I see more and more employers offering high deductible health plans (HDHPs) every year. This type of plan can be tricky, but it’s increasingly popular in the quest to keep premium spend down as healthcare costs rise. We come across our fair share of questions and issues with HDHPs and health savings accounts (HSAs) at… [Read More]
Why HR Should Care About User Experience
You know that feeling – when you’re pulling your hair out over what should be a simple task on your computer or mobile device? It’s rare to go through the day without some kind of technological interaction, and when the tech doesn’t work or it’s not easy to navigate, we eventually wash our hands of… [Read More]
Introduce Voluntary Benefits Outside of Open Enrollment
Here we are again… Open enrollment madness for core benefit programs is in the rearview mirror and human resources teams can focus on planning for next year. It pleases me to see voluntary benefits gaining more traction with employers of all sizes, but I’ve noticed that most employers’ initial thought is to introduce new voluntary offerings… [Read More]
Reviewing Contracts: An Essential Part of Health Plan Management
And you thought it was tough to decide on plan design, communication strategy and contributions for your medical benefits plan… Once the crush of implementation begins, the plan documents will start coming to your inbox and it’s critically important that you understand them completely. The obvious first steps would be to check the principal plan… [Read More]
Take Advantage of Health Insurer Cherry Picking
I frequently witness the frustration of small group employers over the inability to customize plan design or receive premiums that reflect the health of their employee population. Growing companies often look forward to hiring their 51st employee, the magical threshold where many state insurance laws allow rate negotiation and some plan design flexibility. Some states even… [Read More]
Employee Eldercare Assistance – Not a Bad Idea
Long Term Care (LTC) insurance was a pretty good solution to pay for costly end-stage assistance and many carriers jumped onto the product bandwagon. These products were priced at a level cost, based upon the attained age of the insured at the time the coverage was purchased. And for someone in their 50s or 60s,… [Read More]
Small Group Renewals – the Devil Is in the Details
With year after year of large premium increases, it’s no wonder many employers are happy to receive a health insurance renewal below 10% – but low-percentage renewals can often gloss over key changes to the policy that are not boldly highlighted in the renewal offer. So what kind of changes are we talking about here?… [Read More]
Total Wellness
Recently, I’ve had a few long-time wellness clients ask me “what’s next?” They’re wondering what’s new in wellness and what can they do to refresh their established programs. I must say, I get quite excited when clients want to go above and beyond basic wellness programming. For those of you who are new to wellness,… [Read More]
Got Business Travel Accident Coverage?
In this day and age, technology is capable of bringing together bright minds from opposite sides of the globe – but sometimes web-based meetings just aren’t enough to make a real connection. Travel can be an integral part of maintaining business relationships and while most companies agree they should provide additional benefits and support to… [Read More]
PEOs – Key Factors You Need to Consider
Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) have continued surfacing as a solution for many small employers, but where do you begin when trying to understand if a PEO is right for your business? Decide if a PEO makes sense for your business BEFORE evaluating the savings. A PEO can seem tempting when quotes come back 10% to 20%… [Read More]
