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Kaiser pitches adding Oregon, Washington and Hawaii for retirees who relocate
Summary
Kaiser representatives told the San Francisco HSS board they are bidding rates to allow early and Medicare retirees who move to Oregon, Washington or Hawaii to keep Kaiser coverage; staff cautioned about administrative and reporting complexities and said rates/benefits will be returned for decision.
Kaiser Permanente told the San Francisco Health Service System board March 9 that it is exploring adding three out‑of‑state regions (Oregon, Washington and Hawaii) to allow early retirees and Medicare retirees who move outside California to keep Kaiser coverage.
Cindy Green, senior executive account manager, said HSS would need separate contracts, group numbers and potentially different rates and benefit nuances because of state insurance rules and population size. Kaiser said a California‑based account team would remain the HSS point of contact, but told the board separate enrollment forms and file feeds would be required for out‑of‑state members.
Green said the vendor is out to bid for rates and benefits for a January 1, 2018 effective date and is evaluating administrative feasibility and timing. She recommended starting with the three most populous regions where HSS already has members in order to limit administrative complexity and to test the process before considering further expansion.
Board members and retiree advocates supported the idea as a long‑standing member request but asked staff to examine rate impacts and whether small out‑of‑state populations could be combined or rated within a larger block to avoid prohibitive premiums. Kaiser acknowledged reporting limitations for small groups and said detailed rate proposals would be returned to the board for an informed decision.
"We are currently out to the bid process where we have taken the census information for these particular individuals...and we are currently asking for rates and benefits which we do not have at this time," Green told the board.
