For carriers, the exchanges are no fad. Instead, they're a powerful — and strategic — sales channel.
A new survey from Array Health of 140 health care insiders — including carriers, brokers, providers, consultants and TPAs — found that 70 percent of carriers are expected to participate in both private and public exchanges over the next six months.
Another 9 percent said they'll participate in only the private exchanges, 10.5 percent will participate only in the public ones and 10.5 percent said they won't play at all.
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"This six-month timeline seems aggressive, but health care leaders are optimistic about the exchanges and what they can provide for health insurers and employers," Array Health's report said.
Though the survey gauged health care professionals' feelings on both public and private exchanges, researchers said the results indicate an especially "promising future" for private exchanges as a result of both health care reform and increasing premium costs.
"Private exchanges give consumers and businesses alike more choice and control over their health benefit options," said Jonathan Rickert, CEO of Array Health. That's especially true when coupled with a defined contribution funding model, he said.
Almost 70 percent of respondents believe this represents the dominant funding model over the next five years, which is "great news for those insurers that have invested in the private exchange infrastructure required to support defined contributions."
"Some health care leaders expect insurers and employers to wait and see how the public marketplaces impact open enrollment and the delivery of insurance plans to individual consumers before doing anything. Yet some forward-thinking insurers have already launched their own private exchanges as an alternative channel to public marketplaces, and several large employers are moving forward with them as well," the report said.
Despite carriers' eagerness, awareness of the exchanges still remains a challenge.
Almost all of the survey respondents (89 percent) said they think employers were aware of private exchanges, while only 30 percent of respondents believed consumers were.
The success (or failure) of exchanges is believed to be hinged on several factors, researchers said: consumer education, ability to effectively engage the consumer, technology integrations, tax laws, and ultimately the ability to contain costs.
Additionally, carriers need to target young consumers in their education and enrollment efforts, since the enrollment of the so-called young invincibles remain. More than three-quarters of survey respondents believe that up to 50 percent of healthy, young consumers won't comply with the individual coverage mandate, and more than a third of respondents believe as many as 75 percent won't comply.
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