Lockton Companies has joined other major insurance brokersresponding to changes brought on by the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act by adding a private insurance exchange to itsemployee benefits division, Lockton Benefit Group.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based broker says it is partnering withSelectQuote Benefit Solutions to deliver a private insuranceexchange for retiree medical benefits. The exchange will work withretirees, age 65 and older, and any disability Medicare recipients,to give them access to Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage andprescription drug plans through the Lockton Select Marketplacepowered by SelectQuote Senior.

The establishment of a private health insurance exchanges may bea sign that more insurance brokers are offering alternatives totheir clients of the state exchanges under PPACA. The exchanges,which are to be in place by 2014, would allow individuals and smallbusinesses to buy health insurance online from major healthinsurers.

Last year, Arthur J. Gallagher announced it was forming a health exchange under partnership with Liazon Corp.,a provider of private health insurance exchanges. Insurance brokerAon plc's human resource division, Aon Hewitt, launched its owninsurance exchange—Corporate Health Exchange—last year. In March,Aon says it enrolled more than 100,000 employees into theprogram. Aon's exchange targets companies with 1,000 or moreemployees, whereas Gallagher expects to draw small to mid-sizecompanies.

In a report released last year, Marsh & McLennan CompaniesOliver Wyman division released a report on exchanges saying that they willbecome a permanent fixture in the delivery of health care worldbecause they are “a powerful and adaptable way of meeting a varietyof employer needs.”