Health Plan Weekly
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MCO Stock Performance, October 2022
Here’s how major health insurers’ stock performed in October 2022. UnitedHealth Group had the highest closing stock price among major commercial insurers as of October 31, 2022, at $555.15. Humana Inc. had the highest closing stock price among major Medicare insurers at $558.08.
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News Briefs: Many Medicaid MCOS Have Health Equity Strategies
More than half of Medicaid managed care organizations have health equity strategies for some of their members, while four in 10 have health equity plans for their entire membership, according to a survey from the Institute for Medicaid Innovation (IMI). The survey found that 48% of MCOs have pursued health equity accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), with 33% “planning to pursue” the accreditation. And 14% have no plans to do so, while 5% didn’t respond. Meanwhile, 86% of MCOs have “programs/policies for health plan internal staff” that are meant to address structural racism or promote racial equity, and 48% have policies for members that do the same. Outside of racial equity concerns, other notable findings from the survey include widespread problems with care coordination and telehealth delivery: 71% of responding MCOs said “access to information from previous providers [is] a key barrier to care coordination,” while 67% said “their information technology systems were a barrier to setting up effective telehealth delivery services.”
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House Committee Calls Out Birth Control Coverage Barriers; Insurers Hit Back
In late October, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform published a report that takes aim at managed care companies’ coverage of birth control products. Health policy experts say that while enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate has always been challenging, the new report comes as the Biden administration signals it is getting increasingly serious about cracking down on noncompliance. The insurers/PBMs mentioned in the report and the industry's main trade group, meanwhile, contend that they are in fact providing adequate coverage of contraceptives.
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Employer Plan Premiums Hold Steady in 2022, but Experts Predict Higher Costs, Narrower Networks in 2023
The average premium for an average employer-sponsored plan didn't go up much in 2022, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual survey of plan sponsors. Managed care insiders tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT, that even though prices are nearly certain to go up for plan sponsors in 2023, the era of cost-shifting to employees may be drawing to a close as firms struggle to retain low-wage workers who are feeling the pressure of inflation.
KFF found that the average annual premium for employer-sponsored health coverage is $7,911 for single coverage and $22,463 for family coverage this year, which are “similar to the average premiums in 2021.” While those costs remained stable between 2021 and 2022, the average premium for family coverage has increased 20% over the last five years and 43% over the last 10 years. The survey also found that premiums for workers at small and large firms are similar (KFF defines large firms as having a workforce of at least 200 people).
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Employer Plans in 2022: Premium Growth Remains Steady, Mental Health Concerns Employers
The average annual premium for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2022 was $7,911 for single coverage and $22,463 for family coverage, similar to the average premiums last year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation 2022 Employer Health Benefits Survey. On average, employees contributed 17% toward single coverage premiums and 28% toward family coverage premiums. Among employees at small firms, 33% of them chose a plan where the employer paid the entire premium for single coverage, compared with only 6% at large firms. Meanwhile, 31% of small firm workers were in a plan that required them to contribute more than half of the premium for family coverage.
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