Walsh Benefits - Carrier Facts

Guardian Group Medical Withdrawal From NJ Reform Market Effective October 1, 2008
10/29/2008

From Guardian:

Recent NJ Legislation
New Jersey Senate Bill 1557 has been recently enacted, requiring small employer insurance carriers that issue health benefit plans in New Jersey to also offer individual health benefit plans, and increases the minimum loss ratio to 80%.

NJ Reform Market Withdrawal (Medical and Prescription Drug) Decision
In 2005 Guardian withdrew from the Individual Health Coverage program and believes it is not in our clients’ best interest for us to re-enter this market. In addition, the new minimum loss ratio of 80% eliminates Guardian’s ability effectively compete in the NJ small employer market.

As a result, we have regretfully concluded that we can no longer offer group medical and prescription drug coverage to the reform market in New Jersey.

We have filed for and now gained approval from the NJ Insurance Commissioner to:

Withdraw our reform medical and prescription drug products effective October 1, 2008.
Non-renew small employer (reform) medical and prescription drug benefits, on plan anniversary beginning June 1, 2009.

We will begin notifying affected planholder of our decision the week of October 27, providing employers with a member notification for distribution.

Note: Non-renewal of the medical and prescription drug benefits does not affect the employer’s group dental, vision, life or disability coverage they may have through Guardian.

Long Standing Commitment to Non-Reform

Our withdrawal relates solely to the recent legislation. We will continue to actively offer medical and prescription drug benefits to non-reform employers including those with <51 employees, and non-medical group products to both reform and non-reform employers.
Guardian is committed to the New Jersey medical market. In the past year, we:

Launched Guardian Premium Protect^SM, our innovative two-year product,
Contracted with QualCare PPO to bring comprehensive provider access and
Introduced a national travel network to make in-network care available across state lines.

In the coming months, we will offer New Jersey large employers selecting Guardian medical a:
New contract,
HSA administration banking partner, and
Healthcare reimbursement arrangement.

Long Standing Financial Strength
Guardian is a financially strong institution. Standard & Poor’s recently upgraded Guardian’s credit rating to AA+, which is a testament to our strong capital adequacy and liquidity, our well-diversified investment portfolio and our prudent investment approach. Guardian has avoided losses associated with both sub-prime mortgages and structured finance securities that have negatively impacted so many financial institutions.

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