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Article: Health purchasing pools offer more choices.
- Article from:
- Kiplinger Business Forecasts
- Article date:
- November 28, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline:Martha Lynn Craver
Look for more health plan purchasing pools to pop up all around the country in response to rising health care costs. Most are aimed at small businesses, as they grapple with hikes in the 20% to 25% range. Although so far co-ops haven't proved much cheaper than plans negotiated individually, they do offer employees more flexibility and choice, a plus in today's tight labor market.
The idea behind the co-ops is to help employers get better deals by banding together for more buying clout. For a nominal fee, a nonprofit or state agency takes care of paperwork and negotiates with insurance plans for lower group rates. But since pools ...