Employee Benefits News - November 2005 Page 2

Breaking from the
Group, by Kevin Sweeney, Benefit News, November 2005.

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More on
The New Health Insurance Solution:

How to get cheaper, better health insurance from birth to old age without an employer plan.

"Should Workers Consider Individual Insurance?", by Jennifer Barrett, Newsweek, October 4, 2005.

"When to Choose an HSA," by Kaja Whitehouse, The Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2005.

"Paul Zane Pilzer Checks the Pulse of Healthcare Insurance," by MC News, Management Consulting News, February 2006.

"What If You Lose Your Health Insurance," Consumer Reports, May 2006.

"Getting Cheaper Health Insurance," by Margaret Price, New York Daily News, November 16, 2005.

The New Health Insurance Solution, by Paul Zane Pilzer, Soundview Executive Book Summaries, December 2005.

"Healthcare Benefits Within Your Employees' Reach," by Paul Zane Pilzer, Chiropractic Economics, April 6, 2005.

"New Reporting Rule May Drive Health Savings Accounts," by Gloria Lau, Investor's Business Daily, October 31, 2005.

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     "It seems to me that the health policy ought to be tied to the person, not the employer," Schultz says. "The current model is out of date. I think employers in general are fed up with health insurance. Group plans aren't valuable. The conclusion is obvious - let the individuals buy their coverage."
     Schultz points out small companies can help shoulder the burden by handling Section 125 payroll deductions to provide tax savings that reduce employee medical premiums. He also contends that the employer role could be to pay some of the plan cost and promote flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts.
     Proponents of individual insurance correlate the anticipated shift in health care to that of retirement plans. No longer will the transition from defined benefit to defined contribution only be associated with pensions and 401(k)s.
     "We're moving toward a consumer-directed health plan with a high deductible," Shultz says.
     And with insurers on board, some forecast rapid growth in the individual insurance market.
     "There is a major earthquake coming," says Paul Zane Pilzer, author of The New Health Insurance Solution: How to Get Cheaper, Better Coverage without a Traditional Employer Plan. "The individual insurance market showed up overnight. If you explain the cost savings to small employers, they immediately stampede for them. This can be the ultimate defined contribution health care rather than defined benefit."

Staying the course
Not all are convinced that the small business market is straying from group coverage toward individual models. Those in this camp say small employers are still using strategies that help them absorb rising costs.
"I think small companies are trying to do whatever they can to cope with rising costs and continue to provide quality health care coverage," says Chad Moutray, a chief economist with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"They are not looking to get out of the benefits business."
     Some small employers that insist on keeping group coverage in place are providing incentives to workers to opt out of employer-sponsored coverage or join a spouse's health plan.
     Fourteen percent of small businesses offer employees lump-sum salary increases and cash rebates not to participate in their company plan, according to Salary.com. These businesses believe such strategies will lead to greater savings when compared with offering health care coverage.
     Almost two-thirds of small companies (64%) say they have tried one or more strategies to contain health care costs. Not surprisingly, an increase in employee co-payments was cited as the most common strategy.
     Though implementation of association health plans has been largely sporadic, Salary.com reports that many small businesses are considering this measure to leverage power at the negotiating table with insurers.
     "Administrative costs are significantly higher for small businesses, and they can't get insurance companies to talk to them," Moutray says. "Small companies are looking at ways of banding together. Advocates of Association Health Plans argue that they are economies of scale that pool their workers. Unfortunately, most small businesses have had to get it on their own."
     Wherever the road leads, it seems pretty clear that small companies that resist getting out of the group plan will have some high cards stacked against them.
     "Clearly, the small business doesn't have the options the large business has," Hunter says. "To a certain extent, they are dependent on brokers to be their eyes and ears. When it comes to health plans, it's not necessarily just a question of costs. It's about the comfort level for both the individual and the company."
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PUBLICATIONS

		The Next Millionaires Explains how you can become of the the ten million new millionaires that will be created between 2006-2016.		The New Health Insurance Solution How to get cheaper, better health insurance from birth to old age without an employer plan.		The New Wellness Revolution How to make a fortune in the next trillion dollar industry--preventative medicine and wellness.
		New York Times Bestseller God Wants You To Be Rich Explains how our economic system is based on our biblical heritage, and you can prosper materially and spiritually.		Fountain of Wealth Award-winning 6 CD (or cassette) audio series explains the new opportunities for creating wealth in the 21st century.		Other People's Money Pilzer's first book, exposing the S&L Crisis and the history of savings in America.

Unlimited Wealth
Pilzer's seminal work explaining how we live in a world of unlimited physical resources because of rapidly advancing technology.

The Next Trillion
Why the wellness industry will exceed the $1 trillion health care (sickness) industry in the next ten years.

Real Estate Review
Collection of articles on the guidelines for success in commercial real estate investments.

The Wellness Revolution
How to make a fortune in the next trillion dollar industry-- preventative medicine and wellness.