Report: Sears To Offer Cash Rather Than Health Insurance Plans

[radhika]

62. Employer self-insurance rates are up 15% - you are correct....

There are many companies now that specialize in administering the details of a self-insured plan for corporate clients. They often use industry-standard adjudication software and reporting. They are known as ASOs: Administrative Services Only. The rules and procedures of ASO work is not much different than in a commercial plan - the difference is the employer carries the financial risk. And the employer defines key limitations of service - guess what kind?

In my years in healthcare IT, only very large companies assumed that risk, now more do. As this article in the NYT shows, the incentive is often to bypass regulations and mandates for care set by states and/or ACA. Not surprisingly, reproductive services are also a factor for some companies.

snip...

Incentives for Self-Insurance

The major incentives for self-insurance include exemption from potentially costly benefits that are mandated by the states, exemption from state taxes on insurance premiums, and the ability of the self-insurers to design their own plans and invest the money previously paid as premiums until it is needed to pay health expenses.

end snip

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/03/business/more-companies-choosing-to-self-insure-benefits.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm