Avalere Health, a Washington D.C. based strategic and analytic consulting firm dedicated to improving the healthcare system released a study today exploring the needs and challenges faced by the individual and small group markets in the purchase of health insurance. Massachusetts and Maryland were the states reviewed as a comparison case study. The study concluded that while the basic insurance exchange systems currently recommended in proposed legislation bring value to individual consumers, that the small group market is very different. It further stated that new insurance regulations combined with many of the existing private sector capabilities could be the most affordable and efficient route to take with healthcare reform. BenefitMall provides the study referenced capabilities in the Mid-Atlantic market through their General Agency and Third Party Administration services.
With development of public insurance exchanges estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at approximately seven billion dollars, one would assume that any cheaper, faster, more effective approach that exist today would be heavily reviewed and considered as a viable solution. Over the past year, we have actively lobbied on behalf of general agencies and brokers throughout the healthcare debate. We believe the implementation of public exchanges will negatively impact the small group market in two ways – creating an unnecessary expense to build something that already exists, and lessening the value of choice. Currently, small businesses can maximize coverage value from thousands of plans that are available within the private sector. Public exchanges would restrict choice to only a few plans and carriers. The solutions provided by the existing distribution channel provide assistance in evaluating the most cost efficient solutions to purchase, as well as, assistance in administering and servicing the small group at installation and throughout the coverage period.
Spending money to create a public exchange focused on the pre-sale of small group health insurance without plans for the post sale support will be a costly step backwards for our industry and the small businesses we serve.
Read the study
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