Employee Benefits Insurance
In order to attract and retain innovative, dedicated workers, a traditional employee benefits program is a necessity.
Successfully managing and controlling the ever-increasing costs of employee benefits can provide a competitive edge for your company. Saving you time and money is our goal.
Creating and running a truly effective employee benefits program, though, is a task few companies are equipped to handle themselves. Just as you would consult an attorney for legal advice, so should you talk to us for advice about your benefits program. We'll examine your individual situation and help you design your own unique benefits program.
We develop long-term health care strategies that seek the optimum balance of costs and coverage. We'll look at your short-term and long-term goals, and incorporate such current services as shopping the market with our web based application FormFire. We'll custom-design a plan you and your employees can live with; and we'll keep that program on track throughout the plan year to ensure that it remains cost-effective and comprehensive. Saving you time and money is our goal.
Group Health Insurance Quotes
Using our independent agency, you can compare group health insurance coverage plans from several different carriers.
We offer fully-funded, self-funded, MEWA, limited benefit and minimum essential coverage group health plans that meet or exceed the ACA requirements. We also offer all ancillary products, including: dental, vision, life, disability, Medicare and long term care insurance plans.
Benefits can be offered to all employees in full, partially or on a voluntary basis. Our independent agency works with all of the major carriers and several smaller niche providers. Whether you need to avoid ACA penalties or offer affordable insurance coverage to your workforce, we can help.
Employer Group Health Insurance Coverage
Providing group health insurance is a primary concern for most businesses. We quote several carriers to help our group clients keep their premiums low now and in the future. Our providers include Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, Medical Mutual of Ohio, United Healthcare and several others.
We offer HSA, HRA, MEWA and traditional medical coverage to companies of all sizes. Life, dental and vision coverage can be added to any of our plans – or offered as a voluntary benefits package. We work diligently with underwriters each year to keep your premiums stable.
We are not compensated based on premiums. Rather, we are paid based on enrolled members. This is why we negotiate constantly with underwriters to reduce your group’s risk factor in order to maintain affordable rates.
Our job is to find the least expensive and most suitable group coverage for our clients. We do this by making insurance companies compete for your business year in and year out.
Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWA)
The newest addition to group health coverage in Ohio are Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement plans. Also known as MEWA policies, these plans allow groups to band together in order to offer lower rates to their employees.
What’s unique about this coverage is small groups can now be medically underwritten once again. Groups with generally good health can see up to a 40% discount on their monthly premiums.
Group MEWA plans can only be used for employers with 50 full-time employees or less. Several insurance companies here in Ohio offer MEWA plans including Medical Mutual, Anthem BCBS COSE and United Healthcare. We can quote them all for you to help your small group find better rates on existing or new coverage.
Health Care Reform – Employer Mandate Penalty
The Affordable Care Act requires all companies with 50 or more full-time employees (or full-time equivalents) to offer comprehensive health insurance coverage or face a tax penalty..
Group insurance plans must offer a so-called minimum value to the employee while also being deemed affordable. To meet these standards, the coverage must pay at least 60% of covered benefits – and employees cannot pay more than 9.5% of their household income toward the insurance.
Failure to offer minimum value/affordable insurance will result in a $2000 per member tax penalty. This penalty does not apply to the first 30 employees of any group, but everyone over that threshold. Additionally, employers can expect to pay a $2,700 per employee penalty for every full-time employee who receives a tax-credit on the Federal Marketplace. This happens when an employee purchases subsidized coverage through the ACA because the employer did not offer minimum value insurance or it was not affordable.
An employee will be considered full-time if s/he works 30 or more hours per week or 120 hours a month. Groups can expect regular audits and end of year form filling requirements to check if they are compliant with the current rules and regulations.
How To Avoid The ACA Group Insurance Penalties
The easiest way to avoid the ACA penalties is, of course, to establish a group health plan. There are several different options available, including: fully-funded, self-funded, major medical, low cost minimum, limited benefit, MEC and preventive plans. We understand that fully funded plans from the likes of Aetna, Anthem, UHC and Humana are not feasible for all employers. With the requirement that the group pay at least 50% toward to coverage, these costs can really add up. We have options.
The least expensive way to avoid the $2,000 ACA (per employee) tax penalty is to setup a MEC or PMEC. These preventive only Minimum Essential Coverage plans offer enough coverage to satisfy the first ACA requirement. And overall, this penalty is usually the much larger of the two.
Plans like this can usually be found for under $50 a month per employee. Groups must pay the entire premium however – not just half. Using this strategy, employers can still be assessed the second penalty if any of their employees are receiving subsidies when purchasing individual insurance on the exchange.
Self-funded plans are another way to reduce and/or avoid ACA group penalties altogether. These plans are medically underwritten and can offer less expensive coverage than more customary fully-funded plans. We see groups with younger, healthier populations reduce their rates the most with this strategy.
In some cases, groups will even qualify for a return of premium if their yearly claims are lower than expected. Self-funded group health insurance plans can offer robust benefits while utilizing large nationwide networks, but help to keep rates down by using a secondary payer.
There are a lot of group health plans that will avoid some or all of the two Affordable Care Act penalties. We can help your group find the one that best meets your insurance needs and overall budget.
How To Avoid The ACA Group Insurance Penalties
The easiest way to avoid the ACA penalties is, of course, to establish a group health plan. There are several different options available, including: fully-funded, self-funded, major medical, low cost minimum, limited benefit, MEC and preventive plans. We understand that fully funded plans from the likes of Aetna, Anthem, UHC and Humana are not feasible for all employers. With the requirement that the group pay at least 50% toward to coverage, these costs can really add up. We have options.
The least expensive way to avoid the $2,000 ACA (per employee) tax penalty is to setup a MEC or PMEC. These preventive only Minimum Essential Coverage plans offer enough coverage to satisfy the first ACA requirement. And overall, this penalty is usually the much larger of the two.
Plans like this can usually be found for under $50 a month per employee. Groups must pay the entire premium however – not just half. Using this strategy, employers can still be assessed the second penalty if any of their employees are receiving subsidies when purchasing individual insurance on the exchange.
Self-funded plans are another way to reduce and/or avoid ACA group penalties altogether. These plans are medically underwritten and can offer less expensive coverage than more customary fully-funded plans. We see groups with younger, healthier populations reduce their rates the most with this strategy.
In some cases, groups will even qualify for a return of premium if their yearly claims are lower than expected. Self-funded group health insurance plans can offer robust benefits while utilizing large nationwide networks, but help to keep rates down by using a secondary payer.
There are a lot of group health plans that will avoid some or all of the two Affordable Care Act penalties. We can help your group find the one that best meets your insurance needs and overall budget.
Voluntary Group Insurance Benefits And Packages
To reduce costs, employers may prefer to offer life insurance, disability coverage, dental and vision plans as well as other group benefits on a voluntary basis.
We work with several providers to quote voluntary benefits and can deliver different packages for employees to choose from.
In most cases a minimum amount of participation will be needed from full time employees. This is easier with larger groups, but with groups under ten employees, most carriers will require a predetermined participation quota after valid waivers.
Whether it’s a dental & vision plan or short/long term disability coverage, we can help. We’ll shop your group with several insurance companies to find the voluntary benefits that keep your employees insured and content.
Group Coverage vs. Medicare
Moving employees over the age of 65 to traditional Medicare and providing them their Medicare options could be a cost efficient way to lower health costs for both the employer and employee. We can assist in the education of your employees on their Medicare options and related costs. Another great service we provide is helping them with the Medicare application process to avoid any unnecessary confusion for them.
Contact Us For Group Insurance Quotes & Assistance
We work with several insurance companies to provide group insurance to our small and large business clients. Whether you need to be compliant with the Affordable Care Act or what to offer your employees more robust benefits, we can help.
