The Phoenix Business Journal is reporting, about 44,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona members will need to find a new health plan on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace next year.

The Phoenix-based nonprofit health insurance company will not provide coverage for the Obamacare marketplace in Maricopa and Pinal counties in 2017, but will continue to offer nearly 65 plans in the rural areas of Arizona.

BCBSAZ lost $185 million on individual ACA plans in just two years, said Rich Boals, president and CEO of the state’ largest nonprofit health insurer.

“After months of working through scenarios, we believe we have found a mix of plan types and benefits changes that will make these ACA plans sustainable for at least another year,” Boals said in a prepared statement.

This move follows the departure of Meritus Health Partners and UnitedHealthcare.

Henry GrosJean, a small business insurance broker in Glendale, said BCBS had some hard decisions to make after losing so much money over the past two years.

Meanwhile, the health plans that haven’t bailed yet have submitted rate increase proposals with the Arizona Department of Insurance. Click here for a look at those rate increases.

“When you’re forced to accept everyone and cover all of their pre-existing conditions you’re going to lose money regardless of what you can charge,” GrosJean said.

For full report click here

Trautwein Testifies before Congress that Retailers and Chain Restaurants Need Action

National Retail Federation Vice President and Employee Benefits Policy Counsel Neil Trautwein testified before the House Ways and Means Committee this week on the impact of the Affordable Care Act, where he reiterated the retail industry’s strong support for modifying the health care law’s employer mandate and 30-hour requirement for coverage.

“Many retail and restaurant employees do not fit neatly into full-and part-time categories and compliance with the unprecedented levels of change under the ACA will be particularly challenging,” Trautwein testified.

The health care law is especially burdensome for small employers who cannot afford the sophisticated and expensive strategies needed to fully-comply with the law’s multitude of mandates, requirements and penalties.

“The law that reforms health care coverage should not advantage larger employers to the detriment of smaller ones,” Trautwein said.

Although NRF opposed the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, it has worked closely with Congress, the Administration, and its diverse membership of retailers and chain restaurants to make the law more workable for employers and employees.

“Given the complexity of requirements under the ACA, we strongly urge this Committee and Congress to consider specific changes to the ACA, including the definition of full-time employment,” Trautwein said. “NRF stands ready to help the Administration and Congress make the ACA more workable, so long as it remains the law of this land.”

NRF supports specific, common-sense reforms to the health care law, including bipartisan legislation aimed at repealing the employer mandate, changing the law’s definition of a full-time employee to 40-hours a week and increasing the coverage requirement from 50 employees to 100.

NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. 

Arizona is open for business growth and has a $25 million fund to help companies that will create high-quality, stable jobs in the Grand Canyon state according to Greg Linaman,Chief Opertaing Officer for the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) at the recent ITRA Global Conference in Scottsdale.

Executives from one of the largest commercial real estate organizations devoted to the representation of corporate tenants and buyers heard this message loud and clear from the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA).

Linaman shared with conference attendees information about Arizona’s incentives and services aimed at attracting companies to expand or relocate in the state. Among them was the state’s $25 million Arizona Competes Fund, a “deal-closing fund” that provides incentives for companies that meet job-creation benchmarks.

Since mid-2011, the fund has awarded grants to seven companies: Clear Energy Systems Inc., Silicon Valley Bank, Ulthera Inc., United HealthCare Services Inc., The Go Daddy Group Inc., Maverick HealthCare Group LLC and Acceler8 Technologies Corp. Together they are expected to bring nearly 1,700 new jobs to Arizona.

“My ITRA colleagues found this information extremely useful in our work assisting clients in decisions about the best sites for relocation and expansion,” says Michael Coretz, Principal of ITRA Global / Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson. “These incentives provide the extra consideration that Arizona already receives from its business-friendly environment, talented work force and great weather and culture,” says Mr. Coretz, who was instrumental in bringing the global conference to Arizona.

“The Arizona Competitiveness Package encompasses some of the most powerful economic development legislation in the country, making Arizona one of the most attractive locations in the world for companies to operate,” says Gordon Rasmussen, principal of ITRA Global / Martin Property Advisors Inc. in Phoenix. “The $25 million deal-closing fund should be of particular interest to major employers who are considering Arizona.”

The conference also included a guest panel of corporate executives from major firms that have already located or expanded to the Phoenix area, including Brandon Keenan, National Director (Phoenix) for Gigya; Ken Veach, Director for Silicon Valley Bank; and Mark Singerman, Regional Director for Rockefeller Group International, Inc.. The panelists praised Arizona officials for their willingness to work with them throughout the site selection process. “Put smart people in a room and good things happen,” says Brandon Keenan.

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state’s leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: Recruit, Grow, Create – Recruit out-of-state companies to expand their operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to grow their business in Arizona and beyond; and partner with entrepreneurs and companies large and small to create new jobs and businesses in targeted industries. You may reach the ACA at (602) 845.1200

ITRA Global is an organization of real estate professionals specializing in representing tenants and buyers in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of office, industrial and retail facilities. With coverage in major markets around the world, ITRA Global is one of the largest organizations dedicated to representing tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate. Clients benefit by having an experienced professional as their trusted advisor, providing conflict-free representation with total objectivity. To learn more about ITRA Global or any of our locations, contact Michael Coretz, ITRA Global / Tucson, at (520) 299.3400 or Beth Wade, Executive Director of ITRA Global, at (706) 654.3201