Just over a quarter of the potential pool for small business health insurance has been penetrated by the industry, and that number appears to be declining. But that also means there's new opportunity for carriers seeking small business health insurance clients may be just around the corner.
A study by Mark Farrah Associates reviewed public data on small businesses and found that the vast majority don't offer coverage to employees. Farrah said that small groups with health insurance policies fell from 1.546 million in 2012 to 1.453 in 2013, a decline of about 93,000. "Nonetheless, this sizeable market remains an attractive business target for commercial health insurers," Farrah noted.
One cause for optimism: The Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP. This should have launched last fall when the public exchanges opened, but its opening was delayed until this November. Farrah called SHOP "a potential game-changer in the small group market."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
