Many people may still not quite understand what role an agent or broker plays when it comes to your health insurance plan. You don’t pay fees to work with an agent or broker, and the return in services in invaluable.
Most importantly, we serve to help you understand the complex world of health insurance. Whether you are an individual or family shopping for coverage or an Employer looking to cover their employees, we provide you with access to multiple insurance companies and plans, thereby ensuring you have all the information necessary to make your decision.
Agents also work to negotiate the best rates for you. We work with the carriers to make certain your rates are the lowest they can be. They serve as your underwriting liaison to contest declines, or work with rated policies. This is the case for all plans – individual/family plans and small/large businesses as well.
When it comes to group plans, we work to take the burden of administering your plan off of you. We will walk you through the plan options, negotiate your rates when it comes to renewal time, and help your employees complete all of their paperwork. When it comes to new hires, terminations, or COBRA enrollments, again we step in to facilitate the necessary paperwork.
Once your plan is issued, we continually work to help you. Whether it is obtaining medical records for claims processing, assisting your pharmacy in getting a medication authorized, or explain detailed claims benefits, you can always count on us to be there to assist.
Health Reform concerns often bring up the concept of removing agents from the picture. This would destroy the personalized service you have received from us for years.
Archive for the ‘Group’ Category
How Agents and Brokers Make a Difference
Friday, June 12th, 2009Assembly Bill 1672 & What it means for Small Business Plans
Monday, May 18th, 2009Small business owners in California received extra protection under the law for their rights with group health insurance when the law AB 1672 was passed in 1992. This new requirement required that group health insurance carriers provide coverage for employees covered under a group health plan, even if they have a pre-existing condition. This new law meant that insurance companies may not deny coverage, and if there is an exclusion period for a pre-existing condition, it must be kept to six months to one year. If an employee was covered by a health plan before joining the group health plan offered by their new employer, this coverage must count towards this exclusion period, as long as the employee’s coverage was enacted within 62 days of losing the previous policy.
Savings with a Premium Only Plan (Section 125)
Friday, May 8th, 2009The IRS has instituted a provision in Section 125 of their code. This provision allows for a simple change in your company’s payroll process that reduces your taxable payroll. Every premium contribution your employees make will be deducted from your overall taxable payroll amount. Here’s what you and your employees can expect with a Premium Only Plan or POP.
Employer Benefits
Lower Taxes – Every small business owner needs to take advantage of every tax break they can find. By using a POP plan, you are immediately lowering your taxes, which means that you can turn this additional revenue into more options for your business.
Changes to Federal COBRA for 2009
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009In February of 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Designed as part of the economic stimulus bill, this also provides some major assistance to COBRA coverage for certain individuals. Some of the major points to this bill are:
- Will provide for a federal subsidyon the COBRA continuation coverage premiums for qualified beneficiaries due to involuntary termination of employment between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009 (Assistance Eligible Individuals)
- Qualified beneficiaries will include the covered employee, the covered employee’s spouse, and covered employee’s dependent children. This means that the spouse or dependents of the involuntarily terminated employee will be eligible for benefits even if the employee does not elect COBRA.
Saving Money on Small Group Plans
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Businesses, especially those with fewer than 5 employees, are really bearing the brunt of the rate increases. However, there are still options out there to save you and your employee’s money.
Carriers are constantly revising their portfolios to meet your needs. For example, Anthem Blue Cross expanded its portfolio to include four new HMO options.
Other ways to save on your Group Health Coverage may be to consider adding on the Section 125 Premium Only Plan. This allows employees to pay certain medical expenses (i.e. their portion of the premium) before taxes are deducted from your paycheck. This increases the employee’s take home pay, and reduces Employer taxes.
Keeping Employees Aware of Benefit Packages
Monday, April 27th, 2009One of the most important things you need to do as an Employer offering health insurance is to make sure that your employees understand their benefit packages.
Here are some frequently asked questions that employees may have about their group health insurance plan:
How much do they have to pay?
As the employer in a group health insurance policy, it is your responsibility to provide at least some payment for monthly premiums for the policy.
It is important that your employees know exactly how much you will provide and what they will have to pay on the policy. Ideally, this should be answered before an employee signs up for your group health plan to avoid any confusion.
