Pacific Health Advantage (PacAdvantage), a nonprofit health insurance purchasing alliance for small businesses, will cease operations at year-end because too many insurance providers have withdrawn from the voluntary program. The latest insurer to announce its departure was Blue Shield of California, which earlier this year said that it would withdraw from the program on December 31. Blue Shield was the eighth insurer to quit since the program was created in 1992.

PacAdvantage was created by the state so that small businesses with 2 to 50 employees could band together and negotiate lower health insurance premiums. PacAdvantage currently provides health insurance for 6,200 small businesses representing 116,000 people across California, who have four months to find other coverage.

CMA’s partner, Marsh Affinity Group, can help affected member physicians find alternative insurance options.

Contact: Marsh 800/842-3761 or cmacounty.insurance@marsh.com