A Closer Look at Benefits Administration in H1 2012: Part 2

Amy L. Gurchensky, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Part 1 of my mid-year benefits administration update covered several of the largest service providers, typically engaged in TBO services. Part 2 takes a closer look at TRO providers and updates from H&W vendors.

Fidelity Investments: Although it is a private corporation, from time to time Fidelity announces some of its success. H1 2012 was the company’s strongest half sales period in the last five years. It added 838 new DC administration clients, which will add ~522k participants to the ~15.7m it is currently serving. Fidelity has made substantial investments to strengthen its offering that will likely continue to fuel its success.

T. Rowe Price: While not as large as Fidelity, T. Rowe’s Administrative segment continues to report a steady growth rate of 3%. It prides itself on a long tenure rate with its clients and has plans to keep its offering competitive by introducing technological enhancements such as the T. Rowe Price Personal App for individuals and participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

JLT: Across the pond, JLT’s Employee Benefits segment, which includes revenues from consulting, outsourcing, and systems / technology, had a 5% growth rate in H1 2012. BenPal, its online integrated platform, is helping the company expand its benefits business internationally, which is likely to continue to have a positive effect on its bottom line.

Benefits providers in the U.K., the second largest benefits administration market behind the U.S. according to the 2012 Targeting Benefits Administration market analysis report, should also enjoy better than average growth due to new opportunities as a result of the automatic enrollment requirement of the Pensions Act of 2008 as well as opportunities in the public sector as budget concerns open doors to outsourcing assistance.

WageWorks: Newly public WageWorks provides a look into the high-technology SaaS H&W specialty services market of consumer-directed accounts including health (i.e., HRA, FSA, and HSA), commuter, and other employee spending accounts. Total revenues increased 29% y-o-y for Q2; its healthcare segment was up 21%. This year, it added US Airways as a client, expanded its contract with GE, and signed a channel partner agreement with Aflac that will add ~5k FSA clients and ~100k participants. It also entered into a reseller agreement with Aflac, which will continue to boost revenues beyond 2012.

Empyrean Benefit Solutions: Another private company touting its success in the H&W market is Empyrean, which has been offering services since 2007. It has set a record with year-to-date new client wins in H1 2012, adding 10 large market clients. The company is expecting 2012 revenues to increase 40% y-o-y.

Service providers who are slightly behind growth targets for 2012 or those who just want to perform better are prepping to make sure 2013 is a success. For some, this means focusing on health insurance exchanges or launching health and wellness offerings, and for others, it’s about enhancing existing offering with technology improvements and educational initiatives.

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PPACA: Pandemonium Today, Panic Later, Prosperity for HRO

By Amy L. Gurchensky, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

It was pandemonium after the United States Supreme Court announced its ruling upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The outstanding decision left so many in a holding pattern pending the constitutionality of the act.

Now that the decision is more firmly settled for the time being (primarily pending the November presidential election), U.S. states and organizations will have to take more definitive steps in securing exchanges and evaluating whether to offer health insurance plans or pay the tax penalty.

In fact, the state of Florida, via Florida Health Choices, set the wheels in motion earlier this week ahead of the ruling when it awarded a $68m contract to Xerox to administer a health insurance exchange for nine years. Services include:

• A web portal and online plan selection tool
• Eligibility determination and enrollment management services
• Customer contact center services.

Other states that have delayed taking action are still expected to meet the law’s timelines. The same is true for employers that have yet to make employee healthcare decisions that take the PPACA requirements into consideration. Watch for a spate of webinars by benefits service providers to remind all of us of the changes still to come in 2014 through 2018.

Regardless of today’s decision, HRO and particularly benefits administration service providers have been sitting in a sweet spot.  Vendor interviews for NelsonHall’s recently published “Targeting Benefits Administration” market analysis revealed that business has been going on as usual with many employers turning to benefits administration vendors to implement services that are focused on controlling the cost of rising health care such as:

• Dependent eligibility audits to remove ineligible dependents from plans
• Wellness programs
• Improving absence management
• Switching to high-deductible health plans with associated health savings accounts.

The published report explores the current state of benefits administration as well as the future market and its growth over the next five years by geography and service line including:

• H&W administration
• Reimbursement administration
• Leave of absence administration
• COBRA administration
• Flexible benefits administration
• DC administration
• DB administration.

The analysis also looks beyond legislative implications in the U.S. and new offerings that have emerged such as health insurance exchanges to explore the automatic enrollment requirement in the U.K.

The greater unresolved issue at hand, however, is how to control the rising cost of health care that is already arguably unsustainable as evidenced by the more than 30m Americans currently without insurance.

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