Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) announced that premium rebate checks averaging $95 will be mailed out this month to approximately 148,000 members who purchased an individual policy from the company in 2018. About 29,000 Small Groups will also be getting rebate checks averaging $898 on their 2018 premiums. In total, Horizon BCBSNJ is rebating $40.5 million.
Each year, Horizon BCBSNJ projects premiums for the following year based on actuarial estimates of what the company expects to pay in claims for that premium year. Horizon BCBSNJ works with doctors, hospitals and pharmacies to control medical costs and maintain compliance with medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements established by State law. Those MLR standards ensure that health insurance companies spend at least 80% of premium dollars on claims. The rebate checks are triggered when actual costs fall below projected claim costs.
“Insurance premiums reflect the underlying cost of health care, so when we succeed in keeping costs under control, our members benefit not just through lower out-of-pocket costs, but through reduced premiums and rebates like this,” said Michael J. Considine, Vice President of Consumer, Small Group and Mid-Sized Markets for Horizon BCBSNJ. “Horizon collaborates with health care partners to ensure our members can access quality care at affordable costs with products like OMNIA Health plans, so we are pleased when these efforts help to enable us to send some of our members a rebate for 2018.”
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