Soon, we’ll send our annual renewal and discontinuation letters to small group, individual and family, and Medicare members. The small group letters will include additional information we haven’t included in the past, while letters for individual and family and Medicare plan members will follow last year’s format. Read on for details.
Small Group
Starting October 1, small groups that are up for coverage renewal in 2020 will receive an annual renewal letter that includes an estimated monthly premium and a suggested plan based on their current plan offering. These letters are a requirement for all carriers who offer small group plans in Washington state.
Small groups in San Juan County will also receive a separate letter detailing our 2020 network changes. They will be encouraged to reach out to you or another carrier to discuss their coverage options.
Need help?
If you have questions or need further assistance, please contact a small group team member at 1-800-542-6312, option 3, or email smallbusinessgroup@kp.org.
Individual and Family
Individual and Family plan subscribers will get a customized Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) prescribed letter and cover flyer with information about their plan’s renewal or changes. Subscribers in San Juan County will receive an additional letter detailing our withdrawal from that market.
For members whose plans are being discontinued due to our withdrawal from San Juan County, notification must be postmarked by October 1, 2019. For members whose plans are renewing, notification must be postmarked by November 1, 2019.
Notification letters
These letters are templates provided by the OIC and include:
- Projected 2020 monthly premium rates, which incorporate annual age-band changes
- For on-exchange plans, the premium rate doesn’t take into consideration tax-subsidies and/or cost-savings reductions a member may be eligible for. This information will be provided by the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.
- A benefit and cost-share comparison between 2019 and 2020
- Information about changing plans, including required references to the OIC and Washington Healthplanfinder websites
- San Juan County withdrawal notice
- Off-exchange plan renewal notice
- Member aging off catastrophic plan notice
- On-exchange plan renewal notice
- Cost-share changes and plan mapping
Flyers
These include additional information about:
- Off-exchange enrollees:
- Do not need to take action if they wish to keep their plan
- Exchange enrollees:
- May or may not be auto-enrolled in coverage next year. Starting in November, they should watch for a letter or email from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. It will let them know if they need to take action for 2020.
- May need to update their dashboard on Washington Healthplanfinder to determine if they’re still eligible for the same plan.
- Changing plans and how to learn about other options
- Off-exchange plan renewal flyer
- On-exchange plan renewal flyer
2020 rate adjustment
- The OIC-approved average rate decrease is -4.3%.
- Actual rate adjustments vary by plan, rating region, and any age band rate change that may occur as of January 1, 2020, or member’s age if they enroll anytime between February and December 2020.
- The premium indicated in the OIC prescribed renewal letter does not include:
- Tax credit subsidies that exchange enrollees may be eligible for.
- Dental premiums for those off-exchange clients who have enrolled in an optional dental plan for 2019. Dental coverage will roll over into 2020 unless the subscriber makes a change.
Additional plan and enrollment information
- For 2020 open enrollment, please use our online enrollment system to enroll your clients.
- Details about our 2020 individual and family plans will be available prior to November 1, 2019, at kp.org/wa/producer-kpif. Individual and family sales kits will start mailing the week of October 14, 2019.
- If you’re interested in selling our exchange-only individual and family plans, find Washington Healthplanfinder training dates and register for a session.
- Individual and family plan dental coverage will automatically renew. No action is needed unless members want to change or cancel their current dental plan.
Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage clients will receive their Annual Notice of Change and Evidence of Coverage by September 30. Our Medicare-certified agents will receive an email notification the week of September 23 with links to these documents for viewing prior to October 1.
After October 1, 2019, you can view 2020 Medicare Advantage plan documents at kp.org/wa/eocs.
Need help?
We’re happy to assist you during this renewal and upcoming open enrollment period. For individual and family plans, please contact us at 1-800-474-1079 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email ifsales@kp.org. For Medicare plan, certification, or 2020 ANOC questions, contact our Medicare sales and service consultants at 1-800-581-8252 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email kpwa.medicare@kp.org.