Before you know it, your organization will likely be planning (and in many cases, unfortunately dreading) annual enrollment for your employee healthcare plan. And it might go something like this. Your broker will present you with a renewal proposal created “just for you”. And that renewal will be with the same big insurance carrier you’re currently using. And with that proposal “personalized just for your team”, the benefits may be the same or even lesser, and the price tag will be more.
Why is that? Why does the same (or lesser) plan cost more … at an even higher rate than normal wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments? To have that answer – it’s about understanding the components of your plan. It’s really three parts.
- Care providers and facilities
- Insurance
- Plan Administration
Care providers and facilities. Or more simply – doctors and hospitals. Access to both is the most important part of your plan. And yes, their costs will likely go up – similar to how your business may increase prices. But that’s not the real driver of growing costs in your plan.
Insurance. This is fairly straightforward. Your business and your employees want to feel confident that they are protected from significant, unplanned expenses. That’s what insurance is for. And yes while these costs will fluctuate, true costs of insurance are predictable. Again, not the biggest driver of growing costs.
Plan Administration. Every organization needs administrative support. Customer service, bookkeeping, technology, human resources, and so forth. The same is true for large insurance companies. They have massive teams. And yes, they will have increasing costs as well. But there are many facets of “administration” where insurance companies continue to “raise the price”. Why? To drive better profits. And who is shouldering the burden of those growth in profits? Organizations – like yours – that continue to renew, year after year, without exploring better options.
What if you could keep the same doctors … the same insurance … and maybe save on the costs of the plan administration?
Guess what. You can. Self-insured plans are viable for all types and sizes of businesses – not just global companies. Other types of plans allow your employees to continue with their same doctors, with insurance to protect against major expenses, and manageable – and reasonable – administrative costs. You can have that … today.
But not if you simply renew with the same large insurance carrier. They are typically focused on growing profits, and “managing your health” is how they achieve their goals.
Connect with a Mitigate Partners advisor today. You’ll be glad you did.
