What is the most popular benefit an employer can offer? The easy answer: employee health insurance.
We understand. Employee benefits can be puzzling and expensive, plus they can be a real pain. And that was before the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)!
Now more than ever you need an experienced guide to explain your options – including some that are outside the box – and help you make wise choices. We will introduce a few of the options you might consider below. Our goal is to make this as simple as possible.
Health Insurance Options
Prior to 2014, the cornerstone of most employee benefits plans was a group health insurance policy. With the Affordable Care Act, changes have come about, and revisions or updates could happen without your even knowing.
Here some the options we can consider:
- A traditional group health insurance plan
- A partially self-funded health insurance plan.
- A higher deductible plan with a “gap” plan can lower your cost without compromising benefits.
- No group plan – let employees get their own individual health insurance plans (we can help you make this transition).
- We invite you to contact us to set up a time to talk through these options and find the solution that will best serve your business or non-profit.
Group Dental Insurance
Are you interested in an affordable benefit that your employees will actually use and appreciate? Group dental insurance is something your employees probably want – just ask them.
A good dental plan is a great way to begin (or expand) your employee benefits plan. It’s also a great benefit to add if you decide to drop your group health insurance.
Supplemental Insurance/ Voluntary Benefits
Supplemental or voluntary benefits give you a chance to provide other options to your employees at little or no cost to you. They can be completely voluntary (the employee pays, and you simply set up payroll deduction) or employer paid. None are expensive.
These benefit options often include:
- Vision plans
- Accident plans
- Critical illness plans
- Additional life insurance
- Disability insurance
Group Disability Insurance
Most people don’t have disability insurance, but we should. The statistics suggest that most of your employees are living paycheck to paycheck. What would happen to your employees if they were unable to work? Could you help them? The fact is group disability plans are significantly cheaper than an individual policy, so this is worth checking out.
There are two parts to a group disability plan (you can choose either, though we suggest both):
- Short-term disability covers employees who miss work for a shorter period of time, usually 90 or 180 days. Note: This is a great solution for maternity leave.
- Long-term disability covers employees who will be out longer than 180 days.
Group Vision Insurance
Vision insurance is a very affordable policy that could be offered in several different ways. It’s often an easy add-on to a dental plan, or you could opt for a stand-alone group vision insurance plan. We’ll be happy to discuss both options with you.
