Oscar | Oscar Health Goes Public
Oscar Health Corp., a health insurer, began selling stock to the public this morning through an initial public offering. Shares of the New York-based company’s stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol OSCR. Read more.
Highmark | ACA Individual Market Update
See Highmark updates including; COVID-19 Cost-Sharing Extension; Broker Sessions; In the News and more. Read more.
Highmark | Reminder Regarding Highmark’s Partnership with FormFire
In 2020 Highmark announced a partnership with FormFire for the purpose of collecting medical information for medical underwriting used for our Balanced Funded product and in Central PA middle market cases. FormFire allows eligible employees of prospective clients to complete a "health interview" on FormFire’s electronic platform. Read more.
UPMC Health Plan | Announces New Small Group Quoting System
EmployerPlace is the new technology for quoting 1-50 groups. This groundbreaking cloud based technology was developed for Producers, with input from Producers! Read more.
UPMC Health Plan | Sets Up Vaccine Registration for People in PA Phase 1A
Over the weekend, the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for a third COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Johnson & Johnson/Janssen. While the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two doses, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is currently a one-dose vaccine. We are excited by this news and are working with federal and state officials to coordinate the amount of this third vaccine that will be available to us. Read more.
White House Taps Insurers to Boost Vaccinations Among Vulnerable Communities
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new initiative with health insurers to ensure some of their most high-risk customers get vaccinated against Covid-19, as the White House tries to energize lagging efforts to distribute the shots equitably. Read more.
Impact of Key Provisions of the House COVID-19 Relief Proposal on Marketplace Premiums
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made premium tax credits available to people purchasing health coverage on the Marketplaces, but generally only when their incomes fall between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. These subsidies work by capping what an enrollee must spend on a silver benchmark plan premium at no more than a certain percentage of the enrollee’s household income. Read more.
PA DOH - Department of Health Press Release Listserv
Governor Tom Wolf today announced that he has nominated Dr. Denise A. Johnson, M.D., FACOG, FACHE, to serve as Pennsylvania’s physician general. Dr. Johnson will succeed Dr. Wendy Braund, who, in addition to her role as COVID-19 response director, served as interim physician general following the departure of Dr. Rachel Levine. Dr. Johnson will serve as acting physician general until she is confirmed by the Senate. Read more.
Latest Stimulus Bill Includes Health Care Premium Relief
As President Joe Biden’s pandemic relief package steams through Congress, Democrats have hitched a ride for a top health care priority: strengthening the Affordable Care Act with some of the most significant changes to insurance affordability in more than a decade. Read more.
Pennie: What Effective Date Will My Client Receive?
Check out this Special Election Period Quick Reference Chart. Read more.
Pennie News & Updates
Find out what's new with Pennie on our resources page, including downloads, links, and events. See more.
3/18 Changes & Opportunities for Families & Employers Within President Biden's COVID-19 Relief Package
Join Pennie and URL for a webinar on March 18th at 2pm EST to take a closer look at the changes and opportunities for individuals and employer groups associated with President Biden’s COVID-19 Relief Package.
We'll discuss:
- New Pennie COVID-19 open enrollment from February 15th to May 15th
- Increase in APTC (subsidies) based on the change in percentage of income considered
- New APTC benefits for those consumers on unemployment compensation in 2021
- COBRA subsidies vs. Pennie subsidies
Register Now.
3/19 Central Penn Business Group on Health | Virtual Networking Event
How will the COVID Vaccine be distributed locally? Have this question answered and more at the CPBGH Networking Event on Friday, March 19th. Register Now.
3/29 Life Lessons: Useful and Practical Sales Concepts with Industry Experts
The life insurance marketplace is forever evolving and reinventing itself. Join us for a webinar on the last Monday of every month at 10am EST to learn some "Life Lessons" with the industry expert. We will discuss sales and marketing concepts to help you grow your business while serving the people within your community. Register Now.
Highmark SEP Bonus
Check out this incentive program for new to Highmark ACA individual market enrollment with March – June effective dates. Payment will apply to total members, not contracts and will pay in July, 2021. There is no minimum requirement to be eligible and no cap to the incentive. Payout will apply to any SEP submitted with March – June effective dates. Read more.
Kansas City Life | Group Benefits Helping You Grow
There's a wonderful stroke of good luck in store for you again this year when you combine your hard work and loyalty with Kansas City Life Insurance Company's Group Benefits Bonus Incentive Program. Read more.
UPMC Health Plan | We Introduce “The Better Option” Producer Incentive for Individual Sales
UPMC Health Plan has two ways to help you earn incentives during Pennie’s COVID-19 special enrollment period (SEP). Enroll qualifying individuals between February 15 - May 15, 2021, with March - June 2021 effective dates, to qualify for the incentives below. Read more.
