We are very excited about Kaiser’s new group PPO plan, and if you own a small business, you should be as well. We firmly believe this is going to be the best small group health insurance plan for 2019 and beyond (we will talk about why this is so important later). We do not work for Kaiser Permanente. We are independent advisors and we offer plans with all the major health insurance carries. It is our job to help you decide what the best plan is for your company.
Health Insurance for your employees is not just another box to check. Investing in the health of your employees is a direct investment in the future of your business.
Let’s go over the reasons we believe Kaiser will be the best group health insurance option for 2019 and beyond:
1. Kaiser Permanente provides the highest quality of care for your employees.
From state-of-the-art facilities to top ranked doctors, Kaiser is truly committed to taking care of their patients. They are also fully embracing today’s technology with an amazing app, free Teledoc, 24/7 care team email access, nurse hotlines and a fully integrated care system that has won awards nationwide. Everything is connected at Kaiser and this system translates to a smoother, faster, more accurate, more affordable and more personalized healthcare experience.
Every year, the NCQA rates more than 1000 health plans on a scale of 0-5. Only 15 plans in the entire country got a score of 5. Of those 15 health plans, six are Kaiser health plans. Every health plan that Kaiser has scored a 4 or higher. In another study, Kaiser led the nation as the top preformer in 20 effectiveness-of-care measures – the most of any health plan. The closest competitor led in only five. Kaiser has been ranked as the top-rated private health plan in Georgia for 13 years in a row by NCQA.
For 8 consecutive years, J.D. Powers has ranked Kaiser Permanente of Georgia as number 1 in the South Atlantic Region in their health plan study.
2. Kaiser is committed to health insurance in Georgia.
And their commitment is a major win for small businesses in Georgia. In recent years we have had to deal with insurance carries jumping in and out of the Georgia market. Not only is Kaiser here to stay, they are going to be here in a big way. Here is how:
They are investing 1 Billion dollars in Georgia. That is a large amount of money. We don’t know which carriers will be in Georgia over the next 10 years. But we do know that Kaiser will be here. We are going to see seven new, large Kaiser facilities being built, more doctors hired, and more services being offered. Kaiser is good right now, but it is only going to get better. Business that get their employees integrated into Kaisers system now, will stand to save a lot of money over the next 10 years while still providing their employees with the best healthcare available in the state of Georgia.
They have committed to not raising group health insurance renewal rates more than 4-6% over the next 5 years…and 2019’s renewal rates are going to be in the 3% range. If you know anything about health insurance over the past few years, you know that these are great renewal rates!
They have a goal of being 20% cheaper than any group health competitor by the end of 10 years. Kaiser is building out their system to be as cost effective as possible. This means that they are going to get more efficient and cost effective over time. Not only will they provide the best coverage, they are going to do it for the least amount of money. They are able to do this because they are a non-profit and due to their integrated health model.
3. Kaiser is partnering with Emory Hospitals.
With this addition, the Kaiser hospital network is going to be top-notch. Emory will be adopting Kaisers integrated health system and will be working towards becoming 7-day hospital facilities. This will be a huge boost to their quality of care. This is a long-term, 20 year partnership and not one that will be haggled over and in question every year. Both Kaiser and Emory are committed to providing healthcare in Georgia that will be a standard of excellence across the nation.
4. Kaiser’s new Duel Choice PPO is a best-of-both-worlds solution for you and your employees.
The pricing is good. The network is great. The plans are simple. On these plans you can use either Kaiser doctors or the expansive, nationwide PHCS network. The plan rewards you with slightly cheaper copays and urgent care prices if you use the Kaiser network but otherwise the coverage for both networks is the same. This is the only PPO plan available that offers you access to an integrated health system like Kaiser as well as an expansive PPO network.
5. Kaiser’s offers the best HMO options in Georgia at the best prices.
The benefit of going with Kaiser is the ability to offer a great PPO and an amazing HMO offering to your employees. The HMO will save your company and employees money while still giving them access to world class Kaiser care and facility. Once your employees get integrated in the Kaiser network they will not want to leave. The cost savings over time can be large for both you and your employees.
6. Kaiser is a non-profit. Non-profits work for the public good.
Kaiser is not accountable to shareholders who are only interested in turning a profit. Kaiser has been investing in the communities it serves since the very beginning. And since they are a non-profit, they have the ability to act as they see fit to take care of their patients. Even if it means flying families across the county for free to state of the art facilities to get the care they need. Read more here https://kaiserpermanentecarestories.org/.
In 2016 Kaiser invested over 48.2 million in Georgia community projects. 3% of their annual revenue in Georgia is invested in community organizations and projects and over 1.6 million Georgians have been impacted by these contributions.
7. Kaiser small group plans are fully-insured.
That means no underwriting for any employee, everyone is accepted. Fully insured plans offer stability and do not have the potential legal headaches that level funded plans can offer.
Again, we do not work for Kaiser and they did not pay us to say these things about them. We have proven over the years that we are an advocate for our customers first, not any one insurance company. We always strive to give our customers the truth and to help guide them to make the best decision for their health insurance needs. When we say that Kaiser Group Plans are the best option in Georgia for 2019+, it is because that is what we believe. The reason we are one of the top-rated health insurance agencies in Georgia is because we always put our customer first.
