Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
19 employers in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 7,641 participants. They reported $4.3M in insurance premiums and $1.2M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were up 1.7% and broker pay rose 4.4%.
Funding: 6 fully insured · 10 self-funded · 3 mixed. 13 of 19 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Wilkes Barre
Wilkes Barre employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trion Industries, Inc. | $3,955,220 | $31,081 | 203 | Harrison Benefit Services LLC |
| Westguard Insurance Company | $118,864 | $216,797 | 893 | Howell Benefit Services Inc |
| Step BY Step Inc | $69,679 | $136,184 | 1,044 | Johnson Kendall and Johnson |
| Kings College C/O Human Resources Department | $38,892 | $26,861 | 338 | Creative Benefits, Inc. |
| McCarthy Tire Service Co. Inc. | $30,596 | $213,045 | 1,419 | Beneperks Inc |
| Children's Service Center of Wyoming Valley, Inc. | $29,402 | $59,149 | 433 | Corporate Benefits Consulting Inc |
| Luzerne County Head Start, Inc. | $13,851 | $74,009 | 209 | Creative Benefits Inc. |
| Saeed Corporation dba Building Blocks Learning Center | $8,147 | $28,675 | 117 | Onesource Benefit Solutions |
| Teamsters Local Unions 401 and 773 Health Plan | $0 | — | 889 | — |
| Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 44 | $0 | $9,025 | 314 | Creative Benefits Inc |
| Mericle Construction, Inc. | $0 | $67,449 | 294 | OneDigital |
| Allone Health Resources, Inc. | $0 | $13,887 | 250 | Creative Benefits Inc. |
| Bridon American Corporation | $0 | $47,807 | 250 | Lockton |
| The Lion Brewery, Inc. | $0 | $169,242 | 213 | Hauser, Inc. |
| Maternal and Family Health Services Inc | $0 | $92,471 | 206 | Onesource Benefit Solutions LLC |
| Nardone Brothers Baking Company | $0 | $7,141 | 202 | Emerson Rogers, LLC |
| Sundance Vacations | $0 | $1,412 | 148 | Hays Companies |
| Medico Construction Equipment, Inc. | $0 | — | 115 | — |
| Frank Martz Coach Company | $0 | $46,011 | 104 | Murray Insurance Associates Inc. |
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 Wilkes Barre employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Howell Benefit Services Inc | $216,797 | 1 |
| Hauser Inc | $157,913 | 1 |
| Johnson Kendall and Johnson | $136,184 | 1 |
| Creative Benefits Inc | $125,829 | 5 |
| Onesource Benefit Solutions | $99,892 | 2 |
| Beneperks Inc | $66,870 | 1 |
| Gis Benefits Inc | $63,681 | 1 |
| Emerson Rogers, LLC | $57,115 | 6 |
| OneDigital | $45,588 | 4 |
| Lockton | $42,437 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Wilkes Barre 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.
| Wilkes Barre | Pennsylvania | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 19 | 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 | $47,807 | $57,332 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | $7,621 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 0 | 54 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 20 Wilkes Barre employers reported $4.2M in premiums and $1.2M in broker pay for 7,255 participants; in 2024 it was $4.3M and $1.2M for 7,641 participants (premiums +1.7%, broker pay +4.4%).
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 Wilkes Barre employers pay health insurance brokers?
19 Wilkes Barre employers reported $1,240,246 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 17 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Wilkes Barre 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 Wilkes Barre employer that disclosed broker pay reported $47,807.
Which Wilkes Barre employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Trion Industries, Inc. ($4.0M), Westguard Insurance Company ($118,864), Step BY Step Inc ($69,679) lead. 19 Wilkes Barre employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Wilkes Barre?
By compensation reported by Wilkes Barre employers, the largest brokers are Howell Benefit Services Inc ($216,797, 1 plans), Hauser Inc ($157,913, 1 plans), Johnson Kendall and Johnson ($136,184, 1 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Geisinger Health Plan, Geisinger Quality Options, Inc., Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company.
Are Wilkes Barre employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 19 Wilkes Barre employer plans, 6 are fully insured, 10 are self-funded and 3 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
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