Transparency in Coverage

Dear HABP Customer – 
Under the new “Transparency in Coverage” final rule, effective 7/1/22, health insurance issuers, including HEALTHAlliance, are now required to publicly post pricing data.

To comply with this new rule, you can now find HABP’s pricing data here on our website.

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https://web.healthsparq.com/app/public/#/one/insurerCode=WMRK_I&brandCode=WELLMARK&productCode=MRF/machine-readable-transparency-in-coverage?searchTerm=426167033&lock=True

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If you have any employees that have questions or ask where to find this information, please direct them here.

The information within the link will be updated by Wellmark monthly. 

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Background 
Under the “Transparency in Coverage” Final Rule (TiC), issued in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Department of the Treasury, effective 7/1/22, non-Grandfathered health plans (which include employers who sponsor employee benefit plans) and health insurance issuers must publicly post pricing data known as the “machine-readable files” or (“MRFs”). The point of the release of these cost data files has nothing to do with communication to employees or plan participants, but instead, in the name of health cost transparency.

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Our Responsibility 
Self-Insured Plans: Employers sponsoring self-insured medical plans should be prepared to post a link on their own company public-facing website to ensure the file is publicly available, rather than on an internal site or benefits portal where it is available solely to the employees or plan participants. There is not any formal guidance on how or where exactly the link should be displayed on the website. The link does not need to be front and center, but we do not recommend intentionally making it hard to find either.

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What HABP is Doing 
Per guidance and clarification from our legal team we have been advised that this link can and will be posted on the HABP Site for all employers within the MEWA. Thus, removing the responsibility for all employers within the MEWA to have to post the same link on their own public website. The link to the HABP site where this information can be found will be posted below. We recommend you save this link in your favorites. 

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We do recommend that you continue to direct employees that have questions or concerns on finding the best cost for upcoming services back to Wellmark’s site (www.mywellmark.com).

 

The format of the files on the link will be in a format this is harder to read and search, this format cannot be changed or altered. The tools on Wellmark’s site are easier to navigate and customer friendly as well as not providing the customers actual out of pocket maximums. 

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If you have further questions or would like more detailed information about the MRF’s please reach out to Jami Klootwyk or Mary Johnson with Assured Partners.