In addition to providing our clients with newsletters and industry articles, we share whitepapers and other research on the benefits industry that provide a deeper point of view regarding today’s current challenges and new approaches. 

Rising Blue Cross bills stun N.C. families

Below is an article from yesterday's edition of the Raleigh News & Observer discussing medical premium rate increases and health care reform.  John McDonnell, one of the Senior Partners at Progressive Benefit Solutions, points out the fact that higher premium rate increases can be attributed to consumers receiving more care during the recession.  Many people are taking advantage of their benefits while they can, not knowing if they may lose their job, and ultimately their health insurance.  Please see the article below.

Posted: 02/26/2010 |Full Article

Survey Results: Health Plan Survey 2008

While consumer-driven health plans continue to be of interest to employers, overall health plan design is a critical piece in the puzzle. How are employers positioning their plan design offerings?

Posted: 05/01/2008 |PDF |Full Article

January 2008 Census: 6.1 Million People Covered by HSA/High Deductible

An annual census by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) of U .S . health insurance carriers shows that the number of people covered by health savings account/high-deductible health plans (HSA/HDHPs) totaled 6 .1 million in January 2008 . As in previous years, AHIP received participation from virtually all private health insurance carriers in the HSA/HDHP market for this census . This census does not include coverage associated with health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), which are most commonly offered in the large-group market .

Posted: 04/01/2008 |PDF |Full Article

Covering the Uninsured in 2008: Key Facts

Nearly 77 million people will go without health insurance coverage in 2008 for all or part of the year.  That number has been growing steadily, driven largely by unchecked and escalating health care costs.  In order to address these synergistic problems, presidential candidates and members of Congress are proposing major changes in health care’s financing and as a country, many believe we are on the brink of national health reform.

Posted: 08/04/2008 |PDF |Full Article

Employer Health Insurance Costs and Workers Comp

Health insurance premiums have increased rapidly over the recent past, growing a cumulative 78 percent between 2001 and 2007 and far outpacing cumulative wage growth of 19 percent over the same period.1 These figures, which have been widely cited to demonstrate the growing burden of health insurance costs on employers and employees, illustrate overall trends in health benefit costs, but they do not show how this growing burden is affecting employers and employees in different settings.  To address this issue, this analysis shows employer costs for payroll and health benefits over a six-year period for workers in different occupations and at different establishment sizes.

Posted: 03/03/2008 |PDF |Full Article

The Medicare Part D Coverage Gap

This report provides new information to address several important questions related to Medicare Part D enrollees’ experiences with the coverage gap in 2007.  Because 2007 is the first year in which most beneficiaries were enrolled for 12 months, it represents the first time they faced the full impact of the gap.  The study examines the share of enrollees that reached the coverage gap in 2007 and their characteristics, and the share of enrollees with spending high enough to receive catastrophic coverage. It assesses the extent to which Part D enrollees stopped taking medications or switched to less expensive alternatives after they reached the coverage gap, focusing on Part D enrollees taking one or more drugs in eight drug classes to treat several relatively common chronic conditions:  Alzheimer’s disease, high cholesterol, depression, diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux disease, heart failure, hypertension, and osteoporosis.  It also examines changes in out-of-pocket and total spending associated with the coverage gap and catastrophic coverage.

Posted: 08/01/2008 |PDF |Full Article