ING Drops Maximums for Small Businesses’ Health Plans

May 27, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - ING's U.S. Employee Benefits business announced it will offer unlimited annual and lifetime maximum stop-loss insurance coverage to businesses that self-fund their health plans.

The move is effective immediately for new clients and upon renewal for existing clients.   

ING explained in the announcement that, similar to other health insurance plans, self-funded plans often have annual and lifetime maximum benefits for plan participants.  With the passage of the recent health care reform, these caps will be lifted later this year, and self-funding businesses would then be left to cover the excess amount when they have employees with catastrophic claims.    

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The ING Employee Benefits’ unlimited offering will allow these employers to continue to provide health insurance to their employees without a gap in their liability.  

“The recently passed national healthcare reform legislation mandates lifting lifetime benefit limits on health insurance coverage for individuals,” said Ivan Gilreath, president, ING Employee Benefits, in the announcement. “For employers who self-fund their insurance plans, it’s possible that catastrophic claims could threaten the entire business. Our stop-loss insurance with unlimited coverage closes this liability gap.”

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