Episode 2134 notes

My guest Misty Snodgrass and I explore why only one carrier services 103 Kansas counties and even goes below five lives in small group coverage. They are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, and they are truly the hometown carrier.

Misty is their Director of ACA & Medicaid and is my expert guest.

•  At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, community involvement is a key component.
• Discuss how an EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) may be a great option and we’ll contrast PPO Designs, etc.
• Other carriers pull out of the state when claims go up. Not Blue Cross of Kansas. They are here to stay and in all 103 counties. We’ve been here for 80 years and we aren’t going anywhere.

This is episode 2134 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall.



Learn more about BCBSKS.com or call (866) 906-5253.

And if you need help or have something to share, contact me Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate at https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

And let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns.

00;00;00;18 - 00;00;18;03

Cary Hall

Let me tell you a little bit about this upcoming show today. You know, I'm going to define the difference between the hometown carrier and the national carriers that you hear me use that phrase a lot. We're main Street, not Wall Street. Well, I'm going to tell you why. I'm going to tell you why. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is the only carry that services 103 counties.

00;00;18;10 - 00;00;31;05

Cary Hall

I'm going to tell you why. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is the only carry that goes below five lives on small group. I'm going to tell you that and a lot more. And my guest is Misty Snodgrass, and she's going to explain it all.

00;00;31;07 - 00;00;35;21

Announcer

And now America's Healthcare Advocate, Cary Hall.

00;00;35;23 - 00;00;43;23

Cary Hall

Hello, America. Welcome to America's Healthcare Advocate show broadcasting coast to coast across the USA here on the HIA Radio Network.

00;00;43;24 - 00;01;01;02

Cary Hall

You can find out more about us by going to the website AmericasHealthcareAdvocate.com. AmericasHealthcareAdvocate.com. You have a question or comment? Send me an email. I'm happy to help you. We had a young man the other day who needed a wheelchair. He couldn't get it. We were able to step in and help them make that happen.

00;01;01;07 - 00;01;22;22

Cary Hall

With the good folks over at United Health Care. So we're happy to help anytime we can. Also, we are on 16 podcast platforms and our YouTube channel, 604,000 views. Thanks to Mr. David Thiessen, my producer that handles all of our podcast, the YouTube channels and also films all of these shows and puts them up there for all of you to see and watch and listen to.

00;01;22;26 - 00;01;45;06

Cary Hall

We thank all of you and the listening audience and our audience in general for pushing those numbers up, because they are better than anything we've ever seen. So we're very happy with what's going on. Once again, the website is AmericasHealthcareAdvocate.com. If you have questions in studio with me, Misty Snodgrass, she is the director of ACA Obamacare, if you will, and Medicaid for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

00;01;45;06 - 00;01;49;16

Cary Hall

Back for another show. You like it so much the first time you came back to do another one, I.

00;01;49;16 - 00;01;51;21

Misty Snodgrass

I know it was a great show. Thank you so much for having me.

00;01;51;22 - 00;02;12;18

Cary Hall

It was a great show and we got a lot. We got a lot of response after that show. Great, because I think we explained to people, you know, information that they didn't know and didn't have. And that's the whole idea behind this. So today's show, you know, you hear me use this phrase a lot, okay. When it you know, I work with Blue Cross, the Kansas City Blue Cross of Kansas, that blue cross of Nebraska.

00;02;12;25 - 00;02;32;05

Cary Hall

So I work with three different Blue Cross plans on the radio and marketing, etc. and I use that term hometown carrier with all three of those plans. And there's a reason for that. You know, one of the things that I learned in the last show I did with Misty was this 103 counties in Kansas. You know how many carriers are in all 103 counties.

00;02;32;07 - 00;02;33;02

Cary Hall

How many Misty?

00;02;33;02 - 00;02;33;20

Misty Snodgrass

Just one.

00;02;33;20 - 00;02;35;01

Cary Hall

That's right, and who would that be?

00;02;35;02 - 00;02;35;17

Misty Snodgrass

That would be us.

00;02;35;19 - 00;02;55;12

Cary Hall

That would be Blue Cross of Kansas. So when I say hometown carrier, that's because I'm talking about the carrier that's going to service you wherever you are, whether you're in Hays, whether you're in Scott City, whether you’re in Emporia, it doesn't matter. Blue Cross of Kansas is going to have a plan, whether it's a individual plan or small group plan.

00;02;55;13 - 00;03;11;08

Cary Hall

Now we're going to talk a lot about those today or a group health insurance plan of some kind. They're going to have a plan in your area that they can offer you. Unlike a lot of the national carriers who kind of pick and choose where they want to be. And then you have carriers and pull out of the marketplace like Aetna did this year.

00;03;11;11 - 00;03;30;00

Cary Hall

1 million people on ACA lose their coverage as of December 31st. So the hometown carrier means they live here. They work here. They're in our community and they cover the entire state. And that's, you know, yeah, I was going to show notes this morning. I was looking at some of the things that you wrote, and I'm like, they're really dedicated to this.

00;03;30;00 - 00;03;32;03

Cary Hall

This is a big deal to you guys.

00;03;32;08 - 00;03;51;01

Misty Snodgrass

It’s part of our mission it’s to the core of who we are, we want to serve as many Kansans as we can. That is our pure mission. And so we are, you know, they we work here, we play here, we spend our time. We we grow our families here. And we want to help support the employers and our communities that are, you know, trying to make find their way in this world right now.

00;03;51;01 - 00;03;55;22

Misty Snodgrass

And so and also any individual members that are trying to find health care coverage.

00;03;55;24 - 00;03;56;25

Cary Hall

It's confusing.

00;03;57;01 - 00;03;58;06

Misty Snodgrass

Oh, yes.

00;03;58;08 - 00;04;19;22

Cary Hall

Yes. She says, oh yes. And this year it's really confusing. It is. And so, you know, when when we tell you that if you want to call and talk to somebody that's not calling to get a sales pitch, that's explained when they call and you have award winning customer service and great people out there that do a great job.

00;04;19;22 - 00;04;31;07

Cary Hall

So talk a little bit about that, because if you just want to call up and talk to somebody about, well, what should I do? You know, that to me is really important. So talk a little bit about this.

00;04;31;07 - 00;04;48;00

Misty Snodgrass

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this health insurance is complex for even those of us that work in it. You know, it's not even just people that are trying to figure out in they're open enrollment, period, whether it be for individual or their small group plans. And so it really is challenging. What does co-insurance mean. What do all these terms mean?

00;04;48;00 - 00;05;04;03

Misty Snodgrass

How does it impact me? That's the bottom line is how does it impact me. And so we have great teams throughout the entire state of Kansas that are just focused to answer those questions for you. You're not going to get some, you know, you have to push one to talk to two people, you know, all of those things or talk to a robot.

00;05;04;10 - 00;05;27;04

Misty Snodgrass

You actually talk to real life people in Kansas that know your health system at Hays Medical Center. They know you know Wichita Via Christi. They know, what those providers are in your communities to make sure that they're covered and they'll stay on the phone call as long as they can. Their goal is not to get you off like a lot of places is like, what can I you know, answer right now and quickly get you off and move on to my next call.

00;05;27;06 - 00;05;53;08

Misty Snodgrass

Their actual focus is first call resolution, so they will stay on the call with you as long as they need to to answer your questions. And they're not pitching you, any sort of products they're asking you. You know, what is your concerns? What are you concerned about out-of-pocket costs? Are you concerned about prescription drug co-pays? And so they're happy to answer those questions and help walk through kind of the scenarios to look and see if your medications covered on your formulary, you know, is your doctor in network.

00;05;53;15 - 00;06;02;12

Misty Snodgrass

And it is a real person that answers. And we love our customer service team. They are award winning because they really are focused on doing the good work and very passionate about it as well.

00;06;02;13 - 00;06;16;26

Cary Hall

Yeah. And so those are some things that are really... let’s, kind of dissect that a little bit. Right. You see a lot of commercials on television this time of year on the Medicare side. And the rest of it, and most of those are for call centers, national call centers. And yeah, I used to make a joke.

00;06;16;26 - 00;06;33;11

Cary Hall

In fact, I still do, especially in Kansas City, that when you call one of those numbers, you asked about the hospital north of the river and they ask you what river? You know, you're not talking to somebody in your own community. Okay. So you know, when you call and you ask, well, tell me about Via Christi.

00;06;33;11 - 00;06;57;29

Cary Hall

They go, well, what is Via Christi? You probably know they don't know the hospitals in Wichita and Via Christi, being a large hospital system. Wichita. Absolutely. That's the point. Okay. When you're talking to people there and the people that work for Blue Cross of Kansas work all over the state of Kansas. So when you're talking to people that work at Blue Cross of Kansas, they know every one of those communities and they know they know the providers.

00;06;57;29 - 00;07;04;00

Cary Hall

They know what's available and all the rest of it. And you're talking to people that live and work in your community. And that's really the whole point of this thing, isn't it?

00;07;04;00 - 00;07;25;10

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely. Well, and I think it's just not only, is it that we, you know, know those we live in those communities, right? So we know where Hoxie, Kansas is. And, you know, our kids are playing on the soccer fields and they may get injured and need to go to the local health system there. And so we really are knowing our communities that we are embedded in our communities and we give back to our communities.

00;07;25;10 - 00;07;43;22

Misty Snodgrass

I think that's really important as we are. You know, your tax dollars are staying here. Your, premium dollars are staying here. And so it's really important because it helps to reinvest in Kansas. It's just like every small business owner. My dad's a small business owner, and everybody wants to reinvest in their communities because they know it just helps everything.

00;07;43;22 - 00;08;03;27

Misty Snodgrass

And so it helps to uplift it. So we're there. We're volunteering. You should see how many volunteer hours we do in our communities. We're working at local zoos in Topeka. We're putting backpacks together for kids, for school or helping at trunk or treats all around the state. And so we really are wanting to give back every single day to our communities as well as serve them.

00;08;04;00 - 00;08;21;08

Cary Hall

See, and, again when I talk about hometown carrier, you hear me use the phrase a lot of times we’re Main Street, not Wall Street. But that's because they're not for profit. They're not looking at what the next quarterly earnings report is going to say. What they're doing is they're talking to you about what's going on in your community.

00;08;21;08 - 00;08;41;05

Cary Hall

They are putting back in your community? They're creating an opportunity to connect with the community and support people that live and work in Kansas. They're the same people you go to church with, the same people you go to PTA meetings with. I mean, they are the same folks. They're there every day to serve. And again, they live and work in your community.

00;08;41;05 - 00;08;56;06

Cary Hall

So that's the difference. And so that was the first thing I wanted to talk about today was this. What is this whole idea of hometown carrier? Why does it make a difference? When I come back from the break, I'm going to talk about some of those charities and the communities that they're involved in and what they're doing here.

00;08;56;09 - 00;09;21;00

Cary Hall

And let you hear what they're doing. And then you might want to ask yourself, you know, are any of the national carriers doing this? Good question. We'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Broadcasting here on the HIA Radio Network. Coast to coast across the USA. If you're looking for information and you want to talk to somebody at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, you can call them at (866) 906 5253.

00;09;21;02 - 00;09;39;01

Cary Hall

That's (866) 906-5253 or go up on the website bcbsks.com. That's the website go up. All these plans are up there. You can explore these. And then if you want to pick up the phone and call, they'll be happy to chat with you, walk you through it. So you know what? Maybe this one's a better fit than this one is.

00;09;39;08 - 00;09;57;04

Cary Hall

Or let's look at your formulary for your prescription drugs. They'll do all that for you. When we come back from the break. We're going to continue the show with Misty. I want to talk about what they're actually doing in some of the communities. Where they actually involved and what's happening in the communities that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is supporting right here in the state of Kansas.

00;09;57;04 - 00;10;12;18

Cary Hall

We'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate broadcasting coast to coast across the USA. Stay right there.

00;10;12;21 - 00;10;15;23

Cary Hall

00;10;15;25 - 00;10;39;01

Cary Hall

Welcome back. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate show broadcasting coast to coast across USA here on the HIA Radio Network. Shout out to our affiliate up in Salina, Kansas KSAL NewsRadio 1150 a happy to have us as part of the family. They're broadcasting to all the folks in and around Salina, Kansas. In studio with me today, Misty Snodgrass from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

00;10;39;07 - 00;10;57;27

Cary Hall

We're talking about the theme of Hometown Carrier. What does it mean to be that hometown carrier? Why is that different than the national carriers? We're talking about what they do. We're also going to talk about the plans that they offer, where they service them. You know, this is the only carrier that services is all 103 counties in the state of Kansas.

00;10;57;29 - 00;11;24;20

Cary Hall

It's a big deal if you're out in Hays or Scott City. Emporia, you know where maybe the national carriers don't participate. So we're exploring all of that. If you want information on any of their plans, bcbsks.com is the website. Or you can call their customer service folks. They're happy to talk with you. Just explore options about what you've got or what maybe you think you might want to change to once again, (866) 906-5253.

00;11;24;25 - 00;11;52;24

Cary Hall

A lot of turmoil in the ACA Obamacare market, right now. Open enrollment is here on November 1st. Obviously, now's the time to call and do a consultation. This is not a hard sale or anything like that. You heard Misty describe it. They're there to help you. (866) 906 5253. All right. So let's talk a little bit about community involvement because this is something you do that national carriers just don't do, okay.

00;11;52;27 - 00;12;04;01

Cary Hall

They're not equipped to handle it frankly across the country. So you know to the you folks that's important. So talk a little bit about some of that what you do and how does all that work in the state.

00;12;04;05 - 00;12;25;15

Misty Snodgrass

Yeah I think it's really, really important because like I said, we're not only investing in and health care, but we're also investing in other initiatives that are important in our community. So one great example. We actually have a Blue Health Initiatives team that's dedicated to this. We have an entire team of folks that are dedicated to working in community, helping support community based organizations, local nonprofits,

00;12;25;18 - 00;12;47;00

Misty Snodgrass

Where can we plug in and not, you know, take over, but be a supplement to be able to assist them. Sometimes it's financially, sometimes it's just time and energy, sometimes is volunteer work. And so that work is really important to us as the core of who we are is fundamentally important to our board. They actually report all the information activity to our board of directors.

00;12;47;02 - 00;13;06;04

Misty Snodgrass

That's how important this is a strategic initiative for our company. And it's a high priority. And so some of the things that we're doing in community is we're building local fitness courts in areas where there may not be a local gym or a YMCA. They're able to, you know, go to a park. It's an outdoor facility, and they're able to go lift weights.

00;13;06;04 - 00;13;11;15

Misty Snodgrass

They're able to play on tennis courts. It's just to help encourage fitness and community and also to create community.

00;13;11;21 - 00;13;26;15

Cary Hall

And in some of these communities, they don't have a gym in a rural community. They've got a community park. If they can go in there and add to that and make that, you know, workout stations or walking stations, what ever it is. But it doesn't sound like it but you know what? It's really important to people who live in that community.

00;13;26;16 - 00;13;47;04

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely. And it's focused on wellness. Overall physical wellness. You know, we know physical health and mental wellness are a key and and tied together. And some of the other things that we're doing is like I mentioned, we do some backpack events around back to school. We’re stuffing backpacks with school supplies. We're doing trunk or treats with, you know, candy and so forth.

00;13;47;04 - 00;14;12;04

Misty Snodgrass

And we're really focused on being in community. We support other initiatives. One great example in Wichita is called Baby Talk, and it's to help pregnant moms that need resources while they're pregnant, they may not have information. I've been a pregnant mom before and it's really nerve racking. And so we support that initiative in Wichita to help moms throughout the state.

00;14;12;04 - 00;14;29;20

Misty Snodgrass

So it's virtually and in person in Wichita. It also provides that people go through the classes and kind of learn some tricks of the trade. You also get a gift card for childcare or your car seat carrier. Or you could get a crib, you know, it's a it's a gift card that can go towards those kind of purchases.

00;14;29;20 - 00;14;52;16

Misty Snodgrass

And so it's really important that we invest in various initiatives that we're doing in local communities. And I could go on and on. I could spend days because I'm so proud of the work that our Blue Health Initiatives team is and how intentional they are. You know, they're very, very focused. One other thing we're working on is how can we make our language access better so individuals that may not have English as their first language

00;14;52;21 - 00;14;53;04

Cary Hall

Speaking Spanish.

00;14;53;05 - 00;15;14;20

Misty Snodgrass

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And so we're working to make sure that with our materials that they know the rights. Because whenever you go into a health care provider, you have rights to have access to language access. So we're working on that right now to improve language access. And we know that that's important because if it's not your your first language. I mean, we think health insurance is confusing.

00;15;14;20 - 00;15;28;24

Cary Hall

Well, you know I'll tell you a story. I was in Scott City, Kansas doing radio probably ten years ago. And I'm like, what are all these feedlots out here? Well, the biggest slaughterhouses in Kansas, JPL and the rest of them are just outside of there over toward Dodge.

00;15;28;25 - 00;15;29;17

Misty Snodgrass

Yeah.

00;15;29;20 - 00;15;42;28

Cary Hall

I heard there were more Mexican restaurants in that town, and I love to eat mexican, and I was like, this is like amazing. And I'm like, well, why are there so many Mexican restaurants? Because our entire population here, working population is 80% Hispanic.

00;15;43;05 - 00;15;44;02

Misty Snodgrass

So absolutely.

00;15;44;02 - 00;16;00;15

Cary Hall

You think in Kansas, you know, Dorothy's going to click her heels and she and Toto ride off? It's not quite like that. Yeah. We have we have a large community of people here that are non-English speaking community primarily, and that's a big difference. So you guys are moving to help those folks do what they do?

00;16;00;17 - 00;16;19;25

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely. And we're partnering with organizations. And also, one of the things that we are hoping to do next year is go into those communities and help explain what their benefits are, because we know if people don't know what their benefits are, they don't use them. And so we want to make sure that they're aware that we have telehealth available in Spanish, that we do have resources available in Spanish.

00;16;19;28 - 00;16;36;26

Misty Snodgrass

And what does health insurance really mean? What does a coinsurance mean. That doesn't always translate very well, which is very complex for if it or isn't our first language? And so we want to be really intentional and thoughtful to serve all Kansans regardless of what language they choose.

00;16;36;26 - 00;16;55;13

Cary Hall

And when we go to break, I have to ask you on the baby talk plan that you've got those classes. You do not have to be a Blue Cross and Blue Shield policy holder? I want to make that point because BlueKC offers something similar to that on the behavioral side. So those classes are available for anybody in the state of Kansas.

00;16;55;13 - 00;17;00;25

Cary Hall

Any mom that wants to do those classes, where do they go? Do they go on your website for this?

00;17;00;27 - 00;17;18;00

Misty Snodgrass

We're going to have it on our website. We don't. But I will get you the website and you can put it up and share that out with your listeners, because it is a really important program to help educate on prenatal. It's really important to make sure you're getting going to your doctor's visits, make sure you know kick counts, all of those important things.

00;17;18;02 - 00;17;20;14

Misty Snodgrass

And when it comes to prenatal and pregnancy.

00;17;20;16 - 00;17;36;27

Cary Hall

I've got six grandchildren. Trust me, I know what my daughters went through. So I can assure you this is a welcome thing to have in the community. There are a lot of women out there that will be able to participate in this. So as soon as we get this information, we'll put it in the broadcast, we'll put it up on the podcast and on the YouTube so you all can see it.

00;17;37;00 - 00;17;54;29

Cary Hall

Anywhere in the state of Kansas enrolled. They don't cost anything. It's what they're doing to help folks in Kansas do what they need to do. If you want help, if you want to, if you want the policy explained, if you want to understand what your benefits are, if you're looking for a policy and you don't know what to do, especially during this turmoil with the ACA.

00;17;55;02 - 00;18;21;07

Cary Hall

(866) 906-5253. (866) 906-5253 or BCBSKS.com, bcbsks.com. If you want to just go up and explore but are open and then call them, do that, they'll be happy to chat with you and make it work for you. We'll be right back after a break. Welcome back to the break. I'm going to get into some plans now. I'm going to start talking about what are they offering on the small group side.

00;18;21;09 - 00;18;43;04

Cary Hall

You know it's interesting. And we'll get into this in a minute. How many carriers offer plans to small group below five? That's the question we're going to answer when we come back from the break. Stay tuned. I'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate broadcasting. Coast to coast across the USA here on the HIA radio network.

00;18;43;07 - 00;18;58;11

Cary Hall

So the website for Baby talk is babytalkict.com. That's babytalkict.com.

00;18;58;13 - 00;19;23;25

Cary Hall

Welcome back. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocates Show broadcasting coast to coast across the USA. My producers day Mister Dave Thiessen behind the cameras posting all these shows up on our podcast YouTube platform 604,000 views. Thanks to all of you. It's kind of amazing and Garner Cowdrey, he's on the board here working. All the audio here at Cumulus at our hometown flagship station here in Overland Park, Kansas, in studio with me,

00;19;23;25 - 00;19;43;09

Cary Hall

Misty Snodgrass once again here to talk about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. We're talking about how unique they are to this state and what they do in the state that's very different than the national carriers. If you want help, call them. Just have a discussion. You know, ACA is upon us open enrollment. There are a lot of premium increases.

00;19;43;09 - 00;20;11;03

Cary Hall

People pulling out of the market like Aetna did, you know that kind of thing. (866) 906-5253. (866) 906-5253 no, high pressure sales tactics. This isn't some number on television that you're going to call some national call center. Okay. That's not how this works. These are folks right here in our community that live and work in Kansas. The website BCBSKS.com, BCBSKS.com.

00;20;11;09 - 00;20;35;10

Cary Hall

So what I'm going to the show notes this morning. I see this down to one life. And I remember when I was a broker, the major carriers, the national carriers would not go below five lives. So you there are more small businesses out there are one, two, three, four and five employees than you can shake a stick at it and they won't even offer them coverage

00;20;35;12 - 00;20;35;25

Misty Snodgrass

No.

00;20;35;28 - 00;20;38;22

Cary Hall

Well, so why is that first of all?

00;20;38;25 - 00;20;42;06

Misty Snodgrass

Well, I think is it's a lot of work, right. You know, it is a lot of work.

00;20;42;08 - 00;20;44;12

Cary Hall

It's as much work to enroll five as it is 50.

00;20;44;14 - 00;20;45;11

Misty Snodgrass

100%.

00;20;45;11 - 00;21;09;00

Misty Snodgrass

And so I think that you know, we're not focused on margins. So that's the difference. And we are focused on really helping all Kansans be covered. And so we believe small businesses, regardless of size, are the backbone of our economy and the backbone of Kansas. And so whether you're a small employer, a family owned business, or a company with 50 employees, we have plans that are designed for you.

00;21;09;00 - 00;21;25;06

Misty Snodgrass

And, you know, it's we believe every job matters. And we believe if you have one employee, two employees to 500, you're just as important and we'll treat you. And we have a team dedicated for those size. So it's not just like you're going to you know, we're going to give you preference to the ones that are 500 and.

00;21;25;08 - 00;21;35;02

Cary Hall

You’ve got a whole segment of your customer service people and your sales reps. They represent just ten and below. That's it. So they understand that space intimately.

00;21;35;03 - 00;21;55;12

Misty Snodgrass

They do. They do. And the complex needs around it. Right. Like it's whenever your employer is deciding what health coverage to select,it's a really nerve-Racking thing. They're wanting to keep their employees for retention. They know how important it is. And every time every employer, including us, you know, we went through our open enrollment, there's questions are related to it.

00;21;55;15 - 00;22;09;28

Misty Snodgrass

What does this mean for me? What does this out-of-pocket cost me? And for me. And it's unique based upon the needs of every employer. And so it's a lot of work trying to figure out, you know, do you have individuals in your plan that are going to be high utilizers folks that are going to have complex chronic conditions?

00;22;09;28 - 00;22;28;10

Misty Snodgrass

And so we work through that. We listen and then we try to reflect back and find the plan that actually works for them. So it's it's customized based upon and tailored, our suggestions and recommendations based upon the needs of you as an employer versus you call on a call center and they say, and here's our plans, here's what we have to offer here.

00;22;28;10 - 00;22;31;25

Misty Snodgrass

And we actually will go out and meet with you. We'll go into your offices.

00;22;31;26 - 00;22;33;15

Cary Hall

Five lives and they’ll go out to meet with you less than that.

00;22;33;15 - 00;22;52;01

Misty Snodgrass

Yeah, absolutely. And that is, you know, we love what we call them, our micro groups. We love our micro groups. There are the heart of Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Kansas because we also know those micro groups. Sometimes they grow to be 100 employees, and we were there for them when no one else was. And also sometimes they just want to be at five employees and four employees.

00;22;52;03 - 00;22;57;27

Misty Snodgrass

And we are okay with that. We want them to grow and thrive in the way that's best for them and support them for their health care needs.

00;22;57;27 - 00;23;17;07

Cary Hall

So when I'm going to show notes this morning and I see down to one life and it triggers in my mind, a question I used to see, but why would they offer a plan to one life? Well, the answer is you got a mom and pop shop, okay? And one of them is going to retire because they're turning 65. What happens to the other person?

00;23;17;09 - 00;23;21;07

Cary Hall

Well, they lose her coverage, right? No, they don't explain that.

00;23;21;13 - 00;23;45;05

Misty Snodgrass

Yeah. So they're they're able to stay on as a group. There are certain qualifying criteria, but they're able to stay on as part of our groups. And you know they're not going to go get priced astronomically because they're in the metallic plans. And so they're able to go get that coverage for them if they want to be a part of a group, because sometimes it's more affordable than for them being in the individual market, or the plans may be more advantageous to them.

00;23;45;11 - 00;23;52;13

Misty Snodgrass

And so we look at it is we want to cover every Kansan and every small employer matters regardless of size.

00;23;52;16 - 00;24;09;14

Cary Hall

So let's talk a little bit about EPO and PPO. So this is how we kind of get in the weeds a little bit here. So these are two separate group plans. I think most people out there know what a PPO is. That's the network the largest network. But let's talk about difference between that and EPO.

00;24;09;19 - 00;24;11;24

Cary Hall

And there is a difference. And there's a cost saving.

00;24;11;24 - 00;24;30;23

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely. And I think it's really important. And I know when I first started learning about EPO because they came on kind of out of right after the ACA passed, it was kind of where they started to rise to prominence. And an EPO is called an Exclusive Provider Organization, you know, and it's typically a lower premium.

00;24;30;26 - 00;24;53;19

Misty Snodgrass

And it's a real simple network design. And so it's perfect for businesses that are centered primarily in Kansas, that they're not going to have a lot of people traveling or employees outside of the region. So in other states, because it is more affordable to not have a national wide network. Now, that doesn't mean if you're traveling and you have an emergency, that you’re not going to be In-Network, you're not going to get some out of network costs.

00;24;53;19 - 00;25;03;18

Misty Snodgrass

It's a lot of confusion around that. They think, oh, I can't leave the state. Oh my gosh, I'm in Oklahoma. I got to go drive back to Kansas and I have a medical emergency. No, we want you to go to the hospital.

00;25;03;21 - 00;25;04;28

Cary Hall

It’s Covered just like anything is.

00;25;04;28 - 00;25;21;04

Misty Snodgrass

It is. We have that focus. And so it's really advantageous for kind of your local regional employers that are in the state. We also have a PPO design. And you know, as a remote work kind of blew up during Covid in the pandemic.

00;25;21;06 - 00;25;37;19

Misty Snodgrass

We have employees that are in multiple states, right. There's employers that have people that are close to the Kansas border that are actually living in Missouri. We have people that are on the southern border of our state that live in Oklahoma, but they work in Kansas.

00;25;37;19 - 00;25;56;24

Misty Snodgrass

And so and vice versa around all of our surrounding states. And so we have what's called a PPO so that they're able to leverage what's called our blue card network. So you basically are a host member on a different, so you'd be on, you know, Blue Cross Blue shield in Nebraska's network when you're still a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas member.

00;25;56;24 - 00;26;05;22

Misty Snodgrass

And so it gets a little bit complicated, but you're able to access all the local providers in your community. And so you're able to leverage that nationwide network as part of your In-Network.

00;26;05;23 - 00;26;27;17

Cary Hall

So I want to go back to the EPO thing for you and just kind of drill home something here. So let's say you're in Wichita and you're listening to this. You know what? I need to find out about that EPO, I'll bet you that 90% of your care would be at Via Christi hospital or Via Christi providers. Because that’s Wichita. I used to do a lot of work in Wichita. We’re on the radio down there on KNSS.

00;26;27;17 - 00;26;43;01

Cary Hall

I know it very, very well. Well, then, how much of a need are you going to have to go outside of network? Well, if you're going to go to KU for cancer treatment or heart or whatever it is. That's in-network, if you're going to go to Via Christie, that's in-network.I mean, what was the name of the hospital?

00;26;43;01 - 00;26;44;02

Cary Hall

Hayes, you mentioned.

00;26;44;04 - 00;26;44;24

Misty Snodgrass

Hayes Medical Center.

00;26;44;25 - 00;26;45;18

Cary Hall

Hayes Medical Center.

00;26;45;18 - 00;26;47;06

Cary Hall

They’re in-network.

00;26;47;11 - 00;27;08;27

Cary Hall

So when I'm when I ask you to look at this EPO thing, and if you look at the value that's being offered and the value is it, you're in the whole Blue Cross of Kansas network in all 103 counties and you can save money. It would make a lot of sense to take a look at that and go to your employees and say, here's what we're going to do.

00;27;09;00 - 00;27;25;10

Cary Hall

We're going to cut costs by X because we're going to go on this new plan with this EPO. You've got all the hospitals in Kansas, but you're not going to go to MD Anderson. Okay? I mean, there you go. Okay. You know, you're going to go to KU. Well, interestingly enough, KU has a partnership with MD Anderson.

00;27;25;12 - 00;27;41;13

Cary Hall

So you can get a lot of those treatments at KU that you can get it M.D. Anderson, because they're already there. My point in telling you that is it's worth exploring. That's okay. So that's why when she talks about that dedicated team of ten and below, give them a call.

00;27;41;15 - 00;27;55;11

Misty Snodgrass

Now we have 90 over 90% of the providers in Kansas in-network. So it's a broad network even for an EPO. So it's fantastic coverage. So if you're even traveling the state you're able to access that which is not like other EPO’s out there.

00;27;55;13 - 00;28;09;28

Cary Hall

It's not. And it's very, very different because they're offering coverage across the state near where we go. This is what I'm talking about when I say, you know, pick up the phone and call one of their folks at that team. It's dedicated. All they do is ten and below. They know what it means to have a three life.

00;28;09;28 - 00;28;32;27

Cary Hall

Four life, six life case. All right. And they're happy to talk with you and show you this is what the plan looks like. Here's what we can do. And, oh yeah, all you people have access. All hospitals and doctors throughout the state. They're inside that network. So do it. (866) 906-5253. (866) 906-5253 their website. You can go look at the plans on the website.

00;28;32;29 - 00;28;54;13

Cary Hall

bcbsks.com. bcbsks.com. When come back from the break. We're going to talk about what's going to happen in the marketplace this year. How many national carriers are coming in here with aggressive new plans? How does that compare with what Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is doing, and how does that compare for what you're looking for? What's the stability of that?

00;28;54;13 - 00;29;11;19

Cary Hall

We'll talk about all that when I come back from the break. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate broadcasting here on the HIA Radio Network coast to coast across USA. We've got more. Don't go anywhere.

00;29;11;21 - 00;29;32;14

Cary Hall

Welcome back. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate broadcasting here on the HIA Radio Network. Coast to coast across the USA. The show today is focused on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the hometown carrier. And you know, I did that on purpose because I really wanted to get you to understand the difference between what they do in this state, where I live, where you all live.

00;29;32;14 - 00;29;53;25

Cary Hall

Okay. And what how that contrasts with the national carriers do. We're going to dive a little more into that. But once again we talked about that EPO, PPO. There are a lot of different plan designs out there they can help you with, if you want information. (866) 906-5253. You're not going to get high pressure sales tactics. You're going to get somebody who wants to talk to you, explain their options.

00;29;53;25 - 00;30;22;02

Cary Hall

They've got a whole team of people on ten and below. So employers with ten or fewer lives, national carriers don't even go below five lives. They do. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas goes down to one life. Okay. Also, the website BCBSKS.com, bcbsks.com. All right. So let's talk about this because this kind of this is what actually triggered me doing this show today was you and I were having a conversation after the last show, and I knew this was coming.

00;30;22;02 - 00;30;40;04

Cary Hall

I didn't know was already here that a certain national carriers are coming in here this year, and they do this from time to time. They'll come in with very aggressive pricing in the marketplace. And then two years later, when the claims numbers start going up and they're catching up with where they are, they pull out.

00;30;40;06 - 00;31;02;20

Cary Hall

Now as an example of that was what happened with Aetna. They lost $2 billion on ACA. And they finally said we've had enough. And they pulled, not, they didn’t just pull out of Kansas. They pulled out of every state that they were in okay. So it does happen. So the point there is you guys are always here. Yeah. It's steady okay. Let's talk about.

00;31;02;20 - 00;31;18;23

Misty Snodgrass

That. Yeah I think it's a great comment. And you know and Cary if you remember this a few years back, this happened again right? When things didn't get as profitable, when there was kind of the, the you know claims got a little bit tumultuous. Other carriers pulled out of the market and it just kind of happens over and over again.

00;31;18;23 - 00;31;39;00

Misty Snodgrass

If they're not hitting their margins, they have shareholders. We don't. And we have our members that we're focused on. And so I think that we're always here, we want to serve this market forever. It is a passion of ours, is our CEO. It's probably one of his favorite markets, actually. If he said he had a favorite child, he’d probably say

00;31;39;01 - 00;31;56;27

Misty Snodgrass

It was. I don't know that, you know, I'm just kidding. But he he really is passionate about serving small employers. And individuals as well and making sure they have access to care, because a lot of folks will go after the big, the national careers will go after the big employers, but a lot of them won't stick around for the smaller or the individuals and

00;31;56;27 - 00;31;58;05

Cary Hall

So they won't even offer coverage.

00;31;58;05 - 00;32;28;15

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely, absolutely. And so we we want to be the stable carrier. We have been the stable carrier. We've never left. We've been around for 80 years. We've been here since the ACA began. We have no intention of leaving. We're actually a part of my role is what can we do to even enhance our ACA market? What can we do to actually serve our members and our employers more and better and provide, you know, help improve the total cost of care, and our affordability, but also help what other tools can we bring that are innovative to help, you know, both impact the individual from a quality of life perspective.

00;32;28;15 - 00;32;47;19

Misty Snodgrass

So we're having conversations about mindfulness tools for employers because we know behavioral health is a major concern. And so what can we do to help improve and reduce. Employee productivity help improve that. Missed days because of whether it be physical or mental illness. And so it is a high priority. We're here to stay.

00;32;47;21 - 00;32;51;09

Misty Snodgrass

And we're very passionate about the work and serving all 103 counties that we're in.

00;32;51;13 - 00;33;10;09

Cary Hall

Yeah. It's not a come and go situation. We're here this year and two years to now. And it's believe me, we've got multiple examples of this that happens okay. You know these folks at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, there's no quarterly earnings report. No. It's all a little different. You know when I say main street, not Wall Street.

00;33;10;09 - 00;33;21;18

Cary Hall

That's what I'm talking about okay. And that's what's important. And when you talk about your CEO actually focusing and acknowledging that, that's pretty significant.

00;33;21;18 - 00;33;22;05

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely.

00;33;22;08 - 00;33;31;12

Cary Hall

That means he understands as you said, how many small businesses out there have five employees or ten employees.

00;33;31;13 - 00;33;44;00

Misty Snodgrass

It's the cornerstone of our economy and our communities. Small businesses are donating to the local high school football teams and it just trickles down. And so we understand how important. And it's a cornerstone and we're here to stay.

00;33;44;03 - 00;33;50;15

Cary Hall

So talk a little bit about some of the product lines that are going to be offered this year on the group side both small group and the larger group side.

00;33;50;17 - 00;34;12;14

Misty Snodgrass

Yeah absolutely. So we have small group. We have EPOs and PPOs available. We have various metal tiers. So I think I talked about that in our last program. We have in small group a platinum, gold, silver and bronze. And we're the only one in market with a bronze plan. And I think there is going to be a new entrant on the platinum plan.

00;34;12;14 - 00;34;35;18

Misty Snodgrass

But we have most of our small groups are in gold because they want to have a richer benefit, lower predictable out-of-pocket costs from deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket. And we also offer a predictable co-pays. A lot of carriers will have co-insurance, and that's when it gets really messy, right? Like people are like, what is this going to cost me when I go to the pharmacy counter on this particular drug I'm on?

00;34;35;18 - 00;34;45;23

Misty Snodgrass

And so co-insurance is, I always say it's kind of fuzzy math. It's very it's very hard to predict. We have a predictable copay. You know, if this is your medication, you're going to go pay this amount.

00;34;45;23 - 00;34;48;18

Cary Hall

Tier 1, tier 2, tier 3 or whatever it is, that’s it.

00;34;48;23 - 00;34;49;07

Cary Hall

00;34;49;07 - 00;34;49;27

Misty Snodgrass

00;34;49;29 - 00;35;10;10

Cary Hall

So here's what she’s saying, it's not that plus 20%. Well, you take Jardiance, and my wife takes it. I've actually paid for it. It's $700. Okay. Now you got your copay. Let's say your co-pay is tier three or tier four, it’s $75 or a 100 bucks. Oh, and you owe 20% of the total cost of that med. That's a little different deal.

00;35;10;10 - 00;35;19;24

Misty Snodgrass

Yes. And we do have caps on our high costs specialty drugs as well because on what you have to pay out of pocket so that you'll know what you're paying. Because we do want people to take their medications. We know when people are on their medications...

00;35;19;24 - 00;35;20;13

Cary Hall

It kinda helps, doesn’t it?

00;35;20;13 - 00;35;39;21

Misty Snodgrass

They’re staying out of the hospital. Right. And in the emergency rooms, which are higher cost of care alternatives. And so we do have a priority on prescription drugs predictability, your co-pays for your doctor, we actually incentivize you to go to the doctor. So we have your first five visits are like basically in some of our plans free.

00;35;39;21 - 00;36;01;25

Misty Snodgrass

Or they may be a $35 copay, depending on what metal tier you're on. And so we want folks to go to the doctor. We're not wanting you not to get care because we know you're going to stay with us for a while. Usually, most of our employers have stayed with us for 40 plus years. And so we want to make sure we're taking care of folks, because those that national carriers will come in and have aggressive pricing and then two years, they'll they'll increase it.

00;36;01;25 - 00;36;11;14

Misty Snodgrass

And then all of a sudden they're gone. They're gone. And you're no longer in it. And you come back to us usually. And then you know that we want to focus on making sure you're well both physically and mentally.

00;36;11;18 - 00;36;17;02

Cary Hall

We got about 45 seconds left talking very quickly about virtual because all the rural counties. Yeah. The big deal.

00;36;17;02 - 00;36;32;06

Misty Snodgrass

Absolutely. And we think that's a big deal. So we have telehealth for physical and mental health. So instead of going to, you have an ear infection. You know it's an ear infection, right? You don't want to go sit in a waiting room at or I don't for sure an emergency department. You don't want to go pay for that copay.

00;36;32;08 - 00;36;49;27

Misty Snodgrass

We provide. Typically some of our plans there is some variability but usually free telehealth services. And so you're able to go in and access it's Amwell is our current vendor that we use. And you're able to go access that 24/7. Be able to go get that, get your prescription. You don't have to go sit in a waiting room.

00;36;49;27 - 00;36;54;02

Misty Snodgrass

And so you're able to have that. And so that helps especially in areas when there aren't providers.

00;36;54;05 - 00;37;09;06

Cary Hall

Or you're in a rural community, you have to drive 45 minutes to get to an urgent care center or something. This is great. It's the online. You go on, you're on the screen, you're talking to the doctor, nurse practitioner. You get what you need is one of the many things that they do. Thank you. This is a wealth of information.

00;37;09;06 - 00;37;21;12

Cary Hall

It's like drinking from a firehose. But I'm telling you, I think a lot of you learned a lot today about what Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas does. Now, you know why I say the hometown carrier? Because that's really what they are.

00;37;21;19 - 00;37;42;16

Cary Hall

And now I leave you with this thought from Doctor Martin Luther King. Americans must learn to live together or they are surely going to perish together as fools. I don't think truer words were ever spoken. Thank you for listening to America's Healthcare Advocate show, broadcasting coast to coast across the USA here on the HIA Radio Network. Goodbye America.