E.MAP Preferred Pricing and Rate Guarantees

Effective January 1, 2009, E.MAP and UPMC Health Plan entered into a new agreement that delivers both discounted pricing for health insurance and two years of renewal rate guarantees.  That agreement has been extended for three additional years through December 31, 2012.  Any business that joins under this agreement will receive initial savings plus two years of rate guarantees as described below (even if the guarantees extend beyond the contract expiration). 

E.MAP’s arrangement with UPMC Health Plan guarantees area businesses the lowest rates available from UPMC Health Plan, plus the comfort and assurance that renewal rates will not be excessive.  That means financial savings right now as well as a hedge against the nationwide trend toward continuing health care cost increases.

Here’s how the agreement works:

New E.MAP Groups With Less Than 50 Employees

Initial Rates – The initial 12 month rates are calculated according to UPMC Health Plan’s standard rating methodology* then reduced by 5%.

First Renewal – Renewal rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan's standard rating methodology and are guaranteed not to exceed a 14% rate cap.

Second Renewal - Renewal rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan's standard rating methodology and are guaranteed not to exceed a 15% cap.

New E.MAP Groups With 51-100 Employees

Initial Rates – The initial 12 month rates are calculated according to UPMC Health Plan’s standard rating methodology then reduced by 3%.

First Renewal – Renewal rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan's standard rating methodology and are guaranteed not to exceed a 14% cap.

Second Renewal - Renewal rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan's standard rating methodology and are guaranteed not to exceed a 15% cap.

New Groups With 101 or More Employees

Initial Rates – The initial 12 month rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan’s standard rating methodology then reduced by 3%.

First Renewal – Renewal rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan's standard rating methodology and are guaranteed not to exceed a 14% cap.

Second Renewal - Renewal rates will be calculated according to UPMC Health Plan's standard rating using a trend factor not to exceed 15%.

Existing E.MAP Member Groups – Guarantees are Back!

Existing EMAP customers benefit from the new E.MAP/UPMC Health Plan preferred pricing arrangement as well.  Here’s how it works.  Renewal rates will be calculated using the standard UPMC Health Plan renewal process. Then, the renewal rates will be discounted by either 5% or 3% depending upon the number of employees as defined above.  During the first and second renewals that follow, the appropriate First Renewal and Second Renewal rate guarantees will apply.

Choice of All UPMC Health Plan Products and Plan Designs

Groups with two or more eligible employees can choose from UPMC Health Plan’s health maintenance organization (HMO), point-of-service (POS), preferred provider organization (PPO), or exclusive provider organization (EPO) products. With dozens of plan designs that offer a wide variety of contributions and benefits, you can select the right combination for your organization’s medical needs and budget.

*This methodology will stay in effect as long as medical underwriting is permitted by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. If medical underwriting practices are restricted as a result of changes in legislation UPMC Health Plan reserves the right to adjust the methodology of calculating the initial rate.