Rhode Island Business Group on Health: Home Page

September 3, 2010

RIBGH Meetings & Events

• September 16, 2010
RIBGH Annual Summit

• December 16, 2010
General Membership Meeting

Other Events of Interest

RI HPCareerNet FREE State of Wellness Worksite Wellness Webinar Series
• September 16 , 2010
• October 21, 2010
• November 18, 2010
• December 2, 2010
View webinars and register!

Breaking News

• August 23, 2010 Five Questions With: J. Michael Vittoria; read PBN article.

•  August 13, 2010 Pre-Existing Health Insurance Plan for Rhode Island The Federal Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA) funded this plan for those who need comprehensive health benefits to uninsured Rhode Islanders with pre-existing medical conditions.; read article.

•  August 16, 2010 Enrollment begins for R.I. high-risk pool; read article.

•  August 16, 2010 OHIC awarded $1-million grant to assist state's oversight of insurance rate-hike requests ; read article.

•  August 2010 Several RIBGH Members Participating in Health Reform Implementation Task Force, read more.

•  July 12, 2010 R.I. high-risk pool health insurance plan; read article.

•  July 5, 2010 Thousands gaming Mass. insurance system, driving up costs for system; read article.

•  June 14, 2010 U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury Issue Regulation on “Grandfathered” Health Plans under the Affordable Care Act press release.

•  May 17, 2010 Health Insurers File for 2011 Rate Hikes, read article.

•  May 14, 2010 Attorneys general and governors for 20 states won't be alone in their legal challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. View article

•  May 3, 2010 RI Insurers to keep under-26 grads in Plan, read PBN.com article.

•  April 26, 2010 R.I.’s leaders need to be focused on health reform law, read ProJO article.

•  April 20, 2010 Federal Government Will Pick Up Nearly All Costs of Health Reform’s Medicaid Expansion , read article.

•  March 23, 2010 How Health Care Reform Legislation Could Affect You , read NY Times article.

•  March 21, 2010 DOL Releases New COBRA Subsidy Fact Sheet; Review Fact Sheet.

•  March 18, 2010 Commissioner Koller Announces Decision on Insurance Rate Factor Filings; read article.

•  February 22, 2010 RIBGH Reflects Member Concerns in Letter to the OHIC Related to the Commercial Insurers' Group Rate Filings; read letter.

•  January 25, 2010 Free Clinic Wins $300K Grant View article.

•  January 22, 2010 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Submits Small and Large Group Rate Filing to OHIC View article.

•  December 28, 2009 Shape Up RI launches 2010 season View article.

•  December 27, 2009 House and Senate look to final health care talks; How to pay for overhaul joins abortion, public option as key concerns View article.

•  December 15, 2009 Lifespan-CNE merger app still not done View article.

•  December 4, 2009 R.I. insurers offered 'fair value' in '08 View article.

•  November 25, 2009 BCBSRI wants 10% direct-pay rate hike View article.

•  November 18, 2009 Mercer's 2009 National Survey of Employer -Sponsored Health Plans, View Survey Results.

•  November 6, 2009 Survey: Health Leaders Favor Medicare Changes View article.

•  October 30, 2009 R.I. health insurers' profitability drops View article.

•  October 27, 2009 Innovations in Delivering Health Care View article.

•  October 15, 2009 The pulse survey report, conducted by Towers Perrin, "Health Care Reform 2009: Leading Employers Weigh In," provides a close look at how employers plan to deal with critical elements of the reforms. View report.

•  October 8, 2009 Towers Perrin Health Care Cost Survey Shows Employer-Sponsored Medical Benefit Costs to Rise 7% to Over $10,000 for the First Time View Article.

•  October 1, 2009 Lifespan-Care New England Merger Application Review Starts View Article.

•  September 30, 2009 Senators Reject Pair of Public Option Proposals View Article.

•  September 29, 2009 Feds May Pay for R.I. Medicaid Expansion View Article.

•  September 21, 2009 OHIC Approves Tufts Health Plan's 8.5% Rate Hike View Article.

•  September 18, 2009 Carcieri assails health-care reform at R.I. business meeting View Article.

•  September 17, 2009 Carcieri assails health-care reform at RI Business Meeting Read Article.

•  September 16, 2009 RIBGH Responds to Tufts Health Plan Rate Factor Filing Read Position.

•  September 10, 2009 Ranks of R.I. uninsured grew 9% in '08 View article.

•  September 1, 2009 Public Comment Solicited: Revised Tufts Health Plan rate factors. View article.

•  September 1, 2009 President Obama May Detail Health Plan Priorities Soon View article.

Affiliate Organization

Platinum Sponsor

JOB OPENINGS!

RI Dept of Health
ADIL Program Specialist for Worksite Wellness, learn more.

2010 Recap

Event Archive

Visit our event archive to learn more about past events presented by RIBGH.

2009 Recap

September 17, 2009 The annual summit was once again a huge success. With a full day of events and networking, the session topics included H1N1 preparedness, HealthCare Reform and CurrentCare initiative, just to name a few.

June 5, 2009 Our June membership meeting focused on State and Federal Legislative Health care reform and public policy outlook for the months ahead. Several presentations and meeting materials are available for download and review.

March 20, 2009 RIBGH was pleased to host Gov. Donald Carcieri as a guest speaker at our membership meeting. His presentation discussed the impact of the Global Medicaid Waiver on the RI Medicaid Program and how the reductions in state payments to hospitals proposed in the supplemental state budget for fiscal year 2009 affects the business community.

2008 Recap

September 19, 2008 RIBGH's Annual Healthcare Summit had an exciting and multifaceted agenda. Gov. Carcieri was a guest and speaker at our lunch program.

May 9, 2008 This membership meeting focused on the various aspects of the 2008 Legislative and Public Policy Outlook on Health Care Reform.

February 8, 2008 RIBGH was pleased to host four guest speakers covering the topics of Academic Medical Training & Research and Expansion of Health Care Quality Initiatives in Rhode Island:The Impact on the Business Community.

February 26, 2008 Mercer held an event that 10 RIBGH members attended in Newton, Massachusetts. The seminar was titled the "Mercer 2007 National Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Plans". As an RIBGH member, we are offering you a copy of this presentation. Please send an email to info@ribgh.org and request your copy of this informative report.

March 27, 2008 Towers Perrin and The PMA Insurance Group conducted the first in our 2008 series of complimentary Webcasts. Discussions included the results of our new health care cost research and offer strategies to help you manage rising costs in your organization.

The first RIBGH meeting was held on May 5th, 2005. Now for more than 5 years, over 50 Rhode Island companies and top executives have been meeting regularly to participate in RIBGH.

Today, the RIBGH Board of Directors would like to thank its members, sponsors, elected officials and the broader business community for its loyal support over the last 5 years.

Together RIBGH will continue to provide RI business and the RI community with a means of promoting a better health care system for all of Rhode Island.

7/7/2010
2011 Commercial Rate Factors Announced, Additional Conditions Imposed
The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) has issued its decisions regarding the factors health insurance companies in Rhode Island may use in calculating premiums for commercial insurance in 2011. In addition, OHIC has imposed new and significant conditions on health insurer contracts with hospitals in an attempt to slow the rate of health insurance premium increases in the future

6/9/2010 RIBGH Position on Insurer Rate Filings

5/21/2010
OHIC Posts Information on Insurers Rate Factor Filings for Public Comment

OHIC is soliciting public comment through June 11, 2010 on requested rate factors to be used by health plans in 2011. Your feedback is important. Please read

7/21/2010 Mercer Update - How to keep grandfathered status under health care reform rules

GRIST Report: Health care reform changes preparations for 2011 open enrollment

High-Risk Pool Provisions under the National Health Reform Law

5/17 - New Guidance Released on Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

5/11 - Mercer GRIST Alert: Regulators clarify mandate to offer coverage for children under age 26, read more.

US health reform: Creating a sustainable approach

For the latest in health reform, including:

podcasts & webcasts
interviews
survey results
articles & presentations
twitter feeds

Visit Mercer's FREE online health care reform portal. Updated daily by Mercer's attorney's in Washington, D.C.

4/5/2010 - Summary of the Health Reform Law

Kaiser Family Foundation has developed a detailed summary of the new health reform law, breaking out its key provisions by topic. The summary reflects the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed March 23, as well as provisions of the Health Care & Education Reconciliation Act, which the President signed March 30. A separate timeline highlights the implementation dates for various elements of the new law, including more than a dozen key provisions scheduled to take effect this year.

3/25/2010 Below provides a quick overview of the key elements of this reform bill from Mercer Legislative Attorneys .

For comparison of the Senate bill and the "sidecar" reconciliation bill, click here.

Health Reform, Historic Vote, but some unfinished business.

Key points:

Health care reform with major implications for employers has passed Congress, with a package of fixes heading for Senate action. By a 219-212 vote, House Democrats March 21 muscled through the Senate-passed bill (HR 3590) and approved 220-211 a budget reconciliation package (HR 4872) modifying the bill. The Senate is expected to take up the reconciliation package within days. Final provisions of the health reform legislation won’t be certain until the budget reconciliation package receives Senate approval (which could result in additional changes) and the President’s signature.
The bills contain many provisions that take effect over time. Our initial focus for our clients will likely be changes to dependent eligibility rules and retiree drug subsidy program (if applicable to you) and then we can explore the larger list of reforms and how they impact your costs and programs.
Immediate effect on employers: Specifically, employers will face new sources of cost increases as soon as the third or fourth quarter of 2010. A few highlights include:
- More dependent children will be eligible to enroll in plans that have an anniversary date six months following the bill’s enactment.
- Employers that have received tax-free Medicare Part D retiree drug subsidies will face an immediate, significant accounting impact when President Obama signs the bill, and a significant cost increase when that tax change is actually implemented in 2013.

For additional resources, click here.

To download a Membership Application Form (PDF),
click here. To learn more about the Benefits of RIBGH membership, click here.


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