Employers and individuals participating in the Aon Active Health Exchange are seeing notable reductions in health care spend for the third straight year.
More than 600,000 employees and their dependents enrolled in health benefits through the Aon Active Health Exchange for the 2014 calendar year. All of the 18 companies that participated in 2014 are returning to the Aon Active Health Exchange in 2015. Across those companies, rates for medical coverage increased an average of 5.3 percent. This is lower than the industry average and includes costs associated with the Affordable Care Act. According to Aon Hewitt's estimates and several other organizations,1 average health care cost increases in 2015 for large U.S. employers with self-insured arrangements are projected to be between 6.52 percent to 8.0 percent3 before employers make changes in deductibles and copays. Based on employer and employee feedback, plan designs in the Aon Active Health Exchange for 2015 will once again remain unchanged.
Companies participating in the Aon Active Health Exchange also reduced their overall health care cost for medical coverage by more than $750 per employee compared to their expected 2014 spending. These numbers factored in the savings delivered through the exchange model, the impact of employee choices to buy less rich coverage and the impact of employees who chose to purchase richer—and often more expensive—medical plans. Average health care costs were $8,342 per employee, down from $9,098 per employee. These savings were shared with employees through reduced payroll contributions, as well as through offering a range of more affordable health care coverage options.
"The Aon Active Health Exchange is designed to create a more effective and efficient health care ecosystem by aligning employers, employees, providers and insurance companies," said Ken Sperling, Aon Hewitt's National Health Exchange Strategy Leader. "After three years in operation, we continue to see evidence that our fully insured, multi-carrier model is fostering competition at the consumer level and encouraging individuals to become smarter about their health care choices, which have helped drive down the cost increases that employers and employees have experienced over the last decade."
According to Aon Hewitt's post-enrollment analysis conducted by an independent third-party, nearly 75 percent of enrollees felt confident they chose the health plan that offered the best value for them and their family, and 87 percent liked being able to choose among multiple carriers.
The Aon Active Health Exchange, the only private exchange for large employers that offers fully insured group health plans from multiple insurance companies, is part of the company's innovative suite of exchange solutions designed to align the interests of the players in the health ecosystem by creating a competitive market for benefits that offers more individuals more choice and transparency over their health benefits.
"Health care cost increases continue to be well above general inflation and remain high for employers and employees," said Timothy Nimmer, fellow of the Society of Actuaries, member of the American Academy of Actuaries and chief health care actuary at Aon Hewitt. "The Aon Active Health Exchange is netting average cost increases that are well below the industry norm, which is positive reinforcement of the overall sustainability and success of our model."
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