Growth in FEHBP premiums recently slowed, from a peak of 12.9 percent for 2002 to 1.8 percent for 2007. Starting in 2003, FEHBP premium growth was generally slower than for other purchasers. Premium growth rates for the 10 largest FEHBP plans by enrollment--accounting for about three-quarters of total enrollment--ranged from 0 percent to 15.5 percent for 2007. Projected increases in the cost and

Growth in FEHBP premiums recently slowed, from a peak of 12.9 percent for 2002 to 1.8 percent for 2007. During this period FEHBP premium growth was generally slower than for other purchasers. Premium growth rates for the 10 largest FEHBP plans by enrollment ranged from 0 percent to 15.5 percent in 2007, while growth rates among smaller FEHBP plans varied more widely. The growth in average enrolle

In summary, the median number of licensed carriers in the small group market per state was 28, with a range from 3 in Rhode Island to 75 in Georgia. The median market share of the largest carrier in the small group market was about 43 percent, with a range from about 19 percent in Texas to about 93 percent in North Dakota. The five largest carriers in the small group market, when combined, repres

GAO reviewed the small group health insurance market to identify the number of licensed carriers, the largest carriers, and their market share in each state. GAO found that (1) the median number of licensed carriers in the small group market per state was 28, (2) the median market share of the largest carrier was about 33 percent, (3) the five largest carriers, when combined, represented three-qu

Many small employers--those with 50 or fewer workers--do not offer health benefits to their employees. This is particularly true for employers with fewer than 10 workers. The families of workers employed by small employers are about twice as likely to be uninsured as households with a worker at a large employer. Despite efforts by Congress and the states to help small employers buy coverage, many

In 1999, nearly 10 million retired people aged 55 or older relied on employer-sponsored health insurance as either their primary source of coverage or as a supplement to their Medicare coverage. Some of these persons are concerned about the continued availability of employer-sponsored coverage. Premium increases and forecasts for a potential economic slowdown could further erode employer-sponsore

GAO noted that: (1) most, but not all, employers that GAO surveyed reported that they comply with the law by having parity in mental health and medical and surgical annual and lifetime dollar limits; (2) among the 863 employers responding to the GAO's survey that offered mental health benefits in the 26 states and the District of Columbia with laws no more comprehensive than the federal law, the

GAO noted that: (1) 86 percent of the responding employers in the 26 states and the District of Columbia reported that as of December 1999 their plans were in compliance with the federal parity requirement that annual and lifetime dollar limits for mental health benefits be no more restrictive than those for all medical and surgical benefits; (2) GAO's survey found that 14 percent of plans were n

GAO noted that: (1) had H.R. 2990 been the law in 1998, about 39 million people could potentially have benefited from the proposed tax deduction, including: (a) those who were uninsured and then decided to purchase coverage; (b) those who had individual insurance; and (c) those who had employer-sponsored insurance with no employer subsidization; (2) another 22 million potentially eligible individ

GAO noted that: (1) small employer purchasing cooperatives have been an important component of several states' efforts during the 1990s to improve small groups' health insurance options; (2) purchasing cooperatives aim to provide small employers with some of the same advantages larger employers have in offering health insurance; (3) the five small employer purchasing cooperatives GAO examined hav