Health insurance exchanges

Consultants suggest HIX vendor checklist

Can’t decide which way to go on a public or private health insurance exchange, or how those two models even differ? Stumped by the merits of a single-carrier vs. multi-carrier exchange? Want to know which of the industry’s many players will turn out to be the right HIX partner?

Bruce Shutan
By Bruce Shutan
Contributing writer

Some HIX marketing claims might need an asterisk

It is estimated there are more than 100 private exchanges in existence, with each one promoting unique or distinguishing characteristics in a crowded marketplace. Given the enormity of services offered to employers of many shapes and sizes, there are bound to be some conflicting claims that require an asterisk to eliminate any confusion for prospective customers.

Bruce Shutan
By Bruce Shutan
Contributing writer

All aboard

The $64,000 question on state and federally managed health exchanges will be "what is the broker compensation?" Reliance on state and/or federal government to control your compensation is an uncontrollable factor that could lead to the demise of many brokers whose sole business is groups under 50 lives.

Robert J. Lieblein
By Robert J. Lieblein
EVP
MARSHBERRY

Come out and play

According to most experts, the number is small and keeps getting smaller. We speak, of course, of the number of companies with 50 or more employees that will drop employer-sponsored insurance in 2014 – opting to send employees to state-run insurance exchanges and pay per-employee fines levied by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After a McKinsey & Company study in 2011 famously concluded that 30% of employers would "pay" rather than "play," survey after survey has revealed that fewer than 5% of employers plan to eliminate employee health benefits. Even the Government Accountability Office, which originally reported as much as 20% of employers would drop coverage, now has backed off that estimate to around 2%.

By Tristan Lejeune
Associate Editor of Employee Benefit News

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