That crunch you just heard was the sound of private exchanges getting some traction on the gravelly road to success.
According to consulting firm Accenture, the number of individuals who now receive their health insurance via one of the private exchanges has doubled in the past year, from 3 million in 2014 to 6 million this year.
That's not all. According to Accenture's forecast, private exchanges will be handling health coverage for 40 million by 2018.
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Accenture based its figures on interviews with nearly 2,800 adults.
The fate of private exchanges has been a much-researched subject. With major consulting firms like Towers Watson and Mercer now offering private exchange services, health care experts and investors have followed their growth closely for signs of a lift-off.
According to Accenture, that's about to happen.
It forecasts that growth will double again by next year, and then really take off for the 2018 coverage year. In part, this will be driven by large employers, many of them seeking to avoid the costly Cadillac tax on "rich" health plans that kicks in in 2018.
While there is considerable sentiment in Congress to remove the Cadillac tax from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Accenture said even the specter of the tax has employers looking for relief. And, as private exchange gain more experience with managing employer sponsored coverage, the exchanges increasingly will be seen as a viable option, Accenture predicted.
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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.
