No small task providing health insurance and health care.

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THE UNITED STATES SPENDS $1.65 TRILLION annually on health care, almost 14 percent of its gross domestic product. As health-care costs continue to rise with no end in sight, providers look for ways to deliver quality and affordable care to patients, while businesses grapple with containing costs while providing competitive benefits to their employees.

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All in all, that's a delicate balancing act that requires a healthy mix of innovation, communication and compromise.

"The costs of health insurance are escalating faster than any other aspect of insurance," said Greg Ahbe, president of The Ahbe Group. "A business may see its health insurance premiums go up 27 percent in a single year. They can't raise their prices by 27 percent."

Ahbe employs about 70 agents throughout Colorado and operates six branch offices in the Denver Metro area. The firm represents more than 150 insurance and financial-service companies.

"Employees are having to shoulder more of the costs of their coverage, but at the end of the day, it's often hard for an employer to tell employees that they're going to have to pay more," Ahbe said. "That's why you have to be creative. When we sit down with an employer we say, 'Let's see how we can position ourselves so we can save a dime, then let's try to add value to the plan to offset any rising costs to the employee. Employers know that the better the package, the better the employee."

When it comes to employer-sponsored health benefits, Colorado businesses have encountered the proverbial perfect storm. Over the last five years, as premiums have seen double-digit annual increases, several insurance carriers have pulled out of the state. As that market shrinks, so too do an employer's options, especially companies with 50 or fewer employees.

"Mid-market companies, those with 50 to 200 employees, have more carrier options and more funding options," said David Uppinghouse, senior vice president of employee benefits for Van Gilder Insurance Corp. "Some of those companies are partially self-funding their heath plans. They take on some of the risk and potentially reap the rewards in good years."

Funded in 1905, Van Gilder is the oldest and largest independent insurance brokerage firm in the Rocky Mountain region. The firm has offices in Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, Texas and Utah, and employs 265 professionals who provide a full line of commercial and personal insurance, as well as employee benefits and aviation...