Following Alight’s recent analysis of the monetary impact of Medicare Individual Market (IM) options compared to Medicare Alone, Alight, Inc. (NYSE ALIT), a leading cloud-based human capital and technology services provider, today released the findings of two additional studies from its Retiree Health Solutions team analyzing the Medicare Individual Market (IM) versus group health plans from the employer point of view.
Using data from Alight’s clients, these two new white papers continue the exploration into the IM by examining the long-term trends of the IM versus employer-sponsored group health plans, as well as the critical importance of reducing employer's financial burden while at the same time increasing retiree benefits.
The findings from these studies pinpoint that the decrease in the number of employer-sponsored group health plans, and the influx of baby boomers into the Medicare population, has opened the door for insurers to increase the variety of plan offerings and reduce costs.
White paper number two specifically addresses long term financial trends of group and IM plans. During a period of high medical inflation, the IM is unique in delivering cost decreases as shown in the period covered in this paper from 2018 through 2023, while group plans have increased in cost.
White paper number three identifies that when transitioning from group to IM coverage, more than 99% of retirees have cost savings. For example, in looking at various scenarios, data from the study shows that employers, on average, can reduce their subsidy by 39% and still meet this goal, with additional scenarios demonstrating ways in which employers can reduce subsidies even more. If subsidies are reduced by 63%, still more than 95% of retirees experience significant savings.
These two papers also identify additional benefits to the IM such as eliminating the need for employers to administer benefits and increasing ancillary benefits for the retiree.
To learn more about Alight’s Retiree Health Solutions team, visit: https://www.alight.com/solutions/retiree-health-solutions
To discuss how offering access to the Individual Marketplace can help you, contact elizabeth.kochneff@alight.com.