Towers Watson

Employers, both big and small, are increasingly moving toward using health insurance exchanges to provide their workers' health benefits. The companies offer their employees a fixed amount of money so they can shop for and select a plan available from an online marketplace, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Professional services company Towers Watson is acquiring Extend Health, the largest private Medicare exchange, for $435 million.

A new survey is the latest attempt by industry analysts to determine whether companies will continue to offer employer-sponsored health plans after insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.