Private benefit exchanges

Private exchanges present an opportunity to engage employees in their health plans year-round, not just during open enrollment.

Industry analysts praise one-stop shopping tools as a positive reason why many employers are moving to private exchanges. At Xerox’s Buck Consultants, 100% of employees enrolling through the company’s exchange engaged with its technology — and made an average of 11.5 return visits, says Sherri Brockhorst, leader of the RightOpt exchange at Buck.

Embracing private exchange solutions is, some say, imperative for brokers who want to survive in the industry, yet many remain confused about just how to do so.

Five years down the road, the insurance broker’s role in health insurance may be diminished, largely due to exchanges, consultants say. The role of the broker will change greatly in the process, they say, but in the near term it is a mixed story.

Private exchange technology platforms are the cornerstone of the new benefits administration market.

As many brokerages offer a private exchange to their clients, carriers who run their own are working extra hard to educate customers about their offerings, says Lisa Feddema, director, exchange management, Health Care Service Corp.

Another bullish forecast about private HIX growth estimates that the roughly 2.5 million current enrollees (excluding retirees) could triple in the coming year.

With the news of the breach of security at Anthem health plans, many employers have been wondering whether their employees are affected and how they should respond.

For some employers the move to a private exchange is as much about the role of benefits as an attraction and retention strategy as it is about saving money over the long term.

The distribution model for employee benefits is changing, and adapting to the rapidly developing landscape presents new questions and challenges for all players.

Many of the private health care exchanges on the market today are adopting hybrid models of benefits administration and benefits enrollment, says Scott Carver, president of PlanSource, a cloud-based benefits exchange provider. The company operates its own proprietary exchange and a white label solution that builds exchanges for third parties. EBA spoke with Carver about what makes exchanges unique and his predictions for exponential growth in the field.

Benefit Advisors Network partners with exchange firm to help clients get coverage for benefit-ineligible employees.

Time Inc. joins the ranks of big-name companies using a private exchange for active employees. The company has selected Towers Watson’s OneExchange to deliver medical, prescription drug, dental and vision benefits to its full-time active employees and their dependents for the 2015 year.

Some industry research has suggested that private exchanges will transform themselves into a clogged eight-lane freeway teeming with traffic within the next few years from a lonely country road less traveled today. But a recent published report argues that some of the nation’s top employers are now adopting a cautious approach.

As many as 6 million U.S. taxpayers will have to pay a penalty of as much as 1 percent of income because they went without health insurance in part or all of 2014, the Treasury Department said.

Brokers cite rate increases, increased complexity and poor plan quality as top concerns with the health care law.

When it comes to private exchange operators, Array Health differs from most, in that the technology company powers many insurers’ private exchanges, including Highmark Blue Shield in Pittsburgh and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. The company’s CEO shares how private exchanges are changing the way health care is sold in the United States.

Advisers share why they entered the private exchange business and key players detail how to help employer clients chose the right exchange.

The advent of private and public health care exchanges has expanded employers’ horizons to consider subsidizing pre-Medicare eligible retiree health benefits through the individual market.

Benefitfocus' Shandon Fowler shares about his company, which provides the technology behind the private exchange offerings of top players like Aetna and Mercer.