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The Oxlo Individual and Small Group Health Insurance and Exchange Integration Solutions Blog

San Francisco Actual Health Insurance Rate Changes for 2011

Posted by Andrew Day on Tue, Nov 15, 2011 @ 02:00 PM

Business Intelligence Software Gives Insurance Companies Visibility Into the San Francisco Market

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Business intelligence software for insurance companies automates the gathering large quantities of data.  The data can be quickly turned into information that would be useful to everyone from intelligence teams through executives.

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Tags: Health Insurance, insurance rate changes, California, San Francisco

Denver Health Insurance Rate Changes in 2011

Posted by Andrew Day on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 @ 03:02 PM

Business Intelligence Software Gives Insurance Companies Visibility Into the Denver Market

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Tags: Health Insurance, insurance rate changes, Colorado, Denver

Software Shows the Actual Health Insurance Rate Changes in Hollywood

Posted by Andrew Day on Thu, Nov 10, 2011 @ 10:18 AM

Business Intelligence Software Gives Insurance Companies Visibility Into the Hollywood Market

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Tags: Health Insurance, Software for Insurance Companies, Business Intelligence, California

The Straight Forward Definition of Health Insurance

Posted by Andrew Day on Mon, Oct 24, 2011 @ 02:19 PM

Understanding What Health Insurance Actually Is

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Tags: Health Insurance

The Simple Truth About Health Insurance Plan Rates

Posted by Andrew Day on Mon, Oct 17, 2011 @ 11:36 AM

Health Insurance Plan Rates Simple Truths

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Tags: Health Insurance

Top Influencing Factors on Health Insurance Rates

Posted by Andrew Day on Tue, Oct 11, 2011 @ 03:36 PM

Factors That Influence Health Insurance Rates

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There are many opinions about why health insurance rates are increasing. Seldom do you hear that insurance costs are directly related to the cost of care, but it is absolutely true. To look at the cost of insurance, we need to consider what factors into the cost of care.

The following are the major factors influencing the cost of health care and are paid for by the party who gains the most benefit, the patient:

    • Cost of medication and equipment used
      • Development
      • Approval
      • Manufacturing
      • Shipping
    • Cost of medical personnel as it relates to the importance and gravity of performing flawlessly in their profession.

Most often these factors are paid through an insurance company or government entity (Medicare/Medicaid). Both of which are programs designed to decrease the volatility of the costs. If the cost of care increases, the cost of insurance or any other medical program must increase.

Understanding the underlying factors of what determines the cost of insurance is the first step to making the overarching healthcare system more efficient and less costly. Placing blame squarely on insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid as the reason for raising health insurance rates is simply not going to fix the problem.

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Tags: Health Insurance

Normalize The Health Insurance Plan Data of Your Competitors

Posted by Andrew Day on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 @ 05:28 PM

Normalizing Health Insurance Plan Data

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Insurance companies post their health insurance plan data online in order to make the buying experience simpler for their customers.  Allowing the customer to easily navigate a website and find a plan that best suits their needs has become a necessity in the individual health insurance market.

However, insurers often use differing terminology to define similar coverage. This makes apples to apples comparisons difficult. 

If the data is normalized through the application of business rules, plans can be placed side by side for straightforward and meaningful comparisons. 

Rate Convert all Rates to a Monthly Rate
Deductible Fairly Standard
Is it an HSA? Simple Yes or No
Coinsurance Change all percentages to what is covered by the company
Out of Pocket Limit Display Out of Pocket Limit and what it would be if deductible is added (unless deductible is included)
Office Visit Cost Change all percentages to what is covered by the company
Maternity Coverage Change all percentages to what is covered by the company
Lifetime Max Convert values to use the same terminology and format
Prescriptions  
     Tiers How Generic Brand, Brand Name, Non-Formulary, and Specialty drugs are covered.  Separated, and with the same verbiage
     Annual Max Convert values to use the same terminology and format
     Deductible Fairly Standard
     Category Either Comprehensive, Generic/Limited Brands, or Not Covered

Better yet, use a data service that provides good clean normalized individual health insurance plan data out of the box and forget about the heavy lifting.

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Tags: Health Insurance

3 Things to Pay Attention to When Comparing Health Insurance Plans

Posted by Andrew Day on Thu, Sep 15, 2011 @ 01:54 PM

3 Things to Pay Attention to When Comparing Health Insurance Plans

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Tags: Health Insurance

Easily Master the Art of Comparing Health Insurance Competitors

Posted by Andrew Day on Mon, Sep 12, 2011 @ 05:44 PM

Easily Master the Art of Comparing Health Insurance Competitors

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Tags: Health Insurance

Health Insurance Market Analysis: Reality Vs. Rhetoric

Posted by Andrew Day on Mon, Aug 29, 2011 @ 10:45 AM

Health Insurance Market Analysis: Separating Reality From Rhetoric

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Health insurance has been a hot topic over the past couple of years. Many opinions have been made about what should be done to reduce the cost of care and insurance alike. But how much do we actually know to be fact?

Conducting a Health Insurance Market Analysis on the industry allows you to look past the rhetoric and find out what is actually driving the cost of services. As the winds of the market shift, how are companies reacting? Is their reaction appropriate? Tracking the data of health insurance companies opens a window into what is driving costs. This knowledge can be obtained by monitoring information like:

    • Rates
    • Deductibles
    • Premiums
    • Regions in which a company operates

Observing how those items have changed in conjunction with the changes in the market provides all the insight necessary to determine the reality of what is happening. Rather than speculating based upon theories, using facts to back up your points places you in a more powerful position.

Focusing on pricing and benefit details of insurers will not tell you everything that is driving costs, but it will certainly give you a better idea of what health insurance companies are doing.

We hear far too many talking points about health insurance and not enough facts. Whether you are a consumer or a company, it is important to differentiate between what is being said and what is being done.

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Tags: Health Insurance