Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
255 employers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 673,891 participants. They reported $60M in insurance premiums and $25M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were down 4.7% and broker pay rose 2.3%.
Funding: 45 fully insured · 105 self-funded · 105 mixed. 210 of 255 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelworkers Health and Welfare Fund | $10,288,229 | $725,746 | 59,791 | Gallagher |
| Board of Trustees, Washington Wholesalers Health | $8,543,124 | $16,666 | 1,147 | Group Vision Services MGMT Inc |
| Latitude Ai LLC | $6,793,546 | $259,704 | 539 | Lockton |
| Construction & Healthcare Consultants LP | $6,548,837 | $43,678 | 982 | Elizabeth a Riffe |
| Board of Trustees, NHL Players' Health and Benefits Fund | $5,180,508 | $747,657 | 1,647 | NFP |
| Covestro LLC | $5,007,348 | $54,665 | 4,317 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Carnegie Mellon University | $2,884,553 | $270,061 | 5,904 | The HDH Group, Inc. |
| Kiavi, Inc. | $2,139,177 | $222,276 | 384 | Abd Ins. and Financial SVCS., Inc. |
| Koppers Inc. | $1,795,304 | $148,393 | 2,201 | Mercer |
| Matthews International Corporation | $1,453,632 | $338,689 | 4,517 | Gallagher |
| Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit | $970,829 | $86,092 | 1,474 | Custom Benefit Programs, Inc. |
| Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, P.C. | $735,484 | $85,280 | 211 | Gallagher |
| Abarta, Inc. | $678,409 | $8,623 | 1,560 | Cowden Associates of Pittsburgh |
| PPG Industries, Inc. | $541,411 | $1,319,361 | 14,570 | Willis Towers Watson |
| L. B. Foster Company | $471,461 | $73,163 | 575 | Gallagher |
| TMS International, LLC | $448,791 | $256,886 | 1,159 | The HDH Group |
| Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC | $442,168 | $283,130 | 756 | The HDH Group Inc. |
| Laborers Welfare Fund Local 199 Board of Trustees | $410,301 | $5,074 | 236 | The Segal Company (eastern States), |
| Dickie McCamey & Chilcote PC | $395,523 | $179,364 | 394 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Grant Street Group | $367,457 | $12,573 | 458 | Henderson Brothers Inc. |
| Hanna Holdings, Inc. | $341,521 | $59,022 | 672 | Aon |
| Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh | $281,150 | $123,451 | 554 | The HDH Group Inc |
| Pantherx Specialty, LLC | $273,136 | $310,483 | 460 | Kevin R. McDaniel |
| WPSC Retiree Benefits Trust Committee | $226,434 | $7,311 | 3,510 | Gallagher |
| Genesis Medical Associates, Inc. | $222,642 | $24,667 | 317 | Gallagher |
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 Pittsburgh employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Willis Towers Watson | $3,816,552 | 14 |
| The HDH Group Inc | $1,691,980 | 21 |
| Gallagher | $1,659,872 | 19 |
| Henderson Brothers, Inc. | $1,469,017 | 23 |
| Aon | $1,222,328 | 10 |
| NFP | $989,270 | 2 |
| Lockton | $916,882 | 9 |
| Strategic Services Group | $799,234 | 1 |
| Mercer | $752,165 | 12 |
| Brown & Brown | $748,835 | 2 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Pittsburgh against Pennsylvania 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.
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 255 | 2,599 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 4.4% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 3.0% – 5.4% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $67,538 | $57,332 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | $5,675 | $7,621 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 2 | 54 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 265 Pittsburgh employers reported $63M in premiums and $25M in broker pay for 660,897 participants; in 2024 it was $60M and $25M for 673,891 participants (premiums −4.7%, broker pay +2.3%).
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 Pittsburgh employers pay health insurance brokers?
255 Pittsburgh employers reported $25,077,087 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 194 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Pittsburgh reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the Pennsylvania median is 4.4% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Pittsburgh employer that disclosed broker pay reported $67,538.
Which Pittsburgh employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Steelworkers Health and Welfare Fund ($10M), Board of Trustees, Washington Wholesalers Health ($8.5M), Latitude Ai LLC ($6.8M) lead. 25 Pittsburgh employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Pittsburgh?
By compensation reported by Pittsburgh employers, the largest brokers are Willis Towers Watson ($3.8M, 14 plans), The HDH Group Inc ($1.7M, 21 plans), Gallagher ($1.7M, 19 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Carefirst of Maryland, Inc., Highmark Inc..
Are Pittsburgh employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 255 Pittsburgh employer plans, 45 are fully insured, 105 are self-funded and 105 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.
Other cities in Pennsylvania
Is your company on this page? Get its Form 5500 read next to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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.
We don't sell your email. By submitting, you agree that BenefitsLedger and its benefits advisory partner, WellthCare, may email or call you about these findings. Opt out anytime by replying. See our privacy policy.