My Plan by Medica Receives Health Plan Innovation Award from the Institute for Healthcare Consumerism

Medica’s private healthcare exchange, My Plan by MedicaSM, has received the “Health Plan Innovation Award” from the Institute for Healthcare Consumerism. The award recognizes health plans that implement solutions that advance adoption and maturity of health care consumerism.

In 2011, to meet the needs of both employers and their employees, Medica introduced My Plan by Medica, the first private health insurance exchange in the region. The rising cost of health care is one of the most serious challenges facing employers today. These costs are a growing percentage of most companies’ business expenses, impacting profits and employee wage increases. As a result, employers desire more control over health care costs and employees want affordable choices.

Created through an exclusive partnership with Bloom Health, a leader in the private exchange market, My Plan by Medica was launched two years before state and federally funded health insurance marketplaces. The product demonstrates that the exchange model – with a heavy emphasis on service, decision support and education – works.

“My Plan by Medica was introduced to give members more choice and more control in their health benefit decisions,” said Scott Reid, Medica vice president for product strategy and development. “Each person has unique needs when it comes to health care and My Plan by Medica, with its robust decision support tool, personalizes the healthcare experience. It helps consumers make informed choices based on the knowledge they obtain through the tools we provide them.”

In 2012, Medica successfully reengineered the approach to health care and member service through the addition of an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) to My Plan by Medica. Distributed exclusively through their private exchange, Medica was the first health plan in the region to align with a major healthcare system in the development an ACO product.

Medica is a pioneer in the evolving healthcare industry with its innovative solutions. My Plan by Medica delivers cost predictability to employers and industry-leading decision support tools. Additionally, through the ACOs offered, Medica has paved the way for new kinds of partnerships with provider organizations and changed the way insurers and providers collaborate in the areas of health outcomes and consumer experience.

My Plan by Medica

My Plan by Medica is a private health exchange model based on a defined contribution financing approach. Employers determine how much money they want to spend on employee health benefits and then allocate pre-tax dollars into a health account on behalf of each employee. The private health exchange, proprietary to Medica and powered by Bloom Health, allows employers to offer an integrated health plan enrollment experience for their employees – from making a plan selection to account administration and customer service.

About Medica

Medica (www.medica.com) is a health services company headquartered in Minneapolis and active in the Upper Midwest. With approximately 1.5 million members, the non-profit company provides health care coverage in the employer, individual, Medicaid, Medicare and Medicare Part D markets in Minnesota and a growing number of counties in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Medica also offers national network coverage to employers who also have employees outside the Medica regional network.

Medica’s vision is to become the community’s health plan of choice, trusted for its integrity, respected for its service, and admired for its commitment to innovation and efficiency.

Connect with Medica on Twitter @Medica4Me and Facebook at www.facebook.com/Medica4Me.