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CCH® BENEFITS — 6/5/08

Health Care Plans Pledge To Make Health Care Costs More Transparent

From Spencer's Benefits Reports: The 17 members of the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans have pledged to make their health care costs more transparent.

Each of the association-member health care plans signed a pledge to begin providing, by Sept. 1, 2008, estimates of out-of-pocket costs to enrollees who request them before receiving services. Also by September 1, each plan will inform its enrollees that the out-of-pocket cost estimates are available.

“The rising cost of health care services is pushing health insurance premiums higher and taking more money out of consumers’ pockets,” said Steve Youso, chief administrative officer of Security Health Plan and president of the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans Board. “The cost information we can provide will give consumers a better position from which to evaluate health care options and make more fully informed decisions.”

Current Wisconsin regulations require health care plans to provide, upon request, descriptions of their coverage terms and estimates of allowable charges for a specific service from a specific provider. The association’s transparency initiative goes beyond current requirements to give health plan enrollees estimates of what they will be required to pay out of their own pockets.

The pledge applies to all of the commercial enrollment of the plans.

The following association members have signed the transparency pledge:

For more information, visit http://www.wihealthplans.org/.

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.

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