At least two commercial carriers have applied to sell health insurance on Tennessee’s new federally run insurance exchange, including the state’s largest carrier, BlueCross BlueShield.
The deadline to submit plans to be offered on federally run exchanges was Friday. In addition to BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna has submitted plans for the Tennessee federally run exchange. Tennessee is one of five exchanges Cigna has chosen to participate in, four of which are federally run.
Details on the plans being offered on the exchanges, including affordability, aren’t yet known, but John Maki, vice president of regional sales at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, said the company is looking at offering traditional PPO plans, HSA-compatible plans and several other “unique plan designs.”
“We talked with people across the state to learn what they wanted most from their health plan. As a result, we developed a variety of product offerings that aim to help Tennesseans control their health care costs while gaining the most benefit from their health plans,” he wrote in an email.
In select markets, BlueCross BlueShield is offering a new narrow network, called E Network, which is specific to the health insurance exchanges. In Chattanooga, Erlanger has been selected as the exclusive hospital system in the new network, but no definitive plans have been announced yet for Nashville.
“This E Network will be specific to different regions rather than statewide, and price points will vary by location,” wrote Maki. “We’re still in negotiations in these marketplaces but we hope to release more details soon.”
Ray Smithberger, chief operating officer of Cigna’s U.S. individual and family plans who has helped oversee the company’s insurance exchange planning, said the company expects to hear back this summer from the federal government on any modifications it must make to the plans. Then, it will begin testing its technology solutions to make sure enrollment can happen beginning Oct. 1.
Making sure the IT systems that will transfer consumer data between carriers, state agencies and federal agencies are running smoothly in time for enrollment has been cited as the largest roadblock facing the public exchanges, a signature element of health care reform.
“We’ve spent the past two years preparing for connectivity through the exchanges,” said Smithberger. The company is basing its exchange IT platform off of the existing platform that individuals use to buy Cigna insurance today through its website.
Date: May 8, 2013