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FIRSTnews
A Publication of First Source Benefits Group, LLC February 2006
Volume III: Edition 7
Account Executive
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
Health Premiums Increase Due to More Utilization
Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the A 13.6% increase in outpatient costs contributed to a large expectations and the demands to perform are high” portion of last year’s health insurance premium increase. On the other hand, multi-tiered drug benefits and increased generic drug use have managed to temper that rise, according to Did You Know?
…Baby boomers are called the Sandwich Generation due In the latest study, researchers attributed more than 40% of the to their increasing role as caregivers for their parents rise in insurance premiums due to increases in the utilization of …the average life span of a baby boomer is now 85 The report says that 86% of the health insurance premium dollar is spent on services, 11% on administration, and just 3% …to boomers, well-being and aging are synonymous. Being happy, healthy and secure are life requirements! Patients Quicker to Switch to Generic Drugs
A new analysis confirms that workers are saving money by Broker Silence on CDHPs Hampers
switching to generic drugs as they appear on the market, a trend Implementation
that may provide hope for HR professionals and advisers to A number of theories have been authored to explain why employers have been slow to adopt consumer-driven Generic dispensing rates for four drugs (Allegra, Arava, health plans. A new study places some of the blame on Amaryl and Zithromax) reached 87% with 30 days after the generic equivalent became available, according to Medco Pharmacy Benefit Management. The good news is these four A LIMRA International study shows that CDHPs have generic medications are just the start. With a number of popular been limited to large employers. Smaller companies have medications expected to move off patent in the next several not adopted them because they have limited knowledge years, there should be substantial prescription drug cost of the options available to them and their brokers have never approached some companies on the subject. One insurer, Aetna, has recently introduced a new zero dollar We at First Source Benefits Group have taken a very copay for generics with some of its medical plans, making proactive role in the area of consumer-driven health plans generics essentially free to the customer. such as HRAs, HSAs and self-funding. We strongly believe these types of plans are here to stay and will Almost 70 brand-name drugs, including Zocor, Zoloft and greatly help our clients stem the tide of increasing health Ambien, collectively account for more than $5 billion in U.S. sales and are expected to become available as generics within Rejoice! Spring Is Right Around the Corner!

Source: http://www.firstsourcebenefits.com/archives/FSnews0206.pdf