HB2002 and New Business Quoting

Thank you for your patience during the last month as we have worked with the State to complete our rating approval. We are pleased to announce that as of today, February 28, 2008, you can use the SpeedeRates system to quote medical and dental groups for an April 1, 2008, effective date. This system has been updated to meet the new regulatory guidelines of House Bill 2002 and to accommodate the quoting of groups with 26-50 enrolling. We will be steadily improving the system during the next few months, and we are open to any feedback you may have regarding our quoting system. All group-appointed agents should have a SpeedeRates user ID and password at this time and are required to use the system for quoting.

April New Business Submission Deadline

We are holding the submission deadline at March 20th for April 1st effective-date business. Please help us offer a high level of service to our new clients by meeting this deadline. We will work quickly to process new business submissions and complete enrollment to avoid any coverage disruption issues.

Renewals

Renewal packets for groups with April 1, 2008, effective dates were sent to the appointed agents on February 27, 2008. These renewal packets will also be sent to the group no later than Friday, February 29, 2008.

A New Service Option for Our Agent Partners

In an effort to meet your needs we have created a new service team. The Community Team consists of five marketing assistants who are available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Please use this team for questions and service issues regarding groups with 2 to 50 enrolled. The Community Team can be reached at or via phone at (877) 246-5325.

Rating Methodology

Under prior Oregon state SEHI law, carriers were only allowed to use age and enrollment status as factors to determine medical rates for employers with 2 to 25 employees. With the change in Small Employer law, carriers have been given the choice to use additional factors in their medical rating calculations for employers with 2 to 50 employees. ODS has decided to continue to use age and enrollment status as was used in SEHI rating. ODS will additionally use employer contribution and employee/dependent participations as medical rating factors for quotes and renewals with effective dates April 1, 2008, and later. ODS will also be collecting information regarding employee tobacco use.

Quotes for Groups with Less Than Five Enrolling

Quotes for groups with less than 5 enrolling will not be automatically released from SpeedeRates. The program will create a quote submission cover sheet instead of a rate sheet. Please forward this cover sheet to ODS via e-mail, mail or fax. In addition, agents are required to send the most current form of the following:

The following forms will not suffice as documentation:

If a group cannot provide one of these forms of documentation because they are a new business or they have recently hired a new employee who will not appear in the documentation, they can sign the Standardized Group Profile Form, and we will offer a quote and write them as a new case. However, any group with fewer than five enrolling employees that elects ODS using the profile form will be required to submit one of the three forms of documentation as soon as it is available. It must prove that the group is qualified for group coverage. If a group proves to be unqualified or is unable to produce documentation, ODS will rescind the group coverage back to the original effective date.

Standardized Group Profile Form Policy

The state of Oregon is now requiring your clients to submit the Oregon Standardized Group Profile Form with all renewals and new business April 1, 2008, and after. This form must be signed by the group.

For renewing business, current ODS clients will be subject to a non-renewal if we do not receive this form prior to the renewal. The form will be sent via e-mail or mail 120 days prior to the renewal date.

For new business, we cannot complete enrollment if this form is not part of the New Group Enrollment packet for groups with 2 to 99 enrolling employees. Some questions from the new form will be incorporated into our new and improved SpeedeRates application process; however, the actual form will need to be signed by the group and sent into ODS with a new group submission.

Contract Changes

Here is a list of the plan changes that we are making to our small group business, effective April 1, 2008:

ODS truly appreciates your business and your continued partnership. If you have any questions, please contact your ODS sales or service representative.

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