Amy, thanks for sharing your question. We’ve passed your question on, and we will be getting back to your shortly with some information. What other medical costs concern you, and how can we work together to rein in those costs?

Hi Amy,

This is a good question. Many factors may contribute to your premium in addition to what benefits are covered. Maternity is an important benefit for many group customers, and overall adds roughly 2 to 3 cents on the dollar to the average group premium cost. For the group customers who use the maternity benefit, the actual costs would be quite a bit greater. If we allowed groups a choice, some such as yourself may choose to exclude the benefit to save a few percent off premium, but this would also raise premiums considerably for those who choose to cover maternity. By covering a broad range of services, we are more able to keep costs more stable across our customer base and meet the health care needs of as many North Carolinians as possible. A group’s needs may change over time, as individuals unexpectedly develop medical conditions, and as new employees are hired, which is yet another reason why we believe it is important to cover these services for all of our group customers.

Hi Andy – thank you for your question and sharing your concern and we appreciate your perspective. We still have a long way to go, but we agree that health insurers need to simplify the way we explain costs. What additional ways do you think we can clear up some confusion?