Individual Market News
Published September 16, 2021
The Alaska Division of Insurance (DOI) recently approved our 2022 rate and product filing. Here's an overview of the Premera individual and family plans for next year.
Plans
Renewing plans: We're renewing all our metallic plans, both on and off the exchange. This means your clients on our Preferred individual plans can keep their plan in 2022.
New plans: We're adding two new on-exchange plans in 2022, Alaska One Gold and Alaska One Bronze. These plans include the same benefits as our Preferred plans, except one: Alaska One plans do not cover elective abortion. The monthly rate for these new plans are about a dollar less, on average.
Discontinued plans: We're discontinuing all of our grandfathered and grandmothered individual plans in 2022. This means your clients on these plans must take action to enroll on a new plan for January 1, 2021. We're here to support members through this transition—find out what we're doing and how you can help.
What you can do: Be ready to answer client questions about 2022 plans once annual notices are mailed. Discontinuation notices are typically mailed in late September, and renewal notices in mid to late October.
Network
Your clients will once again have access to the Legacy and Dental Select network for medical and dental services. All plans continue to provide medical transportation benefits to in-network providers in the Seattle, WA, area. Your clients should refer
to their benefit booklet for more details.
What you can do: Remind your clients to take advantage of the extensive Premera network by selecting a PCP in their online account. Plus, having an assigned PCP can increase retention among your clients!
Rates
Our 2022 rates have been approved by the DOI. On average, monthly rates for Alaska individual plans will increase by 4.4% starting January 1, 2022.
Factors contributing to the rate request include a continued rise in healthcare costs, and an anticipated increase in claims in 2022 as members receive services they deferred during the pandemic.
What you can do: Help your clients manage the total cost of their healthcare by recommending the following 5 actions.
- Take advantage of expanded subsidies under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) credits. Encourage your new clients to see what tax credits they qualify for on HealthCare.gov, and remind your current on-exchange clients to update their application on HealthCare.gov if they didn't do so earlier this year.
- See a provider in their plan's network. With very few exceptions, members incur the lowest out-of-pocket costs when they see a doctor in the Legacy and Dental Select network.
- Understand their plan's benefits. Members can access their plan documents in their online account to find out what's covered, what's not, and which cost shares apply to each service.
- Compare costs before receiving care. Members can get a cost estimate by using the Find Care tool in their online account. This is only an estimate; actual costs are determined when the claim is processed.
- Plan ahead to get the right level of care. Members can use the Find Care tool in their online account to find in-network primary care providers and urgent care clinics, so they know where to go when they need care. Getting the right level of care for non-emergent services helps keep costs down for everyone.
Commission
Commission will continue at the current level in 2022.
Next steps
We'll be in touch with more open enrollment news and resources over the next few months. Additionally, our producer support team will be reaching out to help you prepare to hit the ground running for open enrollment!