LBCC's health insurance premiums are based primarily on our utilization of our benefit plan and market forces. The majority of our premium is dedicated to paying claims for eligible employees and their dependents (including domestic partners). Total expenses include paid claims, retention or administration, IBNR or reserves and stop loss premium.

• Paid Claims are the total claims paid by our insurer. They do not include any employee cost sharing or provider discounts.
• Retention is a portion of the insurance premium which is allocated for administrative expenses for the insurer's risk.
• IBNR stands for 'incurred but not reported'. These are claims which have been incurred by the insured but have not been submitted to the insurance company for reimbursement (also known as lagged claims).
• Stop loss premium is extra protection we purchase to protect us against the risk of large losses or severe adverse claim experience (for claims in excess of $100,000).

Health Insurance Rate Factors for Employer/Employees:
Until the 1930's, there were no real health insurance plans in the U.S.A. The re-imbursement of medical expenses was a private matter between the patient and the doctor/healthcare institution. Until the 1950's most hospitals were non-profit charitable organizations run for the public good. The time from 1940 to 1960 saw the most change in the way health costs were recovered.

Some people believe that medical care for people is a fundamental right for all, others believe that it is a private matter between the individual patient and their provider. There is no general consensus in the country at this time about the exact nature of medical care.

Health insurance as it has evolved since the 1950's tends to be mostly a reimbursement mechanism for medical expenses. Federal law provides for medical care (at hospitals) of all people regardless of their ability to pay.

The factors that lead to determination of health insurance rates include:

• the loss experience of the respective group of people,
• the nature of the business (what people do on the job),
• the average age of the employer/employees,
• the average risk factors of the employer/employees (diet, exercise, smoking, etc.),
• location factors (fees by health care providers),
• the profit margins of the insurance company, and,
• contract obligations at the workplace.

Regional and State Health Insurance Trends:
There are certain demographic trends that have emerged over the past few decades that affect medical care and insurance. These include:

• the gradual aging of the American population - due to longer lifespan,
• health care provider charges increasing over the past few years,
• introduction of newer prescription medications to treat illness,
• increase and decrease of employment in the economy affects insurance rates for health coverage.

LBCC is examining insurance options for the long-term in cooperation with other community colleges, and LBCC employees.

Websites with more information:

• The web site for our health insurance carrier has many useful sources of information. http://www.myregence.com
• This is the website of the Center for Disease Control, and it contains many useful links: http://www.cdc.gov/
• A major local healthcare provider is Samaritan Health Services. This is their website: http://www.samhealth.org/
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.os.dhhs.gov/
• Another major local healthcare provider is the Corvallis Clinic, at http://www.corvallis-clinic.com/
• A general site for public information on health issues is WebMD, at: http://www.webmd.com/
• The Kaiser Family Foundation also has an excellent website for information related to health issues at: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
• A Disease Risk site is designed to help people determine risk assessment. It is at http://www.YourDiseaseRisk.Harvard.edu
• For parents the site listed here might be helpful: http://www.drgreene.com
• Our disability insurance company has a site at: http://www.unum.com