History, make-up drive insurance cost.

Byline: The Register-Guard

A local autobody shop's annual health insurance premium goes up 20 percent, while a neighboring office sneaks by with a 7 percent increase. What gives?

Not all workplaces are created equal when it comes to health insurance rates.

The main factors determining rates are the make-up of the group of people being insured and the group's claims experience, benefits consultants say.

Older people tend to use more medical services - and more costly services - than younger people, so rates increase as the average age of the group climbs.

Work forces that are predominately women - especially those of child-bearing age - also can have higher rates, benefits experts say.

"One of the things we tell groups is women are more willing to seek help from the doctor," said Marvin Revoal, senior principal of Pacific Benefit Planners. "Men still have this almost cavemanlike view that they can handle it, and then they die. That affects rates and usage."

The word on the street, according to Jeff Miller, vice president in employee benefits at Eugene-based Pacific Benefit Consultants, is that women of child-bearing age have high claims and so do men older than 50, who frequently need costly heart and cancer treatments.

Industries that have a track record of higher claims also have higher rates than industries with historically low usage, Miller said.

The size of the group matters, too. Once groups approach 100 people, rates generally are based on the group's own claims experience. So company wellness programs can pay off in the form of lower rates, benefits consultants say.

Groups of less than 100 tend to be lumped with a larger pool, which means they have less direct influence on their rates. But because the risk is spread among more people, they're also buffered from rate run-ups following a high claims year.

- Sherri Buri McDonald