Washington, District of Columbia employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
412 employers in Washington, District of Columbia filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 6,228,851 participants. They reported $141M in insurance premiums and $51M in broker commissions and fees. The median broker rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans was 6.4% of premium, against 6.4% across District of Columbia and 3.8% nationally. Against 2023, premiums were up 0.3% and broker pay rose 11.2%.
Funding: 117 fully insured · 73 self-funded · 222 mixed. 295 of 412 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Washington
Washington employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Education Association of the United States | $60,515,712 | $1,268,798 | 2,672,384 | National Health Administrators |
| Communications Workers of America, Afl-Cio, CLC | $12,364,466 | — | 528 | The Segal Company (eastern States) |
| Chemonics International, Inc. | $11,333,761 | $728,392 | 1,300 | Mercer |
| American Petroleum Institute | $6,473,827 | $215,078 | 340 | OneDigital |
| SEIU Health and Welfare Fund Welfare Fund | $3,845,623 | $826 | 4,913 | Weiner Ins Inc |
| Human Rights Campaign | $3,712,574 | $348,654 | 258 | Kelly and Associates Ins Group Inc |
| Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. | $3,462,215 | $515,283 | 922 | The Hilb Group of MD LLC |
| Xylem, Inc. | $3,289,777 | $1,032,956 | 9,432 | Lockton |
| Trustees of Associated Builders & Contractors Insurance Trust | $3,041,954 | $32,019 | 6,536 | Assoc Builders & Contractors Ins. |
| International Republican Institute | $2,378,178 | $157,463 | 241 | Meltzer Group |
| Arentfox Schiff LLP | $2,259,195 | $269,442 | 1,236 | Gallagher |
| Board of Trustees - Afl-Cio Mutual Benefit Plan | $2,246,849 | $268,135 | 157,521 | Gallagher |
| Georgetown University | $2,196,810 | $736,756 | 7,792 | Pentra LLC |
| Center for Strategic and International Studies | $1,971,681 | $116,009 | 286 | USI Insurance Services |
| ST Johns Community Services | $1,791,544 | $247,289 | 400 | Lockton |
| American Institute of Architects | $1,782,371 | $86,699 | 168 | OneDigital |
| Center City Public Charter Schools, Inc. | $1,768,674 | $131,714 | 251 | OneDigital |
| Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids | $1,687,612 | $106,867 | 148 | Gallagher |
| Danaher Corporation | $1,575,233 | $1,792,828 | 20,720 | Aon |
| American Institute of Architects Trust | $1,298,373 | $260,230 | 1,929 | Hagan Barron Intermediaries |
| National Council of Architectural Registration Boards | $1,267,494 | $150,080 | 133 | Lockton |
| Results for Development Institute, Inc. | $1,229,739 | $92,340 | 120 | Allegiant Global Partners Inc. |
| Jefferson Consulting Group, LLC | $1,213,495 | $130,422 | 210 | The Baldwin Group |
| National Public Radio | $1,165,576 | $103,749 | 1,057 | The Meltzer Group |
| B'nai B'rith Youth Organization Inc | $952,564 | $120,459 | 119 | EPIC Insurance Brokers |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, plan year 2024; employers are grouped by the sponsor's mailing city as filed. Self-funded employers show only stop-loss and ancillary premium.
Who gets paid
Commissions and fees reported by Washington employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| OneDigital | $4,591,765 | 51 |
| The Meltzer Group Inc | $4,246,089 | 53 |
| Lockton | $4,208,384 | 27 |
| Mercer | $3,115,321 | 29 |
| Willis Towers Watson | $2,668,905 | 21 |
| USI Insurance Services | $2,600,238 | 31 |
| Aon | $2,596,635 | 10 |
| Gallagher | $1,878,171 | 17 |
| The Baldwin Group | $1,852,799 | 16 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $1,703,266 | 17 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Washington against District of Columbia and the U.S.
Medians over the same definitions on every BenefitsLedger page: commission rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans; broker pay per employer that disclosed any; medical premium per covered person.
| Washington | District of Columbia | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 412 | 413 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | 6.4% (10 plans) | 6.4% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | 4.9% – 8.0% | 4.9% – 8.0% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $97,047 | $97,416 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | $6,113 | n/a | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 1 | 1 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 390 Washington employers reported $140M in premiums and $46M in broker pay for 6,144,414 participants; in 2024 it was $141M and $51M for 6,228,851 participants (premiums +0.3%, broker pay +11.2%).
Source: DOL Form 5500 and Schedule A, plan years 2024 and 2023, employer health plans with 100 or more participants; built October 24, 2026. Medians need at least 10 rated plans to be shown for a city. Methodology.
How much do Washington employers pay health insurance brokers?
412 Washington employers reported $50,751,493 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 368 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Among 10 commission-paying, fully insured medical plans, the median broker rate was 6.4% of premium, 0.0 points above the District of Columbia median of 6.4% and 2.6 points above the U.S. median of 3.8%. In dollars, the median Washington employer that disclosed broker pay reported $97,047.
Which Washington employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, National Education Association of the United States ($61M), Communications Workers of America, Afl-Cio, CLC ($12M), Chemonics International, Inc. ($11M) lead. 25 Washington employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Washington?
By compensation reported by Washington employers, the largest brokers are OneDigital ($4.6M, 51 plans), The Meltzer Group Inc ($4.2M, 53 plans), Lockton ($4.2M, 27 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Cigna, Bluecross Blueshield of Illinois.
Are Washington employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 412 Washington employer plans, 117 are fully insured, 73 are self-funded and 222 mix insured and self-funded coverage. Self-funded plans report only stop-loss and ancillary contracts on Schedule A, so their premium and broker pay understate total spend.
Is your company on this page? Get its Form 5500 read next to the Washington, District of Columbia medians.
Tell us the company and a specialist writes up what the public Form 5500 record shows for it, if it files one: broker pay against the medians above, fee disclosure and filing timeliness, in a form you can forward to your CFO or counsel. Tick the box if you also want a 15-minute walkthrough call.
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