Dive Brief:
- In the wake of the proposed Aetna and Humana merger and the possible merger of Cigna and Anthem, a new pulse survey from Aon reveals that employers have varying opinions on the impact that existing and future health insurer consolidation will have on their organization's health and benefits strategy.
- On July 8, Aon's brief pulse survey of approximately 100 companies gauging their initial reactions to current and future carrier consolidation found that 21% percent said carrier consolidation will provide greater cost efficiencies that will be reflected in better cost management.
- However, 46% believe it will result in fewer health plan options for them and their employees, while 33% said it will not greatly impact their organization or employees.
Dive Insight:
Despite these differences of opinion, 44% of employers do not expect to make any meaningful changes to their overall health strategies. The remaining 54% said they are considering a few options, including reassessing their current vendor within the next two years (38%), adopting third-party vendor solutions, such as telemedicine or transparency, to supplement what the health plan provides (13%) and supplementing national carriers with regional/local players (5%).
Companies share a similar sentiment on their future retiree health strategies, with 76% saying that consolidation will not impact their decision-making in the short term.
"Despite whether employers think merger consolidation is good or bad for the industry, most do not feel the need to wait to see how the market shakes out before moving forward with the analysis and implementation of their longer-term health care strategies," said Tucker Sharp, an executive with Aon Health. "Employers know they need to take action now to address the impact of inevitable premium increases and the upcoming 2018 Affordable Care Act excise tax."
