As large insurers' premiums rise, more U.S. companies turn to self-insurance.

Publication: The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2004 The Record

Byline: Martha McKay

Nov. 22--More than half of all U.S. workers currently insured have their coverage through self-insured or partially self-insured plans, according to the latest figures compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

And those numbers have risen over the past three years as companies turn to self-insurance to avoid the skyrocketing premiums charged by large insurers.

Self-insurance is praised by some, who credit it with providing an alternative to high-priced health plans, thus giving more companies an incentive to offer insurance to their workers.

But others caution that self-insurance leaves workers unprotected, particularly in the case of a bankrupt company.

With a self-insured health plan, a...

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