[pluckyflamingo]

I am looking into getting the company I work for, new rates on health insurance for the employees. Currently our insurance has just doubled in price and for the deductible we have, it is NOT worth it.

I am looking into different Humana plans which we currently have and looking at Blue Cross Blue Shield. Does anyone else have a good suggestion for company health insurance.

[ScottGem]

Where are you located (general area)?

[Fr_Chuck]

First talk to the hospitals in the area ( billing office) and some of the doctors your employees use, to see if they have trouble being paid by any of the companies you are looking at.

And you will find most carriers have went up a lot, ( due to the changes in health insurance laws this year, ** remember the presidents new health care) ours went up about 60 percent, and most will when their renewal period comes around.

But all of the major careers offer good products, but at the end of the day you get what you pay for, the lower the premium the lesser the coverage will be in some areas.

United Health Care is one major carrier as is BC/BS, and others.
Also the size of the company, the smaller the company they will have other options also.
Farm and Ranch Healthcare ( main office in Dallas) is a major broker for small companies.

[smearcase]

I agree with Chuck. See who is hard to deal with as the first step.

Nowadays, good insurance ia a policy that covers the major costs and doesn't leave you or your family in bankruptcy. Low premiums, low copays, payment for preventative care, and choice of doctors are icing on the cake, but maybe not affordable.
My employer has had CareFirst Blue Cross as an option for a long time and I have chosen them for about 40 years and have been satisfied but we have never had any serious health problems and just two disputes and they honored their obligations both times after review.

I saw an "Office" program (a farce of course) and they were trying to make the same decision for their company. They had each employee (they only have about 20? In their company) list which medical conditions they sufferd from (supposedly anonymously) in order to decide what exact coverage the total company needed. It was a bad idea maybe, but if it could be done legally, that is, finding out how the company would pay/not pay for actual employee conditions wouldn't be a bad method for a small company.
For instance, if most of a company's employees are young, they might need less in the drug plan, and more in acute care.