Home
>
Small Business
>
Provide Affordable Health Care To Employees At Little To No Cost To You

Provide Affordable Health Care To Employees At Little To No Cost To You

You can provide affordable health care plans to your employees. If you feel overwhelmed by health care plan costs, you may be able to achieve far more than you believe. Here is how.

REAL NEEDS, REAL SOLUTIONS

Today, millions of EMPLOYED Americans depend on government aid, charitable organizations, and their own incomes to pay medical expenses. Until an extended illness or hospitalization occurs, these resources usually suffice.

When faced with catastrophic health expenses, people often turn to their employers. If your company provides insufficient insurance, will you pay someone who cannot work? To add insult to injury, this year Congress passed bankruptcy legislation that burdens millions of Americans in medically-induced financial crises.

Employers feel the pinch too. With every health insurance quote, numbers add up quickly: $150-250 per employee, $300-500 per family. Many businesses shift these costs to employees through higher deductibles and co-pays, partial premium payments, and other means.

And despite some television advertising, supplemental benefits are not well known in the workplace. Most providers rarely advertise or not at all. Supplemental health plans are separate from major medical and dental plans. A supplemental benefits broker brings you proven cost-reducing advantages.

The best supplemental benefits providers don't require employers to pay premiums. The employees pay for most benefits. However, competitively priced plans are inexpensive and pre-tax options can make them extremely attractive and affordable. Be sure you find a competitive provider with truly low-cost products to maximize savings and benefits.

Most insurance brokers do NOT handle supplemental benefits. When a supplemental benefits broker contacts you, assume your regular broker knows very little about such products. Ask questions. Make an informed decision. Most importantly, find ways to give your employees options and flexibility to care for their families. You cannot do it all, but they have to.

Good brokers schedule employee meetings to explain plans in detail. You should insist on a group meeting.

Plans fall into two categories: insurance and spending accounts. I'll describe them briefly, but you need to sit down with a knowledgeable broker to fully understand these programs.

SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE

Employers are usually asked to payroll deduct insurance premiums. Therefore, most voluntary plans may be offered as pre-tax deductions. Pre-taxing often reduces employee Federal and F.I.C.A. withholding. If employee F.I.C.A. contributions are reduced, employers who match contributions may save money, too.

Section 125 of the I.R.S. code defines the rules for pre-taxing voluntary benefit deductions. These plans are often called Section 125 or Cafeteria 125 plans. Pre-taxed plans restrict employees' changes.

Although some providers ask employers to guarantee premiums, competitive providers will NOT ask for employer contributions. Seek inexpensive insurance plans that incur no direct costs to employers. Accident care plans should cost no more than $15-25 per month: a dollar a day per employee. Family coverages and riders incur additional costs, so be informed.

Riders extend policy benefits. For example, an accident plan with a disability rider, a wellness rider, and a hospitalization rider provides considerable protection. If plans offer any reimbursement for preventive testing, employees may recoup some of their premiums.

The most popular insurance products are disability and accident plans. On average, about 50% of employees participate in them. Averages are not guarantees, but many employers are surprised by how popular these plans prove to be.

Cancer and critical illness plans are also popular. Employees may not want to pre-tax disability, cancer, or critical illness since benefits would be taxable. Some supplemental benefits providers have plans to help employees cover high deductibles and co-pays in major medical plans at reduced costs.

SPENDING ACCOUNTS

The several types of spending accounts are usually handled through third-party administrators. Because employees don't pay premiums, spending accounts are even more popular with some employers than insurance products. The neat thing about spending accounts is that they are pre-taxed, so both employer and employee may save money.

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA, or unreimbursed medical account) is used for co-pays, deductibles, over-the-counter expenses, and many items not covered by typical (or low-cost) major medical plans: crutches, hearing aids, etc.

Unfortunately, employers must pay small administrative fees for Flexible Spending Accounts. While they may recoup their expenses from reduced matching F.I.C.A contributions, some organizations don't make such contributions. Evaluate each FSA plan carefully to find the best match. With FSA plans, employees must budget carefully because they lose unspent funds at the end of the year.

Dependent Child Care Accounts are also popular. Some providers take a portion of reduced F.I.C.A. contributions as their fee. I.R.S. rules limit dependent child care expenses as tax deductions. Employees should understand two things: they will NOT claim these expenses on their tax returns AND their deductions become post-tax deductions after they have matched the current limit.

A new type of spending account is an HSA, or Health Savings Account. Unlike Flexible Spending Accounts, HSAs allow you to roll the unspent funds in the account over to the next plan year. So, what's the catch?

HSAs must be used in conjunction with High Deductible Health Plans. An HDHP costs less than typical major medical, but your deductible must meet a minimum requirement ($1000 individual, $2000 family). And you have to exhaust the funds in your HSA before you can use your insurance. So, HSAs are not for everyone. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has published a Web site with information on HSAs:

http://www.treas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/

Work with a supplemental benefits broker to learn more about and understand how these programs help employers reduce costs, increase benefits, and assist employees in reducing their own medical expenses through effective, proven programs.

Michael Martinez is a licensed Life and Health insurance agent in the state of Texas. Insurance and benefits programs may be subject to both Federal and state regulations in your state. This article does not offer legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a licensed supplemental benefits broker in your area to understand what choices you have available to you.

http://www.michael-martinez.com/

car service from Midway Burlington .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a malware app called SpyLend is posing as a financial tool, hitting 100,000-plus downloads.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says Clone Robotics’ Protoclone mimics humans with 1,000 muscles – too human for comfort.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson urges you to use Apple’s App Privacy Report to see what your apps are really up to.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how to smoothly transfer your data from an old laptop to a new one using cloud storage or external drives.

Kurt the CyberGuy offers tips to safeguard your personal information as scammers become more sophisticated with scam texts and other methods.

WeRide's unmanned electric delivery van, the Robovan W5, has 194 cubic feet of cargo space and can carry payloads up to about 2,205 pounds

Kurt the CyberGuy recommends deleting 16 browser extensions immediately in response to a report saying more than 3.2 million web users were affected by a security breach.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A robotics firm in China claims a robot has performed the world's first humanoid robot front flip, which is significantly more difficult than a backflip.

A digital ID may be even more secure than a physical ID. Storing your driver's license in your Apple Wallet is an ideal solution for commuters.

A cybersecurity firm has shed some light on just how common tax scams have become. Kurt the CyberGuy offers his advice for how to protect your refund.

Lifesize Plans offers immersive walk-throughs that allow customers the opportunity to tour a home's design before construction actually begins.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A man invested $4 million in bitcoin and lost it all with a single click when he was targeted by a vishing scam, which uses phone calls to trick people.

Expandable's Touchdown is a designer trailer that promises a luxury off-grid living experience and unfolds into a home in about 15 minutes.

Major employee screening company data breach affects 3.3 million people. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson explains what happened and gives five ways to protect your data.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals mind-blowing tech that gives you sunlight on demand.

New malware "FrigidStealer" targets Mac computers. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers four ways to stay safe from infostealer malware.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how lab-grown muscles power a biohybrid hand for scalable prosthetics and research.

Reports of task scams have significantly risen in the past four years, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some red flags.

iPhones have a hidden folder that eats up storage without you knowing it. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some tricks to free up storage on your device.

A recent ransomeware attack targeted Zacks, an American investment firm, and a cybercriminal claimed to have stolen records for millions of customers.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Researchers unveiled a new soft prosthetic hand that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column.

Accidentally deleting a text message on your iPhone or iPad is not a problem if you still need the message. Apple has a built-in way to recover it.

Provide Affordable Health Care To Employees At Little To No Cost To You

Small Business