Benefits Administration Outsourcing (BAO) is one of the largest and most mature markets in HRO. It grew at a steady rate of ~5% to reach US$7.3 billion in annualized revenue. The Health & Welfare (H&W) administration outsourcing market grew at a faster pace of ~7% in 2015 largely due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements. The mid-market also registered sound growth, outpacing the other buyer size segments, particularly in H&W administration space. Rise of consumerism was another major highlight. The rise in demand for consumer-driven health plans, voluntary benefits schemes, self-service benefits portals, and private health insurance exchanges (HIX) are a testament to this fact. Wellness programs are also finding increasing acceptance with employers, owing to multiple demand-side drivers (such as reduced resultant healthcare costs, improved workforce productivity, better talent attraction and branding) combined with the supply-side enablers (such as availability of health- and fitness-related smartphone apps, ease of integration with wearables, and usage of analytics in creating effective programs).
Buyers too are becoming increasingly aware of the important role of benefits in helping reinforce their brand to attract and retain top talent. With the looming ACA reporting and Cadillac tax, operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and legislative compliance become even more important for buyers across the board.
In this research, we analyze the BAO market across various dimensions:
This research report provides a comprehensive coverage of the 2015 BAO market and analyzes it across various dimensions such as market overview, buyer adoption trends, solution and transaction trends, and service provider landscape. Some of the findings in this report are: