If you were an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) for the 2015 tax reporting year you may be receiving a letter shortly from the IRS stating you were out of compliance with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The IRS letter (Letter 226J) may state that you owe a penalty for non-compliance – and that penalty may be anywhere from a couple of thousand to over a million dollars. So – what do you do?
Building a Case for the Convergence of Human Capital Management and Insurance Services
Being able to view the world through another’s perspective is the hallmark of empathy.
Why is this important when it comes to benefits management? Because many benefit brokers only understand the insurance side of the business and fail to appreciate how their benefits programs converge into their client’s total human resource environment. This failure is a major differentiator in the success of the benefit broker and client relationship.
Renewing Small Group Health Insurance
Let’s be honest, renewing small group health insurance is dramatically different than large-group. With small group, removed are the utilization/demographic patterns, IBNR, trends, administration expenses and much of the contribution modeling (to name a few). So, if small group renewals are easier, then why are they time-consuming? And what is the reason for the fire-drills?
Social and Emotional Intelligence: A Leader's Impact on Culture, Retention, and the Bottom-Line
"So We Hired A Social Media Intern!"
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.
Five Steps to a Successful Long Term Health and Welfare Strategy
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.
Big Mistake Made By PE Firms: Allowing a Newly Acquired Portfolio Company to Drive a Broker Decision
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.
Strategic Engagement: By Chance or Intent?
5 Critical Components of an Association Health Plan
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.
Health and Welfare: A Critical Component to Your Total Rewards Strategy
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.
Compare Health Insurance Plans
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.
Request for Proposal Part I: Is an RFP Right for Me?
Association and Private Exchange Ratings and Contribution Strategies for the Small Group Market
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.
Who is a Fiduciary Under the Law and How to Protect Them
Rethinking Your Performance Management Process: Engaging Employees to Redesign from the Bottom-Up
An Empathic Approach to Benefits Management
Wellness Programs in the Workplace
Vendor Teams and Why They Matter
Are You Making the Most of your Open Enrollment Communication?
Performance Culture: You Reap What You Sow
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