A new study suggests that private exchanges are the way of the future for American health care — or at least one important way.
Approximately 6 million individuals enrolled in a health plan through a private exchange, according to an estimate by Accenture, the management consultant giant. That's double the total estimated in a similar study last year.
The trend is being largely fueled by mid-size employers with between 100 to 2,500 employees. But private exchanges haven't taken off for small employers.
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The study suggests that competition from the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) run by the federal government has deterred private businesses from trying to enter the market. But small business enrollment in healthcare.gov plans has been lower than expected, a fact that Accenture believes hints at the opportunity for private market exchanges to attract small businesses.
More and more employers will turn to private exchanges as the market for the product matures, and big names in the industry start putting money behind it. A recent example cited in the study was Aetna's $400 million acquisition of bswift, which provides an online health insurance shopping platform to employers.
It will also take time for employers to embrace the exchange approach, which contrasts with the customized package of benefits that many have relied on in the past. Uncertainty about future regulations has also had employers hesitant to adopt new methods, says the study.
However, the big increase in exchange use among employers over the past year shows that employer hesitancy is abating, suggesting that adoption will only accelerate in the coming years, the study predicts.
"Early adopters are publishing their business cases, consumer satisfaction data and lessons learned from the first two years to demonstrate exchange successes in the market," the study said.
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