Yikes! Keep a close watch on health Insurance.

I like buying from and getting to know various small and family owned businesses. Recently, a small business that I consult with regularly received notification from the insurer that provides health insurance to their employees, to me and my wife and to their related entities that the rates for the year beginning July, 2009 and last for a year, would not change. REALLY! Would not change. I have been hearing of 30% and 40% increases and we were prepared for the worse, However, NO CHANGE. Rates would stay the same as they were in 2008!

Amazing? Maybe! But not for our insurer. They are a locally owned health insurance provider that is owned by the two major hospital groups in the state. Although many companies that they insure did receive increases, they made a concerted effort NOT to increase the rates for the businesses hardest hit by this recession, the smallest of the companies and those that had managed their health plans to insure that employees were well educated about what they can and cannot do with their health insurance. Thank you CCOO.

Now what do I mean by saying that they were trying to help companies that had managed their health plans. A lot of companies just provide the insurance and the employees go to the doctor, deal with the insurance provider and try to charge whatever they can to the health insurance. In a company I am familiar with, the employees were trained twice a year on what they could and could not do with health insurance. The employees were required to come to the coordinating person in the company if they disagreed with the health provider or had a problem or just did not understand. 83% of the time, the company person was able to solve the problems saving the health insurance carrier time and money in the meantime. An added benefit, relations between the company and the insurance provider was and is great. The insurance company was happy to provide documentation and information for the training sessions and they only had to, in most cases, deal with one person to resolve an issue.

If you do not provided health insurance but would like to, several states now have state supported plans that pick up some of the cost for employees making less than certain amounts of money. In Arkansas, Oklahoma and others, the plan is simple. You send your health insurance bill to the state office, they reimburse you for eligible employees up to 90% of the cost.

So, don't give up on health insurance, manage it. What do you think?