Nation’s Largest Health Plan Survey Cites Significant Health Plan Cost Disparity Between States
Creating Parity through a National Plan May be Difficult
Indianapolis, Indiana (Vocus) October 26, 2010
Key findings released today by United Benefit Advisors (UBA) from the UBA 2010 Health Plan Survey indicate that significant differences in state-by-state average annual costs (AAC) for employee health plans may have implications regarding the future implementation of health insurance exchanges and/or co-operatives.
The survey reveals that while Alaska has the highest average annual cost (AAC) per employee at $10,881, the only other states with an AAC per employee in excess of $10,000 are all located in the Northeast:
Connecticut $10,584
New York $10,414
New Jersey $10,295
Massachusetts $10,229
This is in contrast to the least expensive states that include:
Kentucky $6,342
Arkansas $6,422
Idaho $6,529
Arizona $6,771
The disparity between the highest and lowest illustrates the difficult nature of creating parity through a national plan and may indicate that there is a greater need for state based programs as health care reform refinements occur in the future. “The question is who will manage regional co-operatives and exchanges when there are four or five potential insurance commissioners involved,” said Bill Stafford, UBA Vice President, Member Services.
The intent of the UBA Health Plan Survey is to provide employers of all sizes with the data they need to manage their health care benefit programs effectively. Especially employers with fewer than 1,000 employees (which represents more than 99 percent of the employers in the U. S.) and for employers who have operations in multiple locations, this survey is the best source of reliable regional – and in many cases, state – health plan benchmarks by employer size and industry categories. The full survey will be available to the public on Nov. 1. Only UBA Member Firms have access to the more than 250,000 pages of granular state, region and industry data.
ABOUT THE 2010 UBA HEALTH PLAN SURVEY
With responses from 17,113 health plans sponsored by 11,413 employers nationwide, the 2010 UBA Health Plan Survey is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive survey of plan design and plan costs. As the largest survey of its kind, the UBA Health Plan Survey defines benchmarks by a greater number of specific industries, regions and employer size categories than is available from any other resource. The 2009 UBA Employer Benefit Perspectives (which delineates employers' positions and opinions on Employee Communications, Personal Health Management and Scope of Benefits Offered) and the 2010 UBA Employer Opinion Survey (including the Special Supplement on Health Care Reform) serve as companion pieces to the 2010 UBA Health Plan Survey.
ABOUT UNITED BENEFIT ADVISORS – United Benefit Advisors, is a member-owned alliance of more than 140 premier independent benefit advisory firms with offices in more than 165 offices throughout the U. S, Canada and the U. K., and is one of the nation's top five employee benefits advisory organizations. As trusted and knowledgeable advisors, UBA Members collaborate with more than 2,000 professionals to provide best in class solutions that positively impact employers and make a real difference in the lives of their employees and families. Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from our shared wisdom should visit UBA online at http://www. UBAbenefits. com to locate your local UBA Member Firm.
CONTACT: William Stafford, Vice President, Member Services, Phone: 317-705-1800, bstafford(at)UBAbenefits(dot)com
###
