We don’t have to tell you that offering employee benefits is complex and one of the biggest expenses for your small businesses. That’s why our friendly team of experienced group benefit consultants are here to help! We work together to create personalized employee benefit packages that can save you money and alleviate the hassle of managing benefits. Let us make this process easier for you!
We design, implement, communicate, and manage comprehensive benefit packages that consist of a variety of the following employer-sponsored and employee-paid benefits specifically tailored for small to medium-sized groups. Our goal is to provide affordable and effective solutions that cater to the unique needs of these organizations while ensuring that both employers and employees can enjoy a wide range of options and advantages.
We offer traditional health plans through most major carriers. Depending on your needs, we have plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to full packages that offer a variety of benefits.
Health Maintenance Organization or HMO
An HMO offers lower premiums and a significant savings on routine and preventative healthcare. However, this type of health plan requires you to appoint a primary care physician and to use doctors and facilities that are affiliated with the HMO. Thus, if you use healthcare service providers outside of the HMO, there is a good chance those charges won’t be covered by your policy. But, the great thing about an HMO is that the only charges you incur, outside of your premiums, are co-pays for doctor’s visits and other services such as procedures and prescriptions.
Preferred Provider Organization or PPO
A PPO will save you money on services if you use the preferred providers within the network. Keep in mind that deductibles must be met on this plan before some services will be covered. The good thing about a PPO is they generally will allow a certain amount of services annually outside of the deductible with a small co-pay, and most often the PPO has a large network with quality care providers and excellent prescription drug coverage.
Point of Service Plans (POS)
POS plans combine features of HMOs and PPOs. Most POS plans require members to choose a primary care physician from within the POS network, but allow them to use out-of-network specialists with a referral from a primary care physician. Co-payments will be higher for out-of-network services.
Along with Health Insurance, Life Insurance is considered to be a key part of the benefit package for employees. Besides being a valuable tool in attracting top talent, employees are happier and more productive feeling secure that their loved ones will be taken care of in the event of illness or an untimely death.
Whether an employer paid or voluntary benefit, a good life insurance policy provides for an employee’s final expenses, taxes, mortgage and even their children’s education as well as offering additional added benefits. We can help employers protect their employees and their employees’ families with a variety of different life insurance products.
Permanent Life Insurance
Life insurance that builds cash value and the savings can be tax deferred and/or borrowed against, if needed. These policies are known as Permanent Life Insurance.
Term Policy
Life insurance that does not build cash value. However, it will pay a set amount to the named beneficiary upon the death of insured within the stated term. Some policies may also make payments upon terminal or critical illness.
National surveys have shown that Short-Term Disability (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) remain of high importance for most employees. Savvy employers attract and retain top talent by offering both STD and LTD insurance as part of the employer paid benefit package or as a voluntary (worksite) benefit.
Short-Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), STD will begin. It generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a two-week waiting period. It will continue to pay the employee until he/she recovers or maxes out the benefits. This is usually anywhere between one month to two years, depending on the policy.
Long-Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), LTD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a 90-day waiting period, although it could be much longer depending on the policy, but will continue to pay the employee far longer than STD–for a few years, up to age 65, or even for life.
We offer Dental and Vision Plans through many of our major insurance carriers. These plans are offered on a stand-alone (voluntary or employer-sponsored) basis or incorporated into the group health plan offering. Whether as voluntary or paid benefit, employees appreciate both dental & vision coverage as part of their Employee Benefits Package.
Dental Plans
Regular dental exams help employees stay healthier and more productive in the work place. Simple routine visits to the dentist, which are usually covered 100% by insurers, help to detect serious underlying conditions. The National Association of Dental Plans and the Centers for Disease Control have performed studies that show that employees with Dental Insurance plans have better attitudes and are less likely to suffer from depression, a common condition in today’s fast-paced world.
Dental Plans offer a variety of diagnostic, preventative care and corrective services. These include cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings, root canals, orthodontia for children, and emergency care while traveling.
Vision Plans
Similar to dental policies, vision plans are inexpensive and save money on routine exams. They provide eyeglass frames and lenses, contacts, and even discounts on procedures like LASIK. Monitoring your eye health with regular exams also helps to prevent serious eye diseases like glaucoma and cataracts and also helps to detect early stages of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Group Long-Term Care (LTC) plans are becoming an increasingly common voluntary benefit offered by employers today. The prospect of long-term care is one of the most important issues your employees may have to face. The cost of long-term care is expensive and generally not covered by other employee benefits, disability or even Medicare.
If someone requires long-term care, it is not just an emotional strain but a financial one as well. Savvy employers know that access to additional resources can increase employee productivity when confronted with managing long-term care situations. Long-Term Care plans demonstrate to your current and prospective employees that your company cares about them. This will increase the ability to attract and retain the very best talent.
Most LTC plans are designed to provide benefits for care through nursing homes or assisted living centers. This also includes home health care and adult day care.
Employers can provide a base benefit while giving the employees the opportunity to “buy up” and obtain the level of coverage that they need for their families.
We help employers who provide medical benefits to their retirees tackle the challenges of ever increasing premiums and health care costs. We offer a guaranteed issue “true group” approach. Eligible employees (and spouse) receive all the benefits of Medicare and more with a Group Medicare Supplement.
Medicare Supplement Insurance policies complement your retiree’s original Medicare Parts A and B. They cover some or all of the expenses that Part A and B don’t, like co-pays, deductibles and other charges. Dental, vision and hearing wellness benefits may be included.
A HSA combines a high deductible/lower premium health insurance plan (PPO) with a savings account. Both employer and employee can contribute, tax-free to the savings account, which can help fund the deductible and other qualified medical expenses. Once the deductible is met, the insurance starts paying.
A HRA combines high deductible/low premium health insurance with a tax favored savings account. Employers contribute to the account, which funds co-pays and other qualified expenses until deductible is met.
Single, Dual or Triple Option Plans offer employees a choice between different types of plans as described above.
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a cafeteria plan under Section 125 of the tax code and allows for benefits to be paid with pre-tax dollars which results in tax savings to both the employee and the employer.
The average working employee in America spends thousands of dollars annually on certain types of medical benefits, daycare expenses and transportation services. By participating in an FSA, an employee’s taxable income is reduced, which increases the percentage of pay they take home and allows them to pay for these benefits and services with the pre-taxed dollars, in essence giving them a discount on these services.
This tax-favored savings account is funded solely by the employee through regular pre-tax payroll deductions. Employees elect how much they want withdrawn from each pay period, which can be changed annually or upon a qualifying event such as marriage or divorce. Throughout the plan year, funds can be withdrawn from the account (tax-free) to pay for eligible medical, dental, vision, prescription and dependent daycare expenses. Some FSAs include work-related parking and transit costs. The administrator of the FSA account can issue a debit card that is tied to the FSA making it easy to use the account when needed.
A Premium-Only Plan lets employees purchase their own individual insurance with pre-tax dollars, potentially saving employees thousands annually in taxes and premiums combined.
Employees elect a set amount of pre-tax dollars to be deducted from each payroll. The employee purchases an individual health insurance policy of his/her choosing. Then, the employee is responsible for paying the monthly premiums directly to the carrier. The employee is then reimbursed by the employer for the monthly premium with the pre-taxed dollars.
Shared Funding Plans allow small employers to take advantages of all the cost saving and benefit design features of a self-insured plan that typically is designed for larger groups. However, any small or large group could benefit greatly by the cost saving opportunities of a shared funding plan.
First, an employer will select any of the fully insured plans that the carrier offers and rates will be determined by the group’s claim history. Stop-loss insurance is added to protect against catastrophic claims.
Just like with an insured plan, the carrier will handle the administration of the plan, processing claims and offering members on-line access to benefit explanations and other reporting tools.
Premiums for shared funding plans are generally much lower than fully insured plans because the employer shares some of the risk.
Employers who opt for shared funding plans may save even more costs by implementing wellness programs into the workplace.
When employers self-fund their own health plan, they will benefit from a significant savings in premiums, increased cash flow, tax advantages in addition to having more control over the benefits that the plan offers.
Although not always a popular choice for small employers, today, self-insured plans are considered to be good options for both small and large employers. We specialize in helping employers set up and maintain self-funded health plans and would be happy to give you a no cost analysis to determine if a self-funded health plan option is right for your company.
A self-funded health plan requires the employer to become the insurer. Most often, employers will partner with a PPO to provide services for the plan. A third party (a TPA) is engaged to handle claims and processing. Because self-insured employers run the risk of large catastrophic claims, they will purchase stop-loss insurance to protect them in such an event. Even with the additional expense of stop-loss insurance, employers can enjoy saving thousands in premiums and other advantages.
We work with many of the top Supplemental Health carriers to offer plans that suit different healthcare needs and budgets. Our guidance is completely free, and your premiums are never higher when working with one of our experienced Health Insurance agents.
