1 Hour Texas Approved CE Course

This course explores how the U.S. health insurance system evolved from simple hospital prepayment plans during the Great Depression into today’s complex world of self-funding and stop-loss. You’ll follow the major milestones that shaped employer-sponsored benefits— including the rise of Blue Cross, the 1954 tax exclusion, the shift from community to experience rating, and the transformative impact of ERISA, which opened the door for modern self-funded plans and the creation of stop-loss insurance. We’ll trace the industry’s evolution through managed care, PPO and HMO development, the emergence of HDHPs and HSAs, and the sweeping regulatory changes introduced by the Affordable Care Act. Along the way, you’ll see how rising healthcare costs, specialty drugs, gene therapies, and regulatory mandates continue to drive employers toward customized self-funded strategies supported by strong stop-loss protection. By the end of this course, you’ll understand how historical, regulatory, and financial forces shaped today’s funding models—and why stop-loss remains essential to managing catastrophic risk in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.