And there is your selling point. Those of us that take this seriously and care about our clients, we will be able to provide what the small groups and individuals really need: customer service and solutions. I personally don't do a bunch of small group policies (mainly for friends as I am not as well versed in that policy), but I have found that the small groups I work with are happy with the solutions I am able to find for them. I just saved a guy about $60K over the next year today. Mercer won't care enough to do that.
PRIVATE Exchanges Are Where The Action Is!
- Thread starter AllenChicago
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And there is your selling point. Those of us that take this seriously and care about our clients, we will be able to provide what the small groups and individuals really need: customer service and solutions. I personally don't do a bunch of small group policies (mainly for friends as I am not as well versed in that policy), but I have found that the small groups I work with are happy with the solutions I am able to find for them. I just saved a guy about $60K over the next year today. Mercer won't care enough to do that.
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You're right, ABC. The Private exchanges are catching on fast, but there is no place for the independent agent. It's all "Big Business".
Obamacare Exchanges Flail While Private Exchanges Flourish - DailyFinance
Come to think of it, these "private" exchanges for large corporation employees have been around for awhile. I remember choosing between insurers & plans when I started working at AT&T after college graduation..decades ago. Why is there so much Private Exchange growth at this point in time? Is there some kind of Affordable Care Act rule that making them more appealing than they've been in the past?
Indeed, it is just a marketing ploy. They are nothing more than dual, triple, or multiple choice plans. For smaller groups it's one carrier with multiple plans, but for very large employers, there are several carriers. It's still a group plan, with employer subsidies (ER contribution) but without taxpayer subsidies.
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I am not sure I follow.
Every Private Exchange pitch I have heard so far (most notably Health Partners America) seems to be pitching what is essentially an HRA arrangement for Employer contributions tied to a "private exchange" that is simply "your" quote engine that will presumably have access to the Exchange/Marketplace plans. And in the case of HPA, a call center to bug your clients to buy P&C and God knows what else....."that you will recieve commissions on"........
At least, that is my takeaway.......
I have seen the Health Partners America sales pitch and it is indeed a blend of the approach of defined contribution + HRA + buy thru our "private exchange" + maybe even use our call center. As you said the private exchange in that case is built on the Quotit engine.
However there is a dizzying array of "private exchanges" out there from the HPA design to the large group multi-carrier design to the small group 1 carrier with multi choice design to the web-broker using Quotit or Norvax design. I think the consumer will be bombarded with "private exchange" choices and may not know the difference.
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September 18, 2013
Walgreens will be moving it's 180,000 employees to the AON Hewitt, Inc. Private Exchange for 2014. That's a big addition for this exchange, which only had 100,000 employees utilizing it at the start of this year. Including Walgreens, 600,000 new users are expected in 2014.
Story: Walgreens insurance: Walgreen to move employees to corporate insurance exchange - chicagotribune.com
ac
Walgreens will be moving it's 180,000 employees to the AON Hewitt, Inc. Private Exchange for 2014. That's a big addition for this exchange, which only had 100,000 employees utilizing it at the start of this year. Including Walgreens, 600,000 new users are expected in 2014.
Story: Walgreens insurance: Walgreen to move employees to corporate insurance exchange - chicagotribune.com
ac
Private exchanges will dominate the large group market. I haven't really looked at what is being developed for smaller companies but this MEWA approach will be interesting.
Unless carefully managed it will blow up like it did the last time they were popular.
Unless carefully managed it will blow up like it did the last time they were popular.
I need some confirmation on how these group "private exchanges" are being structured:
1. Are they technically still "group" plans? (just with more choice) Is it like a master policy that each of the carriers sign on to?
2. If so, the stipend allocated is still income tax free to employee?
3. And this will disallow them from getting a subsidy
1. Are they technically still "group" plans? (just with more choice) Is it like a master policy that each of the carriers sign on to?
2. If so, the stipend allocated is still income tax free to employee?
3. And this will disallow them from getting a subsidy
Private exchanges are nothing more than a platform fromwhich a variety of carriers and/or plans can be chosen by the employee. They can be developed for a specific employer(Walgreens) or for the general public (more than one employer) use. This is very similar to what larger, nationalcompanies have done for years; making available a variety of products/plans totheir employees. Some of these companieshad upwards of 100 medical options available, albeit many were regional HMO's.
The provider, such as AON, etc., are developing aplatform similar to the public exchange and then negotiating with carriers tobe added. (Bob, the AON leader mentionedin the article, Ken Sperling, is another Tower Place MONY Group Rep from theearly 80's.) For employer specificexchanges the products, contributions, etc. are developed around what theemployer wants to do. For the other typeit will be developed more along the lines of what will sell in the market thatthe exchange is looking to go into. I ambuilding a mini-exchange withlevel-premium self-funding and regular self-funding. After launch, we will probably offernon-medical products.
Keep in mind; these are not MEWA's, just a platform fromwhich the employer can make available product. Unless noted, they do not share P&L across carriers/products. Productcan be anything, medical, non-medical, group/individual, etc.
The provider, such as AON, etc., are developing aplatform similar to the public exchange and then negotiating with carriers tobe added. (Bob, the AON leader mentionedin the article, Ken Sperling, is another Tower Place MONY Group Rep from theearly 80's.) For employer specificexchanges the products, contributions, etc. are developed around what theemployer wants to do. For the other typeit will be developed more along the lines of what will sell in the market thatthe exchange is looking to go into. I ambuilding a mini-exchange withlevel-premium self-funding and regular self-funding. After launch, we will probably offernon-medical products.
Keep in mind; these are not MEWA's, just a platform fromwhich the employer can make available product. Unless noted, they do not share P&L across carriers/products. Productcan be anything, medical, non-medical, group/individual, etc.
