Healthcare Revolution or Evolution?

We are all watching, and some are experiencing, government-driven healthcare revolution. We hear and read about it daily with reports claiming both overwhelming success and the total failure of this new approach to selling and providing healthcare. While the final conclusion is not yet determined, here is an option that gets less press coverage, but has been functioning well for many years: private exchanges.

Healthcare Revolution Gives Way to Evolution

So what is a private exchange? It is a marketplace of health insurance and related benefits offering access to a single or multiple health plans in one, unified program. Working directly with insurance brokers, employers purchase insurance through the exchange. Employees then choose from reputable carriers such as Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Anthem Blue Cross or others, depending on the specific exchange.

Through a private exchange, employers allocate a set amount of dollars toward the program through what’s called “defined contribution.” This provides cost controls while supporting an employee’s health care.

For workers, an exchange offers choice and flexibility. They select and purchase their coverage from available options. If they want to upgrade their plan or add other benefits like life insurance beyond what’s covered by the employer contribution, they have the option to pay to do so.

With more than 55 percent of all U.S. workers employed by businesses with one to 50 people, private exchanges are proving to be an especially powerful, viable and valuable option. While media attention around federal- and state-operated exchanges will likely persist in the near term, established private exchanges such as will continue to quietly build steam.In fact, private exchange participation nationally is projected to exceed public exchange enrollment by 2018, says a 2013 report by Accenture.

Will healthcare prove to be like most markets where evolution trumps revolution? Only time will tell. For more information about private health insurance exchanges, visit www.calchoice.com.