansans are in a 100 or 250% in the ACA market.
That's what it was last year.
So we're hoping that a lot of individuals be able to take advantage of them.
They just not may not be aware that they're available for them.
Those are not necessarily available form a lot of these other carriers,
including that high deductable plan that we're going to talk about here
in a second.
So again, that's another reason to reach out and get some information.
So let's talk about those high deductible plans.
Because as I said while we're on the break there, you know, if you've got a house
with four tricycle motors running around and, you know, like my daughter,
up in Washington State, and she's at the E.R.
or she's at the urgent care or at the primary care every week.
Yeah, it's a weekly class.
They're all under the age of eight. Yes.
Okay. They’re on a scooter probably.
Thank you. And so?
So what she needs is very different to when somebody who's 55 or 6o needs.
So talk about, where do those plans.
You said that earlier the plan
that's going to basically fit your need and fit your budgets.
Talk about where do you see those plans.
And how do they work and how does that help people in the marketplace?
Yeah, no, that's a great question, everybody.
That's the
important part about shopping is what does it mean to you and your family?
You know, we can talk about what every one of these metal tiers are.
So gold is great
for individuals with chronic conditions or families with ongoing needs,
or those that just want that comfort of I want to have a consistent premium.
I'm not going to have a lot of co-pays and co-insurance when I go to the doctor.
So it's just kind of a peace of mind.
Decision.
The silver plans are really available for those individuals that are doing cost
saving and, reductions or those individuals that are on those subsidies.
And so they're able to be kind of a more balanced between the gold and the bronze.
They're able to give you a little bit of more peace of mind,
but they're going to have a higher deductible
or they're going to have a higher maximum out-of-pocket.
And I think it's really important.
A lot of folks are like, what's the difference between a deductible
and what's the difference between a maximum out-of-pocket.
Deductible is whenever what you pay until the insurance kicks in,
and then the maximum out-of-pocket is what you would pay.
So if you have a $2,000 deductible, you're going to pay until that, $2,000 amount.
If you have a $10,000 maximum out-of-pocket,
you're only going to pay $10,000 for the entire year for your coverage.
And so it's really important to see how frequent of a user you are.
So if you're going to be a higher
utilizar of health care, you're going to have a chronic condition.
You might have cancer, you may have HIV.
Whatever your condition may be, you might be selecting a gold plan.
It’s going to provide you peace of mind and some consistency
that lower maximum out-of-pocket, that lower deductible.
Those silver plans are kind of those balance.
People that are healthy but may have some income restrictions.
And so those are really great to be a balanced option.
And then the bronze plans are available to be able to serve,
those that are kind of the healthy, those that are really,
I don't need a lot of anything. Exactly.
But I need to know if I wind up in the hospital.
I'm not going to have $150,000 bill.
Exactly.
You're kind of buying a piece of mind, essentially with a bronze plan.
So it's really great for healthy individuals.
And so our high deductibles, we have them in multiple metal tiers.
It's called our simple silver plan.
And individuals are able to see if they want to, select that high
deductible plan, you know, so that they're able to have
those services covered at a certain level,
but they want to have a lower, price point in their premiums.
So let's switch gears a little bit.
Let's talk about formulary because this gets missed.
I remember who we had Benefits by Design.
When people come in for those appointments.
“Please bring a list of your prescription drugs”.
And they'd be like, why?
Because we want to make sure they're covered.
Yes, well, I have.
I have prescription coverage.
You think you have prescription coverage.
You may if you're on Jardiance
and your formulary doesn't cover Jardiance you're paying for it.
Well, you know what that copay is?
I do because my wife's on it.
And before Medicare kicks in with the big deductible that's out there.
Now, I was paying $400 a pop.
Okay, that's what it costs. So talk.
Why is that important for people?
And they need to ask those questions.
Your formulary
is like one of those devil in the details, but no one goes to look at it.
So you can actually go on healthcare.gov,
or you can go on our website and find out,
what our formularies are and what's covered.
And so we're very transparent with that.
But there are different co-pays for different types of metal tiers
and different types of plans.
So if you're a chronic condition, you may have a 0 to
$10 copay, depending on or even $20 depending on it.
But the different tier levels are going to do that.
But just because it says the amount and the tier level
doesn't mean that it's going to be covered,
or there's not going to be a ton of steps to get there.
And so we really focus on trying to be,
more, probably more liberal with our formularies.
That's a typical, Blues way.
We usually cover more things in our competitors, just because
we also want to keep people healthy.
We know that,
you know, prescription drugs are by far the highest cost of our benefit.
But they are what also keep some people healthy.
And so we want people to take their medications
whether they have diabetes or hypertension,
because that ultimately keeps people out of the emergency room and the hospital.
So, our goal is to help improve outcomes,
but also help reduce the total cost of care.
But you need to check and see if your medications are covered.
You need to see if your PCP has covered your primary care because there are.
You know, you may think, oh, I'm going to go select this plan
because it's the most affordable, but your primary care
or the hospital of your choice may or may not be covered.
And so it's really important to look into that.
Well, and here's the thing okay.
We talked about some of the other carriers.
You're the only one that's offering 103 counties.
One of the biggest complaints that I hear, especially in Nebraska
and Kansas, some other places, is people go on these other plans
and they don't realize there's okay, I live out in Hays. Yep.
I've got to drive 45 minutes to get to the primary care doc
because it's not in Hays.
He’s someplace else or she's someplace else.
So you know that.
And because Kansas has so many rural markets.
Yes, this is.
Critical.
It's absolutely vital, especially in the far parts
of the southwest and northwest part of our state.
But, you know, there is limited access to care.
You want to make sure you have the provider of your choice
that you want to go to make sure that your plan is covering that provider.
And so it's really important to see who your primary care doctor is.
And another thing that we're different is we want you to go to your primary care.
We're not wanting you not to use your care.
We know how important primary care is in managing health conditions and,
you know, doing preventative screenings, referring you to mammograms, colonoscopy.
And so it's really important we encourage people to go get
their annual wellness visits, which not everybody does.
You know, they don't. Want you to not use their care.
We're looking I'm actually looking daily to see who's not using our care,
because we are trying to find ways to go get them engaged, because we know
ultimately our folks stay with us for a while.
Like you said,
they'll go try out a new plan, maybe a little more cheaper,
but they're going to realize there's
going to be a lot more headaches and a lot more pain with it.
And so they decided to come back to us and they're like,
you're kind of worry free for us, but you're a little bit more.
You might be a little bit more expensive,
but we're working to do that affordability.
We're hoping in the next couple years that we're going to not only be the
health care plan of choice, but we're the most affordable choice as well.
That's more of what you're mission is about.
It's not about the quarterly earnings report. No.
We have no shareholders.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's a little different approach.
It's a little different way of doing things.
If you want help.
And you know we keep urging you to keep this in mind.
You know, write the phone number down or, you know, look up
at their website BCBSKS.com
or give them a call at 866-906-5253.
866-906-5253.
When I come back from the break, we're going to switch gears now
and talk to all you small employers out there
about what you're going to expect to see on ACA
and what those plans are going to look like.
Stay right there. We'll be right back after the break.
You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate
Broadcasting here on the HIA Radio Network.
Coast to coast across the USA.
Stay there. We'll be right back.
Welcome back.
You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate show broadcasting coast to coast
across the USA here on the HIA radio network.
All our shows are posted on 16 podcast platforms and on our YouTube channel.
Got about half a million visits up there on that YouTube channel.
We're getting a lot of play.
And an awful lot of you are going to those podcasts.
So thank you so much for all of you that listen on all 240 stations
around the country, we appreciate all that too.
So let's change topics a little bit.
So the people that have been hit the hardest, are the small employers.
Let's talk about what's in store for them this year.
Yeah.
So we were actually able to hold our rates lower than our individuals.
So that's exciting for us. That's amazing, frankly.
So that's a big, so it's, you know, around a 7 to 9% depending on kind of the plan
that's a significant improvement with our small group.
That's been a priority for us.
We're working hard to make it even more affordable.
And I'll tell you a little story, Cary, my dad, has been a Blue
cross Blue Shield of Kansas policyholder.
He's had a small business his entire life.
And has been with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas for over 40 years.
And so it's a priority.
I know how hard it is for small business owners to me
to make that real expensive decision every month.
So everything that we're doing and every decision we're making is
how can we make it more affordable?
Because we want to be serving more and more small, small groups in our area.
And here's the thing.
In addition to the fact that
it's difficult for small employers, they have to deal with this.
And by the way, 7 to 9%,
that's the lowest increase I've heard in the country right now.
And I've my ears pretty close to the ground that a lot of the stuff,
the other carriers are nowhere around there.
So that's a big deal.
But the other thing is, in addition to the cost,
there's the issue of being able to hire good employees and the issue
being able to keep good employees.
If you can't give people the,
you know, the second question they ask is after what's my salary?
What are the benefits? Yep.
Okay.
Well, if you if you're going to hit people with 20 and 30% increases
or cost shifting, let's raise deductible.
Raise the co-pays.
Oh, and you're going to have to pay more than what you were paying
as an employee, because my contribution can't be as big.
That disrupts the whole workforce. Absolutely.
It's just an important benefit.
We all, are passionate about, having health insurance, being able
to cover it for our individuals, our employees and our families.
And so we're really, really focused on that.
It is a big, big bite out of every, employer's budget.
The number two cost. Yep. Absolutely.
Sometimes even number one, you know.
A hundred percent. Yes.
And so I every time we're making decisions, I think of my dad
and you know, every decision he had to make.
On whether or not, you know, can give your employees raises
because of whether or not costs are going up.
So we're doing our best to make sure that we are,
preventing those, you know, significant rate increases.
We also have other options for our members.
A lot of the products are very similar to our individual market.
So we have metal tiers.
We have a lot of our employers are in gold, as you can imagine.
They want to provide the most robust benefits, but that may not be what your
your employees may need.
Depending on the age of your workforce,
there's a lot of things that can factor in, so feel free to give us a call.
We're happy to help
walk you through that and find the plans that work best for you and
your employees.
Or use a broker if you're using a broker.
And a lot of small groups don't use brokers all the time.
But sometimes they do.
And if they're able to just call, you know, my dad has known,
his individual person that he's called to go get his quotes for 20, 30 years.
I mean, our individual
that our employees stay forever, you know, so they're very knowledgeable.
They have relationships, which is a big thing.
And they're working to fight hard to get hard to keep the lowest rates possible.
Yeah.
And something you guys do is that if you are a small group employer,
you can call and get direct help and directly enroll if you need to do that.
So that's great.
Talk a little bit about the level premium plans.
And then you know, how important is that moving forward for next year?
Yeah, we view our levels on it as an opportunity for employers
that want to manage their cost based upon their population
that they, their employees
that they have, you know, and so we, we have a lot of level funded plans.
They are very specific to the employer.
So it's hard to give a lot of details just because of the complexity.
We'll walk through what kind of history you guys have with your employees.
So it's different than choosing an ACA small group plan
where you're kind of a group rated.
That's kind of what a small group's your group if you have,
you know, kind of a younger workforce, it might work better for you.
But it may not depending on
the health care costs associated.
So it's really important to reach out and find out if that's the best for you
as an employer or your employees,
and we'll be able to help you, walk you through it, guide you.
And it's not
you know, our folks don't get paid more because they put you in one sort of plan.
It's really
the entire goal is to help you get covered and your members to be covered.
And if they need somebody to come out and literally help them explain to you,
I know you guys do it. Yeah.
You're not going to get a lot of they're not in a lot of the carriers to do that.
No, no ones going to your office.
I don't think there are any to be really honest with you. No.
So let's talk a little bit about that because here's the employer
trying to deal with what's going to happen next year with increases and changes.
And then typically in a small business, what
I always found when we were doing this was the husband didn't do that.
If the wife worked in the business, she was the one that handled it.
So yeah. My mom is that my mom is.
But she was there.
She helped with the accounting and stuff, so she was always looking at that.
And she's helping to look at what's best for the employees.
And so absolutely you can we will come to your office gladly.
And we will walk you through it.
We will also after
we don't just sit there
and sell the product to you or try to get you on a certain product,
we actually come back and have conversations.
What's working?
Here's what's going on.
Here's some things we want your folks to be going to make sure
they're getting their annual wellness visits.
Go, go encourage them to go get their annual wellness visits,
because that helps you as an employer keep costs down
well and also keeps your workforce healthy.
We want to help with productivity, keeping your workforce healthy.
And so it's really important, to ask those questions.
We will send people to your office,
no matter if you have five employees or 500 employees.
We really want to make sure that we're able to provide personalized,
service as well as details to help you answer your question.
They're very different approach.
Yes, extremely different approach typically, than what people see out there.
And a great way of doing business with what you guys do.
Thank you very much for joining us today.
I think we like I said, I'm sure everybody listening was like trying
to drink from a firehose on this thing, but it's critical that people understand.
So you're going to come back?
I will when we're going to go through the actual plans on the next show,
we're going to tell people, and here's why we're not doing it today.
This is changing week by week.
Not because of them, but because of what's going on on the regulatory side.
The legislative side, and all the rest of it.
So the great news here is, we'll have all that information.
You'll be back to do another show with me. I'd be happy to.
Yeah. Thank you so much for coming up today.
She is Misty Snodgrass, over at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.
You know, they have a very different way of doing business.
If you’re with one of those national carriers out there.
You might want to ask them when the last time was
they sent a rep out to your shop to talk to your folks. Okay.
Probably didn't happen. If I had to guess.
Their focus is on the people in this state, you heard them say that
you know
they're doing everything they can to hold cost down 7 to 9% on small group.
I, I haven't seen that number anywhere else period across the country.
So it's a very different way of doing business.
that is they like to say it's Kansans helping Kansans.
As I like to say they’re main street, they're not Wall Street.
So they're very different at what they do.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with this thought from Albert Einstein,
the one who follows the crowd, they usually get
no further than the crowd, the one who walks alone
is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.
Remember, friends, is a funny thing about life.
If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you most often get it.
Thank you for listening to America's Healthcare Advocate show, broadcasting
coast to coast across the USA, here on the HIA Radio Network.
Goodbye America.