Showing posts with label Health Plans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Plans. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Small Business Coverage: A Report From the Trenches

Brian Klepper

First published on THCB.

John Sinibaldi, a well-respected health insurance agent in St. Petersburg, Fla., has become prominent in Florida's broker community because he counsels and services a large book of small business clients and studiously tracks the macro trends that impact coverage for this population. And he's active in the state's regulatory and legislative activities.

The other day I dropped him
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn's post that reported on the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans' survey showing that most employers still want to be involved with health care. John responded with a long description of what the small employers he works with are up against. It's an illuminating, damning piece. I asked him whether I could post it, and he graciously agreed.John notes that only 36 percent of Florida's small businesses -- employers with two to 50 employees - now offer coverage. This is significant because 95 percent of Florida businesses are small. Nationally, about one-third of all employees work for firms with fewer than 100 employees.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Can Health Plans Explain Why They Aren't Re-Empowering Primary Care

BRIAN KLEPPER and DAVID C. KIBBE
First published on THCB.


Sometimes a whisper is more powerful than a shout. Here's a cartoon from Modern Medicine that shows a Medical Home counseling session between a primary care physician (PCP), a specialist and the health plan. The PCP looks forlorn, while the specialist and the insurer have their backs turned, fuming. It is perfectly true.