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UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance Company to Offer New Choices in Quality, Lower-Cost Health Plans in Nevada

Posted on: Monday, 12 May 2008, 12:00 CDT

Nevadans who buy their own health insurance, including the self-employed, small business owners and workers without health care benefits, now have access to new lower-cost health insurance choices offered by UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance Company.

Golden Rule, a leader in the individual insurance market for more than 60 years, recently introduced a wide range of health plans in the state that includes lower-cost high deductible health plans, health savings account plans (HSAs) and more traditional co-pay plans.

Within each of these plan types, Golden Rule offers "Saver" options that feature the lowest premiums. The "Savers" provide customers with protection from the more costly medical expenses that can be the tipping point in family budgets, such as in-patient hospital stays, outpatient surgeries and CAT scans. Premium costs are lowered by limiting the amount of coverage for more routine expenses, like doctor visits.

Strong network discounts on health care can translate into additional savings for consumers who will have access to UnitedHealthcare's network of more than 2,800 physicians and 27 hospitals throughout Nevada as well as an extensive national network.

"Too many Nevadans are going without health insurance today. We understand that finding the right health plan and then fitting the cost into an already-strained budget can be particularly challenging with the price of just about everything rising from the gas pump to the grocery store," Golden Rule CEO Richard A. Collins said today.

"We believe that consumers in Nevada will be pleased with our budget-conscious, quality health plans as well as our dedication to customer service and prompt payment of claims," Collins said.

Golden Rule helped pioneer the concept of health savings accounts (HSAs), which combine a high-deductible health insurance plan with a tax-favored savings account. Golden Rule customers typically save 45-55 percent or more in premiums by choosing an HSA plan over a more traditional plan. In addition, HSAs offer triple tax advantages: the savings go in tax-deductible, grow tax-deferred and can be withdrawn tax-free as long as they are used for qualified medical expenses including vision and dental.

Today, nearly 38 percent of Golden Rule customers are covered by HSA plans, and its customers have accumulated more than $186 million in their own health savings accounts. Importantly, at year-end 2007, 40 percent of customers purchasing HSAs from Golden Rule indicated that they did not have previous health insurance coverage.

Golden Rule became a UnitedHealthcare company in 2003. UnitedHealthcare's individual line of business, offers PPO health insurance and HMO products to individuals and families in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Golden Rule health insurance plans, consumers can call 1-800-974-4472, visit www.goldenrule.com or contact a local independent insurance broker in Nevada who offers Golden Rule health plans.

Source: Business Wire

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