I have been working with Private Equity (PE) firms on their insurance related needs for over a decade and continue to be amazed at the costly error that is repeated in the middle market sector. The mistake is allowing a newly acquired portfolio company (portco) to retain their current Health and Welfare (H&W) broker based on a “relationship” vs skill sets. In making this choice, opportunities to reduce the percentage of spend tied to human capital are often overlooked.
Have you ever wondered why bright executives with great ideas, products and services struggle to achieve their strategic goals? If you dive deeper into these situations, you will find that these same leaders have a great vision and a great strategy. But in today’s challenging business environment, that is not enough
Dating back 25 years it was common for employers to pay a large portion of both the employee and dependent cost of employee health and dental insurance. In many situations it was 100% of the cost for both employee and dependent. Back then there was generally just one plan of benefits offered. As HMO’s became more prominent it became more common to offer both HMO coverage and PPO coverage, many times through separate carriers. Generally, employers charged employees more for HMO coverage so that they would not impair the claims experience for their experience rated PPO coverage.
By way of background, my firm manages Association Programs (often times identified as an independent Private Exchange). Each Association Program consists of multiple satellites/hubs with sometimes, different needs at each. With the leadership from each satellite, we collaborate on the delivery of services that require consensus/consistency.
Now that the window to submit 1095s for 2015 has closed, applicable large employers or “ALEs” can expect to receive subsidy notifications from the ACA Exchanges. A subsidy notification will be sent to employers who have employees that (1) purchased coverage on the Exchange and (2) are receiving premium subsidies for the coverage.
Marketing has changed a lot in the past decade. The world has moved from the age of print into the age of digital, which includes the ever-changing universe of social media. Being a millennial myself, I have grown up surrounded by the virtual world and the incredible technological advancements of the past twenty years.
I believe Human Resource Departments that set long term Health and Welfare strategies are more successful at achieving important objectives like cost containment and employee engagement. When long term strategies are identified, HR teams understand what the goals of the department are, and what the plan is to get there.
Let’s face it, when thinking about total rewards, base and incentive compensation is usually first on the list of priorities. Just as it should be. However, more and more progressive companies are seeing the benefits component of total rewards as a better differentiator in defining their employment value proposition. And, one allowing for many more design options than just compensation.
Here at Craford Benefits, one of the first objectives we are tasked with when working with a client is choosing the right plan type. Many factors are considered when determining this such as location, group size, financial budget, contributions, etc. We analyze all of these factors and then recommend a plan we believe best suits the client’s needs.
