Contact:
Ellen Foley
WPS, Madison, Wis.
(608) 226-8089
ellen.foley@wpsic.com
Because of confusion in some recent media reports, WPS is providing these informational points to clarify the company’s efforts to comply with the Affordable Care Act:
– WPS sells health insurance on the Health Care Marketplace, aka the Exchange, through its subsidiary, Arise Health Plan, located in Green Bay. Arise plans are available in 26 eastern and northern Wisconsin counties through the Marketplace.
– WPS sells off-Exchange individual plans through both WPS and Arise. WPS plans are available statewide.
– Many health insurers are sending letters to customers with directly-purchased plans that will no longer be compliant with the law in 2014. These plans fail to meet the law’s “minimum essential benefit” standards.
– Neither WPS nor Arise has canceled any policies. Instead, we are notifying customers that they are being automatically transferred to a compliant plan that is most similar to their existing plan.
– We’ve chosen this seamless approach in order to minimize the possibility that a WPS or Arise customer would experience any gap in coverage or medical care.
– WPS and Arise are conducting extensive outreach to help inform Wisconsinites about the details of the Affordable Care Act. This includes 16 seminars throughout the state between Nov. 12 and Dec. 12 that will offer the opportunity for one-on-one consultations with consumers. (See attached invitation with schedule.)
– Here is an article from the NY Times explaining the current situation: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/insurance-policies-not-worth-keeping.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0
– Here is an article from the Washington Post explaining grandfathered plans:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/29/this-is-why-obamacare-is-cancelling-some-peoples-insurance-plans/
More background information for media:
– Many existing insurance plans that do not offer what the law calls “minimum essential benefits” are not complaint after 12/31/2013.
– WPS, a nonprofit, and its subsidiary Arise Health Plan have more than 158,000 members in Wisconsin.
– For more than 65 years, WPS has offered quality, affordable insurance to Wisconsin residents.
– More than 85 percent of Wisconsin residents get their health insurance from their employers.
– Examples of Wisconsin residents who may buy individual insurance include farmers, child-care workers, bartenders, waitresses, and one-person entrepreneurial companies.
For more information: Call Ellen Foley, Vice President of Corporate Communications, at 608-226-8089 or email: ellen.foley@wpsic.com. After hours, call Ellen’s cell at 608-444-7065.
