In the latest endorsement of the fast-growing private exchange approach to health benefit offerings, Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies will launch an online portal for retirees to shop for different plans.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which represents Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans across the country said the “BCBS Marketplace” will offer Blue-branded Medicare supplement insurance known as Medigap, Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage to retirees in more than 45 states. Initially, 29 Blue Cross plans including
The marketplace will provide a “personalized shopping experience to help retirees purchase the Medicare coverage that best meets their needs,” Maureen Sullivan, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said.
The private exchange approach is catching fire in the world of health benefits administration as employers look for ways to control health care costs. Under the exchange approach, employees – or in this case retirees – are sent to the exchange to buy a plan on a private marketplace similar to
The approach gives employees more choice, which could help to control costs if they pick less expensive benefits and that’s how an employer or insurer offering coverage on an exchange benefits from, analysts say.
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The private exchange approach is similar to the government-run public exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. People tend to get more choices online than traditional benefits selection and make their choices examining doctor and hospital networks as well as costs of co-payments, deductibles and related cost-sharing.
There are already more than two dozen private exchanges run by various Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans across the country in local service areas, but none are national in scope. The association wouldn’t disclose a potential market of retirees that might purchase benefits on the exchange but industry analysts have predicted millions of American retirees are moving to online portals for health benefits.
Sullivan said the Blues market place will help employers help their retirees “transition from group health benefits to individual coverage starting Jan. 1, 2016.
“BCBS Marketplace strengthens employers’ commitment to their employees by facilitating a seamless transition to individual coverage when they retire,” Sullivan said. “We look forward to bringing this solution to the employer market this summer.”
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