Providence, Rhode Island employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
48 employers in Providence, Rhode Island filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 110,001 participants. They reported $203M in insurance premiums and $6.1M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were up 10.1% and broker pay rose 1.8%.
Funding: 8 fully insured · 13 self-funded · 27 mixed. 40 of 48 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Providence
Providence employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Care New England | $81,556,252 | $395,600 | 5,005 | NFP |
| Women & Infants Hospital | $37,436,860 | $100,489 | 1,654 | NFP |
| Ri Laborers Health Fund Board of Trustees | $33,017,746 | $20,943 | 2,220 | The Segal Company |
| Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island | $13,382,985 | — | 989 | — |
| University Orthopedics, Inc. | $10,164,159 | $243,947 | 654 | Hollowtree Holdings Corporation |
| Virgin Pulse, Inc. | $9,620,991 | $156,237 | 947 | Mercer |
| United Natural Foods, Inc | $6,109,846 | $216,759 | 18,258 | Mercer |
| Amica Mutual Insurance Company | $5,395,342 | $28,569 | 3,521 | Aon |
| Lifespan Corporation | $2,407,384 | $1,039,509 | 12,924 | Willis Towers Watson |
| International Game Technology | $1,487,881 | $359,746 | 5,931 | Mercer |
| Bally's Management Group, LLC | $1,317,723 | $339,777 | 5,896 | Axg Advisors |
| Gilbane Inc. | $431,425 | $497,422 | 3,343 | Alliant Insurance Services |
| Rhode Island School of Design | $220,160 | $52,797 | 915 | Brown & Brown |
| Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, LTD. | $99,915 | $94,864 | 283 | USI Insurance Services |
| Family Service of Rhode Island, Inc. | $48,636 | $67,084 | 262 | USI Insurance Services |
| Crossroads Rhode Island | $42,461 | $33,122 | 157 | Starkweather and Shepley Inc |
| The Wheeler School | $18,102 | $6,611 | 152 | OneDigital |
| Textron Inc. | $0 | $407,477 | 19,989 | Strategic Non-Medical Solutions LLC |
| Brown University | $0 | $314,782 | 10,386 | Brown & Brown |
| AAA Northeast | $0 | $10,789 | 3,204 | Mercer |
| Board of Trustees, Teamsters Local 251 Health | $0 | — | 3,108 | — |
| Johnson & Wales University | $0 | $137,342 | 1,637 | Brown & Brown |
| Brown Physicians, Inc. | $0 | $151,308 | 1,424 | Gallagher |
| Stepstone Hospitality Inc. | $0 | $220,160 | 756 | Alliant Insurance Services |
| Providence College | $0 | $183,982 | 722 | 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 Providence employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Willis Towers Watson | $835,073 | 2 |
| Alliant Insurance Services | $612,880 | 2 |
| Mercer | $535,669 | 4 |
| Brown & Brown | $500,317 | 3 |
| NFP | $486,508 | 3 |
| Gallagher | $435,076 | 8 |
| Strategic Non-Medical Solution | $407,477 | 1 |
| USI Insurance Services | $393,837 | 9 |
| Hilb Group of New England | $238,764 | 5 |
| Axg Advisors | $213,706 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Providence against Rhode Island 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.
| Providence | Rhode Island | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 48 | 195 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 1.0% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 0.2% – 3.0% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $61,530 | $55,655 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | n/a | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 1 | 3 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 49 Providence employers reported $184M in premiums and $6.0M in broker pay for 101,129 participants; in 2024 it was $203M and $6.1M for 110,001 participants (premiums +10.1%, broker pay +1.8%).
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 Providence employers pay health insurance brokers?
48 Providence employers reported $6,094,201 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 46 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Providence reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the Rhode Island median is 1.0% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Providence employer that disclosed broker pay reported $61,530.
Which Providence employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Care New England ($82M), Women & Infants Hospital ($37M), Ri Laborers Health Fund Board of Trustees ($33M) lead. 25 Providence employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Providence?
By compensation reported by Providence employers, the largest brokers are Willis Towers Watson ($835,073, 2 plans), Alliant Insurance Services ($612,880, 2 plans), Mercer ($535,669, 4 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ri, Highmark Inc..
Are Providence employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 48 Providence employer plans, 8 are fully insured, 13 are self-funded and 27 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 Rhode Island
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