Medical Information Bureau (MIB)

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is a not-for-profit organization that collects and stores medical information on behalf of its member insurance companies. The MIB is used by insurance companies as a tool to assess an applicant's risk and eligibility for life, health, and disability insurance. The MIB maintains a database of medical information that is accessed by member companies when an individual applies for insurance coverage.

 

Key features of the MIB include:

 

·      Information collection: The MIB collects medicalinformation on individuals who have applied for insurance coverage with amember company. This information includes medical conditions, prescription drughistory, and other health-related data.

·      Data sharing: Member companies can access theMIB database to review an applicant's medical history and assess their risk forinsurance coverage.

·      Risk assessment: The MIB database allows membercompanies to identify individuals who may be at higher risk for healthproblems, and to adjust insurance premiums and coverage accordingly.

·      Privacy protection: The MIB is governed bystrict privacy laws and regulations, and information stored in the database isprotected from unauthorized access. Individuals also have the right to requesta copy of their MIB report and dispute any inaccurate information.

Next Up

Vision is the most commonly offered ancillary benefit in employer-sponsored plans — 89% of employers offer it nationally, higher than dental, higher than life insurance, and higher than any voluntary benefit. And yet vision is also one of the most underfunded benefits in the market.
Dental benefits are not your largest cost center. For most employers, dental represents a fraction of what medical costs per covered employee annually. But dental is one of the highest visibility benefits in your package: employees use it, notice it, and talk about it. When it’s good, it builds goodwill. When it’s inadequate (low maximums, no orthodontia, zero employer contribution) it registers as a signal that the employer isn’t invested in the total package.
How an employer funds its health plan sits quietly in the background of every benefits decision. Most CHROs and CFOs know their premium cost. Fewer understand the mechanics of how their plan is actually structured: who holds the risk, who administers the claims, how costs flow, and what flexibility, if any, they have to change any of it.