Well, we are neck deep in shopping our client’s group health insurance plans. By November 1st we will have (by state law) renewal rates for all our clients. We have started seeing some renewal offers come in the door. They are a mixed bag.

Affordable Care Act plans. These are plans for fully-insured small group (less than 50 employees) sold after January 1, 2014 (when the ACA went into effect). We haven’t yet seen these renewal letters.

Large group health plans. These are plans for fully-insured groups with 51 or more employees. For this sized group the insurer can use the health of plan participants when calculating premium rates. Thus, the rate increase is very, very dependent on the group’s claims experience and any on-going medical conditions. For this category, we have seen rate decreases (minus 6%), small increases (5% for example), and large increases (as high as 60%). Situations like this really call for the expertise of an experienced health insurance broker in Atlanta.

Self-funded group plans. Small group self-funded plans are a product category that was designed to avoid the onerous community rating rules of the Affordable Care Act. Premium increases for these plans are also very dependent on the health of the plan participants. We expect to see more renewals in the next week or so for this category.

The bottom line is that it pays to have an insurance broker on your side. Someone whose personal income is dependent on you being happy. Please contact an Angus McRae benefits consultant for assistance. We would be happy to lend a hand.