Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Welcomes More Than 40,000 Previously Uninsured To OMNIA
Newark, NJ (PRWEB) March 10, 2016 -- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) today announced that an estimated 41,258 of their new enrollees in the individual market were previously uninsured who chose OMNIA for their health insurance coverage. A total of 188,995 individuals, including 95,948 new Horizon members, selected during the 2016 open enrollment period one of the five new OMNIA Health Plans that offer significantly lower premiums, access to the largest network in New Jersey, and the option to save more money on out-of-pocket costs when seeking care at certain doctors and hospitals.
“Helping people move from the uninsured rolls and connecting them to affordable high quality health coverage that makes wellness a priority is the first step toward a healthier life and a healthier New Jersey,” said Robert A. Marino, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon BCBSNJ. “Affordability has been a barrier for some uninsured individuals and too often lower-priced policies required consumers to trade cost for quality. OMNIA premiums, on average, cost 15% less than our non-tiered plans and unlike high-deductible policies, don’t require members to incur large out-of-pocket expenses before the insurer pays claims. OMNIA is focused on keeping people healthy, not just treating them when they become sick.”
Of the previously uninsured New Jerseyans who are now covered by OMNIA, 15% are Hispanic, 13% are African American, and 13% are Asian. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported in 2014 that 25% of New Jersey’s Hispanic residents were uninsured and Horizon has made it a priority to enroll Hispanic New Jerseyans. Efforts included partnerships with Hola Doctor Insurance Services in Jersey City, The Hispanic Statewide Chamber of Commerce, and Save Latin America. Horizon also created the “Brunches with Benefits” program to present health insurance information in an informal setting to Hispanic communities in Hudson County and around the state.
More than three-quarters of the individuals choosing OMNIA selected a Silver or higher metallic level plan. Those plans, along with being lower priced, all feature no deductible, no coinsurance, and co-pays of $50 or less when seeking care from a Tier 1 provider. More than 60% of physicans in Horizon’s network, the largest in New Jersey, are in Tier 1 while 34 of 61 in-network hospitals are Tier 1. The average distance for a member to a primary care physician in New Jersey is 1.2 miles. The average distance to a Tier 1 hospital is less than 7 miles.
In addition to those enrolled through the individual market, OMNIA has become the choice of 45,240 members enrolled through a group plan including 28,798 in the small group (50 employees or less) and midsize (51-499 employees) groups. Also, large groups, Taft-Hartley Funds and school boards and local municipalities are enrolling. New Jersey employers continue to identify the high cost of medical care for employees as a major problem and the small and midsize employers have routinely faced double digit increases in the costs of providing healthcare coverage over the past decade.
About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at http://www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members.
Thomas Vincz, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, +1 (973) 466-6625, [email protected]
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