Small Businesses Pay More for Health Coverage
Where Did All My Money Go?
In a recent study done by the White House, small businesses pay 18% more in premiums for health coverage. What small business owner is surprised by this statistic? Small business owners have been living the Health Benefit nightmare for many years now. Perpetually caught between a rock and health coverage.
Small business owners strive to have the same high quality employees that large companies have, however providing the benefits that attract top-tier talent is often a struggle. This is because a small business employee’s salary, vacation time, and health benefits directly impact the business’s bottom line.
So as a business owner you either pay the high cost of health coverage or lose top-tier talent to large companies that can afford the benefit.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost. Health Carriers are starting to realize the strain that high health premiums are putting on America’s small businesses. In an effort to decrease the health benefit burden Health Carriers are rolling out new benefit options such as Hybrid and High-Deductible plans in addition to EPO and PPO plans. These plans do not by any means have rock bottom, bargain basement prices, but the savings from a traditional HMO can be very significant.
So where’s the catch? The catch is this, these HMO alternative plans make the employer/employee take on some of the upfront cost of health issues. One of the most popular High-Deductible plans right now has $1,500 upfront deductible. That sounds like a lot of money. But if you employ a healthy, young workforce this is a fantastic option.
Hybrid plans have reasonable co-pays for doctor visits, but use a deductible for hospital visits.
Another popular option is taking a High-Deductible plan and using supplemental voluntary benefits to fill in the gap, called MedicalBridge. This allows employees who do not need the bridge to save and employees that do still have the option of being covered.
Basically it comes down to this, Health Insurance is a major expense, there is no denying that. But if you work with your broker and allow them to show you non-traditional, non-HMO options there are opportunities to save.
“If you’d like to talk about your Insurance Risk, contact me today. We can talk about your exposure, and begin our relationship!”
Thank you,
Ryan H.
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Terence,
I've found that small groups are still very hesitant to make the move to High Deductible plans.
However, I've started to see some companies making the move to Hybrid plans…
Ryan H.
Nice commentary Ryan. Curious as to what percentage of your small group book of business has moved over to high deductible/consumer directed plans the past year?
How difficult has it been educating the small groups on the details of these plans? Are they able to look past the higher deductibles to see potential cost benefits (depending on their expected utilization)?
Terence,
I've found that small groups are still very hesitant to make the move to High Deductible plans.
However, I've started to see some companies making the move to Hybrid plans…
Ryan H.
Nice commentary Ryan. Curious as to what percentage of your small group book of business has moved over to high deductible/consumer directed plans the past year?
How difficult has it been educating the small groups on the details of these plans? Are they able to look past the higher deductibles to see potential cost benefits (depending on their expected utilization)?