Colorado Group Health Insurance Rates - Here’s What to Expect in 2019

Most small business owners in Colorado Springs are holding their breath when it comes to their group health insurance rates for 2019. Many Colorado companies with fewer than 50 employees will renew their small business health insurance plans in the last quarter, so there is some trepidation that is building.

The good news is that there are a couple of group health insurance plans that have low trend increases.

Notice I said a couple.

The not so good news is there are a number of group health plans that are delivering rate increases that are in the double-digit percent category.

A few Colorado group health insurance carriers have even devised ways of packaging their business health insurance renewals so that the rate of increase appears lower in comparison to their competitors.

In almost every instance these carriers have small renewal increases with slight modifications of the plan designs. These are the types of renewals we want to see more of.

Ways the carriers keep group health insurance rates down

There are several things group health insurance plans can do to keep the renewal rate low. They can change health plan copayments, they can increase deductibles slightly and they can also modify emergency room cost sharing.

Another less obvious but very prevalent practice is to modify the group health plan prescription formulary and prescription copays and deductibles. There is an art to this. The key is to keep the deductible and out of pocket maximums as close to the prior year’s benefits as possible and modify the copayments and plan coinsurance slightly.

The more obvious changes will show up in the emergency room cost sharing. Some health insurers are really good at this process; others seem to miss the mark.

We have considerable experience working with all health insurance plans and we can see on a daily basis which companies offer the best options for plan choices at renewal.

Group health insurances rates will increase – how much is the question

We all know that health insurance premiums do not remain stagnant. They increase annually. However, it is the magnitude of the increase that causes problems for the group. This is our primary focus.

When we place you in a health plan we look at several factors.

What type of rate history does the carrier have?
How many plan options does this carrier offer?
How good is the carrier with customer service issues?
How financially-sound is the carrier?

The goal here is to find a group health insurance carrier that offers a variety of plan choices so that when rate increases are too high, we can move your group to a slightly different plan with little or no hassle.
We also attempt to make sure that the group health plan deductibles that employees face are deductibles that they can live with. Many of the Colorado businesses that call for help have group health plans with large deductibles that employees cannot afford to use. Most employers share the premium cost with the employee, so we want plan designs that are a win/ win for both the employee and employer.

Year-end is a great time to review your current plan

The 2018 year-end renewals are being processed now and will be delivered in September for December renewals and in October for January renewals.

This is the time you need to take a serious look at the market. If you feel you are not getting the attention you need, we would be delighted to assist you.

If you find that your Colorado group health insurance broker or agent delivers a renewal without showing you alternatives, you are missing the major benefits of using a broker. We have a lot of experience and knowledge about the 2019 Colorado business health insurance markets. We look at the renewal numbers from all the health plans on a regular basis. Our goal is to provide a smooth transition from one renewal to the next that is affordable for the company as well as the employee.

Call now to schedule a free consultation and quote

Preferred Insurance is a group health insurance broker which means they represent dozens of health insurance carriers. We sell and service, which means we are personally there to help your employees with their health insurance needs.

Call to speak with a licensed group health insurance broker in Colorado Springs with over 30 years experience.