Recently there have been some proposed changes in the rules governing #AHPs or Association Health Plans. In many states (not so much CA), smaller employers are not able to obtain #EmployeeBenefits or #GroupHealthPlans for their employees, leaving them to fend for themselves either on the Health Exchange, or going without. AHPs were introduced as a way to “pool” businesses together and create some buying power for smaller businesses that have a common link. Maybe an AHP of restaurant owners, or pre-schools. They are still arguing about the details, but there seems to be some loosening of the definition of how to set up an AHP
AHPs can be structured in 3 different types of #HealthInsurance plans
The most common and easiest is the fully insured medical plan. The administration is fairly easy and takes no initial capital reserve to set up by the AHP. Secondly would be the #SelfFunded Health Insurance plan, where the employer bears much of the risk and the insurance carrier share the risk. Employers are incentivised to keep employees health good, with preventative measures and programs, many of which can be funded by the government. The third model of AHP would be a hybrid version of this, sometimes called a Partially Self Funded Health Plan, where both the employer and #insurance carrier share the risk. The healthier the group, both the employer and carrier share in the cost savings. In CA, #Cigna has a great product called “LevelFunding.
Coverage for more employees and better options
With AHP type designs, smaller employers have more choices and could potentially enjoy savings over the Individual market, depending on the state. In CA, we have a portfolio of plans for businesses under 100 employees called the #SmallGroupMarket. Carriers such as #Anthem, #BlueShield, #Aetna, #HealthNet, #UHC and others lead the market with an array of full and limited network plans.
#BrauerInsurance is a leader in #ACA #GroupHealth plans for small and medium sized employers. We “translate #ObamaCare into English, for businesses”