Local Snapshot: Michael Traphagan

In the world of rising health insurance premiums, it's not easy being the public face of one of the companies behind the costs.

In truth, Rochester-area insurers spend a fair amount of money and time on community outreach, helping the media decipher the complexities of health finance, producing reports and releases on trends in care and linking company officials with those on the outside who want to know more — or why.

Now, he is moving into a growing element of the company's public profile: its social responsibility status.

"I work a lot with the company and local charities such as the United Way on ways that we can help," Traphagan said. He said the outreach brings MVP into touch with a community that often knows health insurers only from news about premium increases and rejected claims.

Mvp Health Care Medical Insurance - News


Local Snapshot: Michael Traphagan

Michael Traphagan, whose new title is director of corporate social responsibility for MVP Health Care in Rochester, has for most of his career in public relations been a genial spokesman for the company, which was Preferred Care before it merged in



Health insurers raise premiums as economy ails

(Nationwide, under the new health care law, the minimum is 80 percent.) One company, MVP Health Care – asked about its highest rate increase requests: 40 percent, 55 percent and 56.8 percent in three plans in Rochester – said the requests had been made



Excellus, MVP plans rank among best in US

The National Committee on Quality Assurance 2011-'12 health insurance-plan rankings rate Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield's HMO and point of service offerings and MVP Health Care's MVP Gold Medicare and Medicaid plan among the best US



Local insurer ranked in US top 30

Medicaid scores ranged from 92.2 for Fallon Community Health Plan in Massachusetts to 54.3 for WellCare of Ohio. Albany-based Capital District Physicians Health Plan and Schenectady's MVP Health Care, which also operates in Rochester,



NHBR Health Care Forum

Besides MVP Health Care, other sponsors of the event are: Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson Company; Anthem; Harvard Pilgrim Health Care; Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell; Granite Group Benefits; Delta Dental; Workforce Wellness; and CGI Employee Benefits




Health Insurers Seek Higher Premiums

Major health insurance companies have been charging sharply higher premiums this year, outstripping any growth in workers wages and creating more uncertainty for the Obama administration and employers who are struggling to drive down an unrelenting rise in medical costs.

A study released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research group, showed that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011 — 9 percent higher than in the previous year. And even higher premiums could be on the way, particularly in New York, where some companies are asking for double-digit increases for about 1.3 million New Yorkers in individual or small-group plans, setting up a battle with state regulators.

The higher premiums are particularly unwelcome at a time when the economy is sputtering and unemployment is hovering at about 9 percent. Many businesses cite the cost of coverage as a factor in their decision not to hire, and health insurance has become increasingly unaffordable for more Americans. The cost of family coverage has about doubled since 2001, compared with a 34 percent gain in wages.

How much the new federal health care legislation pushed by President Obama is affecting rates remains a point of debate, with some consumer advocates and others suggesting that insurers have raised prices in anticipation of new rules that would, in 2012, require them to justify any increase of more than 10 percent. Kaiser pointed out that the increase this year could be an anomaly, after several years of 3 percent to 5 percent increases during the recession.

Kaiser estimates that one to two percentage points of the increase this year is related to provisions of the law already in effect, like coverage for children up to 26 years old and for prevention services like mammograms.

New York, along with states including California, Connecticut and North Carolina, has been exercising its regulatory muscle to try to tamp down some of the increases. The Obama administration this month funneled a total of $109 million to many states, in part to help fight against “unreasonable” increases.


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MVP Health Care
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Insurance Benefits
Insurance Benefits of MVP. MVP Health Care offers a Cafeteria Benefit ... MVP co-workers may also choose to opt-out of medical insurance altogether and receive ...

MVP Medical Care, PLLC
At MVP Medical Care PLLC your health and well being is our singular priority. We focus on not only curing your medical illnesses, but getting ...

MVP Health Care Insurance
How can an MVP health insurance plan help you? Find out here. ... MVP Health Care began in 1980 as the Schenectady County Foundation for Medical Care. ...

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