S&S
Benefits.....Opinion, Hearsay & News Review
Aon
Hewitt said that 2012 medical premium rate increases were the lowest in 6 years
in 2012 at 4.9%, down from an increase of 8.5% in 2011. They project an increase
of 6.3% in 2013. The average cost per employee was $10,522 in 2012 with
employees paying $2,204 with additional average out of pocket costs of $2,200.
The average PPO plan costs PEPY in 2012 were $10,443.
Towers Watson has released
their 2012 Health Care Changes Survey and they project a cost increase
of 5.3% in 2013, down from the 5.9% they projected for 2012. Total per
employee costs are expected to be $11,507, with employees paying $2,596. Their
survey says that 88% of employers will continue to offer benefits to active
employees in 2014. However, 60% of companies with a retiree program are somewhat
to very likely to discontinue their programs for post-65 retirees and 64% are
considering the same for pre-65 retirees.
Data released by the S&P
Dow Jones Indices indicates that the average per capita cost of healthcare
services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 5.7%
over the 12 months ending August 2012. The commercial cost increase was 7.81%
with Medicare increasing by 2.48%.
Humana
has stopped selling stop loss insurance for claims administered by entities
outside of Humana. They are offering those companies the opportunity to renew
with HCC at the conclusion of the contract year for each employer.
Humana
has also announced that they will no
longer offer Life, AD&D, STD and LTD to groups of over 100 employees,
although they will continue to renew any coverage in place.
Prudential
has announced its withdrawal from
the Group Dental marketplace in order to focus on the Group Life and Disability
business. As part of the announcement the company did not announce that renewal
offers would be coming from any other company, apparently meaning Prudential
has not partnered with any one company to take over its business.
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UnitedHealth Group is set to
become the controlling owner of the largest health insurance company in Brazil.
They are spending $4.9 Billion to acquire 90% of Brazil's Amil Participacoes,
which has about 5 million members ($980 per member). Only 25% of 200 million
Brazilians have private insurance, but Brazil is increasingly turning to the
private market for its citizens. UnitedHealth Group obviously views Brazil as a
growth market.
Just something interesting
from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: They surveyed 19,000 appendicitis
patient's bills in 2009 with uncomplicated cases and hospital stays of less than
4 days. The patients were ages 18-59 with the average bill
being $33,000 vs. the national average cost of $28,000. The largest bill
in the study was $182,955 in the Silicon Valley with the smallest bill of $1,529
in rural northern California. For a better way to control costs, contact us
about Cost Plus and get predictable
pricing.
The Pioneer Institute has
concluded a study of the Cadillac tax in Obamacare for 2018. They say that the
tax will hit 50% of Massachusetts workers.
The tax is imposed on any benefits
that exceed $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family. The study said
that many middle income workers with high value plans, such as those who work
for the state, municipalities or those who belong to unions will be subject to
the tax.
The Hill reports that the
American Action Forum think tank says that the estimated cost of insurance
subsidies under Obamacare has risen nearly 25% since the law was passed. The
think tank is led by former CBO director Douglas Holtz-Eakin. After PPACA
passed, the CBO estimated the cost to be $462 billion, but according to the CBO,
after the recent Supreme Court decision that total has risen
to $574 billion.
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