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The Latest Carrier Updates, Legal Alerts, Industry News and more.

Dickerson / News / Weekly Newsletters / July 17, 2025
Aetna Q4 Rates, Anthem Contract Agreement, Blue Shield and UC Health Update, CCSB Bonus Program, Health Net Q4 Rates, Reliance Matrix Accident Insurance
Thursday, July 17 2025
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Aetna Q4 2025 Rate Update
Carrier Updates
Aetna’s Q4 2025 CA ACA rate cards and average annual rate updates have been released. Q4 2025 Rate Updates: The below percentages are the average increases for Q4. OAMC/PPO : 1.4% Annual 14.9% HMO: 1.2% Annual 11.8% Please note there were additional changes made based on the Rating Area and networks (both HMO and OAMC/PPO networks). For More Information or Help Quoting Aetna, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Representative.
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Anthem's New Agreements Announced
Carrier Updates
Anthem is pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement with Shasta Regional Medical Center located in Shasta County. As you recall, Shasta Regional Medical Center’s commercial Contracting Hospital Agreement with Anthem Blue Cross was terminated effective January 1, 2025. With this new contract agreement, Shasta Regional Medical Center returns to Anthem’s Network effective August 1, 2025. Anthem also announced that MemorialCare has rescinded its notice of termination for acute care hospitals, ASCs, and Memorial Select Health Plan-HMO. In addition, we have come to agreement for MemorialCare HMO Medical Groups as well as their PPO agreement. The below-referenced Commercial contracts remain in full force and effect while they finalize the multi-year renewal agreements, effective as noted: Hospitals & ASCs renewal effective 8/1/2025 General Acute Care Hospitals • 050603-Saddleback Memorial Medical Center • 050485-Long Beach Memorial Medical Center • 053309-Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital • 050678-Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center Ambulatory Surgical Centers • 051134-Digestive Disease Center • 0050WX-Memorialcare Outpatient Surgical Center Long Bch • AS1923-Memorialcare Surgical Center at Orange Coast • AS1854-MemorialCare Surgical Center Laguna Niguel • AS1616-MemorialCare Surgical Center Laguna Woods • AS1846-MemorialCare Surgical Center Saddleback Other Entity Renewals, as noted HMO Medical Groups including Covered CA-effective 9/1/2025 • 0U1 - Memorial Select Health Plan HMO Medical Groups including Covered CA-effective 1/1/2026 • 0DJ - Edinger Medical Group IPA • 0V5 - MemorialCare/Costa Mesa • 0ZR - GNP MemorialCare Newport Beach • 5KW - GNP-MemorialCare PPO Medical Groups – effective 1/1/2026 • MemorialCare Medical Foundation For More Information or Help Quoting Anthem, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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Blue Shield & UC Health Contract Update
Carrier Updates
Blue Shield of California and UC Health reached a new agreement. Under the new agreement, UC Health will extend their contracts pending the completion of formal contract renewal documents and necessary Department of Managed Health Care approvals. This means our members can continue to access UC Health providers and UC Health providers will accept Blue Shield members as in-network. With the approval of the Department of Managed Health Care, Blue Shield is in the process of reassigning HMO members back to their UC Health primary care providers, effective July 10, 2025. Those members will not need to call Blue Shield to keep their UC Health primary care providers. HMO members can change their primary care provider at any time by calling the number on the back of their insurance card. Blue Shield is dedicated to ensuring members have access to affordable care and are pleased to be able to continue our partnership with UC Health. For More Information or Help Quoting Blue Shield, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Representative.
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CCSB Partnership That Pays Bonus Program
Carrier Updates
Dont miss out on this new exiting bonus from Covered California for Small Business. CCSB has announced the relaunching of its Partnership That Pays Bonus Program, effective July 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026 . You can earn up to $12,000 for enrolling a new small group with CCSB. Group Size (Enrolled Employees) Bonus Per Group (3 Groups / 6+ Groups) 51-100 $8,000 / $12,000 26-50 $4,000 / $6,000 11-25 $2,000 / $3,000 4-10 $1,000 / $1,500 For More Information, Click Here For Help Quoting CCSB, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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Health Net Q4 2025 Rate Update
Carrier Updates
Health Net has introduced the approved Q4 2025 small group premium rates and medical/vision benefits for ACA-compliant plan policies, dental and vision. Rate Summary: Medical: Q4 2025 Small Business rates will have a 3.5% increase for HMO plans, and 3.4% increase for PPO plans Dental: No changes at this time Vision: No changes at this time Optional chiro: All 2025 plans have the chiro rider option. The chiro rider is an additional $3.00 PMPM for all HMO and PPO plans. For More Information or Help Quoting Health Net, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Representative.
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Reliance Matrix Accident Insurance with Unique Value
Carrier Updates
Reliance Matrix offers accident insurance which is an affordable way to help employees with out-of-pocket medical expenses. Their plans are offered with Guarantee Issue (no medical questions or evidence of insurability), no pre-existing conditions or waiting periods and no age-based reduction of benefits. They provide a wide range of products and features to complement your underlying Medical Insurance plan and designed to address gaps or provide funding for deductible, co-pay and out-of-pocket medical expenses. For More Information or Help Quoting, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Representative.
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Alera Legal Alert: Employee Benefits Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Compliance News
Congress passed a reconciliation bill (the “Reconciliation Act”) previously named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but subsequently redesignated “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.” The most notable impacts of the Reconciliation Act on health and welfare benefit plans are as follows: The Expansion of HSA Compatibility: • Telehealth and Other Remote Care Services. The Reconciliation Act resurrects and makes permanent the pandemic-related relief previously provided under the CARES Act, which was extended by the CAA 2022 and CAA 2023, and allows HDHPs to provide first-dollar coverage of telehealth and other remote care services prior to satisfying the HDHP deductible (and regardless of whether such services were preventive services) while maintaining HSA eligibility. This provision is effective retroactively to plan years beginning after December 31, 2024 (i.e., when the last extension of the relief expired). Employers seeking to take advantage of this relief may amend their plans to provide for no-cost telehealth services. • Primary Care Service Arrangements. The Reconciliation Act has resolved the unsettled question relating to the viability of HSA coverage for individuals with a direct primary care service arrangement (i.e., a contract between an individual and one or more primary care physicians to receive certain medical care in exchange for a fixed periodic fee). Effective for months beginning after December 31, 2025, a direct primary care service arrangement will not be considered disqualifying coverage (and therefore will not preclude an employee from qualifying for HSA coverage), as long as the fixed periodic fee for the direct primary care service arrangement is no more than $150 per month for the individual, indexed for inflation (or $300 per month if the arrangement covers more than one individual, indexed for inflation). In addition to satisfying this dollar limit, the direct primary care service arrangement must not include coverage for: procedures that require the use of general anesthesia, prescription drugs (other than vaccines), or laboratory services not typically administered in an ambulatory primary care setting. Finally, the Reconciliation Act confirms that the fixed periodic fees payable for the direct primary care service arrangement are qualified medical expenses that may be paid on a tax-free basis from the individual’s HSA. • Bronze Level and Catastrophic Health Plans. In order for an individual to be HSA-eligible, the individual must be covered under a qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP). (Note: The individual also must have no other disqualifying health coverage, must not be enrolled in Medicare, and must not be able to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s current-year tax return.) The Reconciliation Act provides that, effective for months beginning after December 31, 2025, all bronze and catastrophic level plans available on the individual market through the Exchange will be treated as HDHPs – and will, therefore, be HSA-compatible – even if those plans do not otherwise meet the standard HDHP requirements (e.g., by providing pre-deductible coverage of non-preventive services, failing to conform to out-of-pocket maximums, etc.). To Read More Click Here
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