Regence Launches Website to Help Consumers Understand Health Care Reform

PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Health care reform has resulted in some of the largest scale changes to the way health care is delivered and funded since the 1960s, providing unprecedented access, coverage and protections for American consumers. To help people better understand the variety of choices before them, Regence has launched a new website that is designed to help consumers and businesses navigate the new health care landscape.

healthcareandreform.com is designed to help people understand and get prepared today for the 2014 reforms. Features include updates on new decisions from Washington, D.C. and the states Regence serves (Idaho, Oregon, Utah and select counties of Washington), information, tools and resources that cover a wide spectrum of topics related to the law: information about essential health benefits; who is required to have health insurance; important benefits and protections like subsidies for individual insurance and tax credits for businesses.

The information is timely given the level of complexity of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and new information available for consumers. A survey of more than 1,200 consumers in March 2013 indicates 57 percent of Americans say they still don't have enough information to understand how reform will affect them.[i]

"Our members and customers have a lot of decisions to make in a very short amount of time. It can be confusing. For the last 95 years Regence has tried to make health care choices as simple as possible and now we're taking that commitment to the next level," said Don Antonucci, president of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. "Our goal with this website is to provide a comprehensive resource that breaks down the ACA's requirements and helps consumers, agents and the community understand what it means to them."

healthcareandreform.com features tools and resources for consumers about how the new law may affect them, including new costs, fees and financial assistance options. Customized landing pages let visitors go directly to local, customized information that is right for them.

Highlights include:

Infographics and videos:

• For individuals: Will the health care law leave them better off?
• For businesses: What are the bottom-line results of reform?

Resources

• Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Questions
• Focus on Health Reform: Summary of New Health Reform Law
• National Health Care Quality Report
• Trust for America's Health reports

Tools

For Individuals

• Health care insurance finder
• Individual subsidy calculator
• Requirement to buy calculator

For Businesses

• Tax credit calculator
• Employer tax penalty flowchart
• Requirement to buy flowchart
• 2013 compliance checklist

About Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon is a leading health plan in Oregon, with nearly 750,000 members, offering health, life and dental insurance. Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon is a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, and is affiliated with Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (selected counties in Washington). Together, the companies serve more than two million members in the Northwest/Intermountain Region. The Regence affiliated companies are committed to improving the health of its members and communities, and to transforming the health care system. For more information, please visit www.regence.com or www.twitter.com/RegenceOregon.

[i] March 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation Kaiser Health Tracking Poll

SOURCE Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon