Industry experts are saying health reform is helping promote the self-funding of health benefits, particularly among smaller employers, which can allow employers to get more of a say over benefits design and payment and help avoid a few reform obligations. Large insurers are, accordingly, betting on self-funding and seeing opportunity in administrative services only (ASO) services for self-funded plans.
According to this report by HealthLeaders-InterStudy, smaller employers are shopping around more for self-funding health benefits, and those employers are looking for help from a TPA or ASO vendor.
Aetna last week announced it completed the acquisition of Prodigy Health Group, which sells services for self-funded plans of employers that employ about 100-5,000 individuals, as reported here.
Third-party administrators (TPAs) take note. Here’s word from the Society of Professional Benefit Administrator website making some “candid” distinctions between an ASO and TPA. Will the insurer-ASOs be able to match the level of service the “mom & pop” TPAs can? Could ASOs crowd out TPAs? Comments?