Self-funded health plans

Advantages and disadvantages for small businesses

Rising health insurance costs and the anticipation that health care reform will accelerate premium cost inflation in coming years has triggered more small business employers to consider self-funded health care plans as a more attractive option than fully insured plans. The ability to cut the insurance company out of the equation can have dramatic cost-saving effects for a business with healthy employees.

The data supporting this strategy are compelling: total medical claims of healthy plan member average substantially less than $1000 per year while the average annual health insurance premium is more than $7,000. In contrast, less than 15% of unhealthy individuals, most of whom are not full time workers of small businesses, account for the majority of the nation's total health costs.

This short article summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a self-funded strategy.

Advantages

1. Ability to define and limit benefits. A self-funded plan can be designed to provide medical benefits that the employer can afford rather than benefits required by insurance laws.
2. Exempt from insurance exchange costs including marketing costs, internet enrollment, provider network and quality accreditation rules. This will save two to four percent per year beginning in 2014.
3. Exempt from most state mandates. This can save up to 12% depending on the state and benefits selected.
4. Control and flexibility of plan design especially those items that result in increased utilization. This feature can have the most dramatic effect on cost.
5. Control of Reserves. The employer controls all funds rather than transfer reserve funds to an insurer. If an employer’s claims experience is better than expected, the employer and not the insurer will benefit financially.
6. Eliminate community claims experience payments. Even when an employer's insurance plan has no claims, insurance premium rates increase due to the claims by other members of other companies in the health plan. This does not occur in a self-funded plan.
7. No premium tax. This saves two to four percent.

Disadvantages

1. A single catastrophic claim or chronic care claims will cause a cancellation of the self-funded health plan. In this case, the business id back to square #1 with a need to enroll in a fully insured plan.
2. Few professional benefit firms provide support services tailored to small businesses.

Freedom Benefits designs and helps with administration of self-funded and partially self-funded plans for small businesses. See www.freedombenefits.net/business for more information.

 Opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Freedom Benefits Association or any other person, company or entity mentioned. Information is from sources believed to be true, but cannot be guaranteed.