Mercy Health, a four-hospital system based in Grand Rapids, Mich., has partnered with Blue Care Network of Michigan to offer new, cheaper health plans to local residents on the state's health insurance marketplace.
People who live in Kent, Muskegon and Oceana counties and who also are Medicare-eligible or do not have employer-sponsored health insurance are eligible for the new plans. Mercy Health and Blue Care, which is the nonprofit HMO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will sell the plans starting Oct. 1, when the healthcare law's insurance exchanges begin open enrollment.
Executives at both Mercy Health and BCBS of Michigan said they wanted to work together on health insurance plans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's exchanges to bring more inexpensive options to area residents.
"Insurance products that provide quality healthcare, coordinated through local networks of physicians and hospitals, are a real solution for people who lack access to affordable health coverage today," said Kevin Sears, vice president for payer and product innovation at Livonia, Mich.-based CHE Trinity Health, the parent organization of Mercy Health. "There are more than 100,000 uninsured people in these three counties and thousands more who want an affordable health plan option. These people will benefit immediately from these products that we have jointly developed with the Blues."
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