Small employers able to provide simple, effective program with defined contribution strategy and online insurance marketplace.

InsureXSolutions^® recently announced more small businesses in the Chicagoland area are looking to adopt a private health insurance exchange as an alternative to increasing healthcare costs. Through a defined contribution benefits strategy and the use of a private insurance exchange, businesses can now take control of their healthcare spending and offer a personalized insurance buying experience for employees.

Approximately 75 percent of Illinois employers have fewer than 50 employees, according to Kaiser Family Foundation. Of those employers, only a third currently offer group health coverage due to expensive premiums, participation requirements or other challenges that exist in today’s marketplace.

Flexible Benefit Service LLC (Flex) recently joined forces with various associations and insurance companies representing employers, producers and insurers to submit comments on the selection of Illinois’ state Essential Health Benefits (EHB) benchmark plan.

The purpose of the consolidated comments was to underscore the importance of affordability of coverage for individual consumers and small employers in Illinois. The target for this effort was the state’s Health Reform Implementation Council (HRIC) Workgroup, who was considering specific factors in choosing the EHB package. The benchmark plan will eventually determine the cost of future premiums and how broad coverage will be for Illinois consumers.