Independence Blue Cross launches new competitive health care plan for small businesses
Blue Solutions® Choice offers predictable costs for employers, easy online shopping for employees
Philadelphia, PA — July 11, 2013 — Today, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) announces the availability of a new defined contribution health plan product designed to help small businesses control their health care budgets while giving their employees a greater variety of health plan options and an easy-to-use online shopping experience. Blue Solutions Choice, the latest addition to IBC’s existing Blue Solutions® product line, is available for businesses with two to 99 employees.
“For 75 years, IBC has been at the forefront of quality health care, and with Blue Solutions Choice we continue to change the game by helping employers take the guesswork out of the costs associated with providing comprehensive health care options for their employees,” said Brett Mayfield, IBC vice president of sales. “The consumer-friendly Blue Solutions Choice also provides employees with a variety of coverage types to fit their unique needs, as well as a straightforward online shopping experience.”
How Blue Solutions Choice works
There are three main components of Blue Solutions Choice that make it different from traditional employer-sponsored health plans:
- Defined contribution amount. The employer determines the amount it wants to contribute toward each employee’s benefits.
- Multiple plan options. The employer selects multiple health plans from a portfolio of 27 Blue Solutions Choice plans. Choices include copay, deductible, health reimbursement account (HRA) compatible, and health savings account (HSA)-qualified products.
- Easy-to-use online shopping tool. Each employee logs in to a customized, secure, user-friendly website and chooses the health plan that best suits his or her needs. The convenient online shopping experience is similar to an online retail or travel site.
“By launching this new product, Independence Blue Cross shows once again that it is a leader in offering innovative solutions for small businesses,” said Shawn Orenstein, president at Kistler Tiffany Benefits. “Blue Solutions Choice has the ability to meet the growing needs of both employers and their employees – and it comes from the trusted Blue brand. Employers can better predict their health care cost and employees have the benefit of more choices.”
Like other Blue Solutions plans, the new Blue Solutions Choice plans will automatically include drug benefits through FutureScripts® and vision coverage through Davis Vision, both independent companies. For groups with 51 to 99 employees, the option to include these ancillary benefits is up to the employer. If the employer chooses to add vision or prescription drug coverage to any medical plan, any employee who chooses that medical plan will also receive the corresponding vision and prescription drug coverage. Dental and life and disability plans are also available to small businesses of any size.
About Independence Blue Cross
Proudly celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2013, Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania serving more than seven million people nationwide, including 2.2 million in the region. We are enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more about how we’re changing the game, visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Media contact:
Kathleen Conlon
215-241-4576
267-319-2399 (cell)
Kathleen.Conlon@ibx.com
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