Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) January 30, 2015
In a new book, The End of Employer-Provided Health Insurance, co-authors Rick Lindquist and Paul Zane Pilzer predict 60 percent of small businesses will cancel health insurance for employees over the next three years. The authors go on to argue that this transition is beneficial for both, employers and employees.
“It no longer makes financial, legal, or social sense for any U.S. employer to continue providing health insurance to its employees,” says Rick Lindquist. Since 2000, the percentage of Americans covered by employer-provided health insurance has declined annually.
“But this doesn’t mean that small businesses won’t help employees get health insurance,” adds Lindquist. “Many business owners will replace their group policy with a defined contribution plan that offers a stipend to employees to buy the health insurance that best suits them in the Health Insurance Marketplace. Everyone wins.”
According to 2014 reports, WellPoint, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, has watched 218,000 members, or 12 percent, of its health plans disappear because small businesses have ended their employer-provided health plans. WellPoint expects this trend to play out over the next two years.
“We think [that the trend of our small business customers ending their group health plans] will be in a more accelerated timeframe over a shorter window of time, meaning this year and next, than over a longer period of time,” said WellPoint Chief Financial Officer Wayne DeVeydt during a July 30 conference call with investors.
“Employees have more choice in the marketplace,” says Lindquist. “They’re no longer forced into a one-size-fits-all policy. And if they lose their job, they can keep their health insurance regardless of employment.”
For more information visit: HealthInsuranceRevolution.org
About the Authors:
Paul Zane Pilzer is The New York Times best-selling author of 11 books, a former professor at NYU, and has served as an economist in two White House administrations. He is also the founder of six companies including the two largest U.S. suppliers of personalized employee health benefits, Extend Health (1999) and Zane Benefits (2006).
Rick Lindquist is president of Zane Benefits, Inc., the U.S. leader in individual health insurance reimbursement for small businesses. Zane Benefits’ software has been featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times. He is a regular contributor to leading health benefits publications, including ClarifyingHealth.com.
About the Book:
The #1 Amazon best-selling The End of Employer-Provided Health Insurance is a comprehensive guide to utilizing new individual health plans to save 20 to 60 percent on health insurance. Over the next 10 years, 100 million Americans will move from employer-provided to individually purchased health insurance. Written by a world-renowned economist and New York Times best-selling author, this insightful guide explains how individual health insurance offers more to employees than employer-provided plans.
The End of Employer-Provided Health Insurance: Why It’s Good for You, Your Family, and Your Company (Wiley, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-119-01211-5, $25.00) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797. For more information, please visit the book’s page on http://www.wiley.com.
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., has been a valued source of information and understanding for 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley’s core business includes scientific, technical, and medical journals; encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley’s global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company’s Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.