HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS CONTINUE TO RISE
The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers has released the results of it's latest benefits survey, which is conducted twice a year to track trends in benefit plan design and premium costs. The Council reports that :
"The cost of health insurance continued its upward climb for companies of all sizes, with more than half the smaller employers and two-thirds of the medium-size businesses finding their premiums 10-20 percent higher during the last six months than they were at the beginning of the year.
Large employers, those with 501 or more employees, also saw their health insurance premiums increasing, with 30 percent of the account premiums up by 1-10 percent, and 40 percent up by 10-20 percent over the first six months of 2004.
For medium-sized accounts, with 51 to 500 employees, 19 percent of premiums were 1-10 percent higher; 64 percent were up 10-20 percent; and 5 percent were 20-30 percent higher. For small accounts, representing employers with 50 or fewer employees, 12 percent of premiums were up 1-10 percent; 55 percent were up 10-20 percent; and 13 percent were up 20-30 percent.
According to the survey, less than 11 percent of employers who offer health insurance to their workers experienced flat rates or decreases in their premiums during the second half of the year, regardless of the size of the company."
The most common response from employers has been increased employee contributions and plan design changes such as increased co-pays and higher deductibles and out-of-pockets maximums. The survey also indicates increased interest in consumer driven health plans, such as health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) although few employers have yet adopted these plans.
For more information about employee benefit trends, including consumer driven health plans, contact your Thesco Account Executive.
IRS ANNOUNCES NEW 2005 LIMITS FOR FSA TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS
The Internal Revenue Service has announced increased limits for Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Transportation Benefits for 2005. The maximum monthly amount that can be excluded from an employee's income has increased to $105 for transit and vanpooling expenses (an increase of $5 from the 2004 limit of $100) and $200 for qualified parking expenses (also an increase of $5 from the 2004 limit of $195).
UNUM PROVIDENT SETTLEMENT
Unum Provident Corporation has announced that certain of it's insurance subsidiaries have entered into settlement agreements with state insurance regulators as a result of a multi-state market conduct examination. The settlement is a result of investigations focused on assertions that Unum Provident had inappropriately denied benefits under both individual and group long term disability policies. As part of the settlement agreement Unum Provident and its subsidiaries have agreed to reassess approximately 200,000 claims that were previously denied as well as to restructure their claim handling practices to ensure that claims are evaluated in an objective and fair manner. Unum also agreed to pay a $15 million fine. Additional details regarding this settlement can be found at www.unumprovident.com