Dear Trustees, |
I need to share an update on the Kaiser renewal with all of you. The renewal we shared with you in the renewal meeting and report, which showed a rate adjustment of -0.3%, was for the current plan of benefits. Unfortunately, Kaiser will no longer be offering that plan in 2018, and there is no flexibility on the issue. It will be replaced by the next closest plan. The good news is that the premiums are a bit lower – the rate action will now be -1.67%, which reduces overall projected 2018 expense by about $127K. Benefit levels are changing slightly with the new plan: |
*Copayment for outpatient services (including office visits) increase from $15 to $20
*Emergency room copayment increased from $100 to $150 (waived if the member is admitted)
There are no other changes on the plan (i.e. the rest of the benefits and underlying plan limits remain the same, no change in network/provider availability, etc.) While Kaiser informed us of this change in advance of our meeting with you, we neglected to update our report to reflect this. It was an oversight for which I take full responsibility. I missed catching the fact that we had not included this update in my final review of the materials. I apologize for not catching this. The final rate sheets, benefit grids, etc. that we are finalizing this week reflect the change appropriately.
Please let me know if you have questions or if you’d like to schedule a call to discuss.
Thanks, Sean
Sean White, Principal
MercerSeattle | 1301 Fifth Avenue Suite 1900, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
MercerBoise | 800 West Main Suite 1250, Boise, ID 83702, USA
P: +1 206 214 3705 (Seattle)| +1 208 338 6418 (Boise) sean.white@mercer.com
M: +1 206 234 5683
Assistant: Dee Thompson | +1 206 214 3708 | dee.thompson@mercer.com
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