The Evolution Of Insurance Benefits In Europe: Past, Present, And Future

The Evolution Of Insurance Benefits In Europe: Past, Present, And Future – Health insurance (officially known as “accident or health and sickness”) is one of the primary or general authorities (LOA) defined by the National Insurance Commissioner (NAIC) in the Uniform Licensing Standards (ULS). .

The Insurance Information Institute (III) reports that by the end of 2021, there were approximately 138,682 licensed health insurance agents in the United States, with life and health insurance companies expected to have 900,000 in 2021. employed more than III reported hiring carriers for property and casualty insurance against only 600,000.

The Evolution Of Insurance Benefits In Europe: Past, Present, And Future

Either way, selling benefits between insurance companies and insurance agencies, brokers, MGAs, MGUs, and acronyms we’ve forgotten is big business in the United States, involving over a million people in obtaining this essential insurance. . there is . Population health benefits products are such a large part of the insurance industry that we thought it would be good to take a deep dive into their history, current status, and potential future.

Health At A Glance: Europe 2022

While tracking is usually our jam, this blog is more history oriented. If you’re interested in getting involved in regulatory action, check out our previous series on health insurance compliance for employers, health insurance companies, health insurance agencies and brokers. On the other hand, if you’re looking to move in a positive direction and simplify developer management and license compliance management, see how we can help.

Health insurance as we think of it today began in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Before that, medical expenses were not “health insurance” but what we now call disability income insurance.

Because medical technology is not very advanced, the actual cost of receiving medical care is relatively low. Until the 1920s, most surgeries were performed in people’s homes, so hospital bills were rare. People were more concerned about losing wages if they were sick or unable to work. Because of this, “sickness insurance” products were launched to help cover living expenses for people who were unable to earn money due to illness or injury.

Another early form of health insurance was called a “sickness fund.” These funds are established by banks to pay for members’ medical care or, in the case of occupational disease funds, by employers to benefit employees. Sick funds established by financial institutions came first (circa 1880s), followed by industrial sick funds, which became popular in the 1920s. The concept of industrial disease funds played a role in the labor movement and later in health care through trade unions.

Medicare For All Would Abolish Private Insurance. ‘there’s No Precedent In American History.’

Health insurance has been tied to work for most of its history in the United States, perhaps because the occupations have historically been dangerous and the most common modes of injury have been automobiles, public transportation, and airplanes. no wonder it was before his days.

In the early 20th century, employers were required to pay for medical care in the event of a workplace injury.

During this period, the workers’ rights movement gained momentum, and states passed new laws to reform child labor, limit the length of the workweek, and address workplace injuries and lawsuits. Hence, the birth of workers’ compensation laws. Workers’ rights activists supported the new laws as a way to place financial liability for injured workers on employers rather than employees. At the same time, employers have found that the laws allow them to care for injured workers at a lower cost and without frequent litigation.

The first federal law similar to workers’ compensation came in 1908 when Congress passed the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). This law applies only to railroad and interstate commerce employees and pays only if the employer is partially responsible for the accident. However, when it does pay, the benefits are greater than modern workers’ compensation insurance.

The Future Of Insurance

Between 1910 and 1915, 32 states passed workers’ compensation insurance laws that allowed employers to purchase insurance through the state. Although not required (as is the case in most states today), employers who purchase workers’ compensation insurance through their state cover the employee from civil liability for an accident, along with providing medical care and compensation. can escape. case in court. . .

In the 1920s, many European countries established some form of national health care for their citizens. Although the movement for this in the United States was active in the early 20th century, it failed to gain traction. Researchers attribute the failure of the national health care system in the United States to a number of reasons, including:

Universal or nationalized mandatory medicare has been a topic of debate in the United States for over a hundred years. Presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman supported the idea. However, from time to time, everyone from the AMA to the modern health insurance industry and sick funds have been swayed by political lobbying.

Before there was Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, or CIGNA, a group of school teachers in Dallas partnered with Baylor University Hospital to “prepay” their health with a 50-cent-a-month premium. This model is often cited as the first modern commercial hospital insurance plan and evolved directly into the organization you may have heard of called Blue Cross. For 50 cents per teacher, teachers in school systems were guaranteed up to 21 days of unpaid hospitalization. As you can imagine, the number of teachers required to stay in a hospital is less than what the plan pays for, so it is financially beneficial for the hospital to hold up its end of the bargain.

Rethinking Customer Experience In The Insurance Industry

This new pattern was largely due to the onset of the Great Depression. Baylor University Hospital, for example, saw its monthly income plummet as fewer patients could pay and more relied on “charitable care.” In order to ensure a steady flow of money to hospitals, Justin Kimble (Director of Baylor University Hospital) proposed the idea of ​​”paying up front” for services through a small monthly premium to “members” or (perhaps) their employers.

Such projects have gained attention across the country. Soon, employers contracted not just with a particular hospital, but with a geographically clustered group of hospitals, and turned to the American Hospital Association (AHA) for guidance on whether to accept or reject the contracts. ) applied.

It is important to note that these early forms of health insurance did not include doctors. Doctors, according to the AMA, refused to join this system because they did not believe it would serve their interests. In thinking about early workers’ compensation plans, doctors believe that many of them will withhold medical care in favor of a select few and the ability to charge reasonable fees for their services, including any type of third party. They believed that it would be a secret. So they created their own alliance in response: Blue Shield.