Reno Chamber Association Plan
The Reno and Sparks Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with Prominence Health Plan to provide an association Reno health insurance plan to small businesses in Washoe County. This plan will be rolling out at the end of this year. Small groups can begin coverage for December 1st or January 1st. The plan will renew on January 1st, 2020. Small groups will now have another choice for the benefits that they can provide to their employees besides the traditional small employer plans that are dealt exclusively with the insurance company. The Reno Chamber Association Plan will include medical benefits as well as ancillary coverage like dental, vision, life and AD&D.
The Goal for this Program
The primary benefit this program could provide is a decrease in premium for health insurance small business plans. Traditionally, large groups have received lower rates for their benefits. This is because they are adding together more people into one risk pool and lowering the cost of claims for the insurance company. (For insurance, a large group is over 50 full-time employees) The association plan will mimic this risk pool by lumping together multiple small employers with the goal of lowering the cost to the insurance company and thus lowering premiums. Groups will also have access to solid benefits for these plans, such as copays after your deductible instead of coinsurance, a zero-dollar copay for Teledoc services, wellness programs, and access to the Prominence Health Plan network.
Medical Plan Options
The Reno Chamber Association Plan will have a total of six different plan designs. Groups will be able to choose up to three of these plans to offer to their employees. Of the six plans, three of them will be HMO plans and one will be a PPO. HMO plans require subscribers to see in-network doctors. Fortunately, Prominence does not require a referral from the Primary Care Physician to see a Specialist like most HMO insurance companies. Since HMOs have more restrictions than PPOs, the plans are usually less expensive. The other two options are high deductible health plans. These types of plans generally have lower premiums, but the policy does not pay until the deductible is satisfied. One high deductible plan will be an HMO and the other a PPO.
Requirements for Enrolling and Rates
Joining the association health plan will be more restrictive than starting a small group. The business must have its headquarters in Washoe County. It must be a member of the chamber of commerce to be eligible. Proof of membership will have to be provided at the time of enrollment. Similar to current small group requirements, the employer must also have a minimum of two full-time employees enrolling in the plan. Also, there cannot be more than 15% of employees working outside Nevada. The rates for the plans will be composite. For example, this means that the rates will be in categories such as employee only, employee and spouse, and employee with family. These composite rates will be determined by the group which means each group could potentially have a different rating scale. Prominence will determine the composition based on the ages of the individuals within the group.
Please call our office if you have any additional questions about the Reno Chamber Association Plan or insurance in general. Hometown Health will also be issuing their association group. BANN health insurance will be another alternative for small groups looking for insurance options. As new types of plans and benefits continue to pop up in the industry, it can very difficult to understand whether you are getting the best deal to meet your needs. Our office can provide group health insurance quotes for all major carriers. As your health insurance broker, we do not charge any fees and our clients pay the same amount for plans if they work through us or the go to the insurance company directly.
