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

Dickerson / News / Weekly Newsletters / October 2, 2025
Aetna Sales Gateway, Blue Shield Behavioral Health Update, CalCPA Health 2026 Plan Changes, Cigna Expansion, CCSB Easier Eligibility, Health Net Weight-loss Medication
Thursday, October 02 2025
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Aetna Sales Gateway and Small Group Updates
Carrier Updates
Aetna launched the Sales Gateway in July – which enables you to get a medically underwritten proposal for your groups and is for up to 100 enrolled employees. Dickerson can assist you with quoting, contact your sales representaitve for more information. With the launch of Aetna Sales Gateway all medically underwritten quotes will be submitted using the tool, they will be sunsetting their quoting mailboxes starting October 15, 2025. • NEW : Dental quoting within Aetna Sales Gateway has been updated, you will now answer a new question on prior dental coverage to obtain all available dental plans on your quote with medical Samll Group Updates Did you know that a key date* in every month ensures that your clients’ claim and member ID cards are ready by their plan’s effective date? The best way to ensure your clients have all they need by their effective date is to submit all sold cases and their final paperwork by the 15th of most every month. The two exceptions every year are December and January: • December 1, 2025 effective dates=11/13/2025 • January 1, 2026 effective dates=12/12/2025 This timeline provides an overview of what you and your clients should expect: • Sales notice submitted: be sure your sales notice is completed and filled out to avoid any delays. • Paperwork and forms are sent to you and your client within 24 hours. • Once all paperwork is received, underwriting will finalize the group, and you’ll receive an approval letter. • Case installation process begins and once completed, you and your client will receive a welcome letter. For More Information or Help Quoting Aetna, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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Blue Shield Behavioral Health Update: What Brokers Need to Know
Carrier Updates
Beginning January 1, 2026, Blue Shield will directly manage the behavioral health benefit for all California members including those receiving Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) services. Today, some benefits are managed by their Mental Health Service Administrator (MHSA). This supports a simpler, member-focused experience with stronger coordination of care and improved oversight. This change applies only to California members. Members outside California are not managed by MHSA. Most MHSA providers are already part of Blue Shield’s network. In California, self-funded groups already use this network, with the exception of ABA services. In November, California members whose providers will not be in network on January 1, 2026, will receive guidance on how to request Continuity of Care. Requests and authorizations approved before year-end will be extended into 2026. What to expect next • October 2, 2025: We will post a notice on blueshieldca.com about the transition of behavioral health networks, operations, and services. Members can use Find a Doctor to search for behavioral health providers who will be in network on January 1, 2026. Member Services will be ready to support questions and provider searches. • October 31, 2025 : We will send letters to members whose current providers are not contracted with Blue Shield in 2026, with instructions for requesting Continuity of Care. We will have a dedicated phone number and support team to assist impacted members through this transition. For More Information or Help Quoting Blue Shield, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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CalCPA Health 2026 Plan Changes
Carrier Updates
CalCPA Health changes benefits every January 1st no matter what the effective date of the plan. Rates are locked in for 12 months from the inception date. Most of the changes apply to the Calendar Year Deductible, the Out-of-Pocket Maximum or Rx Deductibles. These changes are done to keep plans in their metallic tiers. CalCPA Healtg will be coming out with five, tiered copay plans, powered by Coupe Health. They still use the Anthem network as the traditional plans. Full List of Benefit Changes For More Information or Help Quoting CalCPA Health, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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CCSB Easier Eligibility Verification for Small Groups
Carrier Updates
Effective immediately, Covered California for Small Business (CCSB) has simplified the eligibility process for new small groups with 3 or more enrolling employees. What's new? • Groups previously insured can now submit their prior carrier bill instead of a DE-9C. • For enrolling employees not listed on the prior carrier bill, you can provide either a DE-9C or 14 days of payroll records. Acceptable verification options for 3+ enrolling employees: 1. The most recent DE-9C, or 2. Payroll records from the past 14 days (for businesses operating less than 3 months), or NEW: A prior carrier bill listing enrolling employees. Updated Participation Guidelines To offer coverage through CCSB, at least 70% of eligible employees must be enrolled in credible coverage. Credible coverage includes: • Employees enrolling in CCSB • Employees with other coverage through a spouse's employer, military (TRICARE), Medi-Cal, Medicare, Covered California (Individual & Family), or other minimum essential coverage. These updates are designed to streamline verification and make it easier for you to help small businesses, and their employees secure the coverage they need. For More Information or Help Quoting CCSB, Please Contact Your Dickeson Sales Rep.
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Cigna SoCal Select HMO Network Expands LA Coverage
Carrier Updates
Cigna Healthcare and PIH Health collaborate to expand Select HMO coverage in Los Angeles County. PIH Health is a regional healthcare network with three hospitals conveniently located to service the Whittier, Downey, and downtown Los Angeles communities, plus numerous outpatient medical offices, a multispecialty physician group, heart, cancer, digestive health, orthopedics, women’s health, urgent care, and emergency services. The expanded network enables more affordable access to exceptional care for Los Angeles County communities. PCPs can be updated by members any time through myCigna.com®, the myCigna® App, or (800) 244-6224, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Expanded L.A. County coverage = increased access to quality care. Enhancing the SoCal Select HMO network with PIH Health adds:2 • 1,229 providers, including 1,029+ specialists • 7 urgent care facilities • 3 hospitals For More Information or Help Quoting Cigna, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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Health Net Large Group Plans Weight-loss Medication Coverage
Carrier Updates
Starting with 2026 Large Group renewals, Health Net will implement a change to its standard pharmacy benefit for weight loss drugs. Coverage will be available to members with Class III severe obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher.1 For clients who would like broader access, Health Net will offer a pharmacy rider. The rider provides expanded weight loss medication coverage beyond the standard benefit for members with a BMI of 30 or higher. For More Information or Help Quoting Health Net, Please Contact Your Dickerson Sales Rep.
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The belief that everyone should have equal access to affordable health care is the driving force at Dickerson Insurance Services. We are a small group general agency that specializes in hands-on interaction with agents, adding a more personalized touch to your experience.  We're here to help new brokers get started and we vigorously support experienced brokers! We have a wealth of resources, a knowledgeable, experienced sales team, an excellent service team, and more!

Alera Group, Inc. is aware that there are persons fraudulently impersonating our company by using fake internet domains that appear to look like our legitimate services. If you are contacted by someone claiming to work for Alera Group, or any of our partners, please carefully review the email address and domain. If you have a relationship with our company, please contact us directly and not through any information that is provided in such an email. Please be extremely careful in responding to such emails with personal and financial information, sharing passwords, or any other information of value. Alera Group, or any of our partners, will never send ACH instructions via email and thus we strongly recommend that you verify the authenticity of each wire transfer request by calling your Alera Group contact using the number you have previously called.

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