Many business owners see their benefits savings as one-off opportunities. The changes that are made in their plan, such as implementing telehealth options or sourcing more cost-effective medication, may save them hundreds of thousands of dollars in one year. To see the full potential of a cost-effective benefits plan often takes time, however, and employers who are willing to wait often see even more massive savings years down the line.

Trusting your adviser to create long-term savings from your benefits plan is crucial to using your plan as a tool that can help your business grow. Here’s why:

Short-Term Risks for Long-Term Rewards

Change can be intimidating, especially when the future of your business is on the line. That’s why, for many business owners, even the prospect of savings thousands on their benefits plan in one year still isn’t enough to convince them to make changes. Looking toward the future, though, those savings can multiply and turn into a strategic advantage for your company.

A good adviser will understand your concerns and do their part to educate you and your employees so that you understand how their proposed changes would impact everyone involved in your benefits plan. If you still don’t think the money you could save in one year is worth the risk, multiply those savings by a few years. Your future self will thank you for making a choice now that will have saved you hundreds of thousands of dollars in a decade’s time.

The Impact Of Years of Savings

What could $10,000 do for your business? How about $50,000? Or $100,000? Even seemingly small, simple changes can yield these results and more over the years, creating opportunities to grow your business.

For example, while working with one client, we discovered that we could bring the cost of just one drug down from $88,525 to $16,179, saving them $72,346. Imagine how these savings could impact a business as they multiply over time, providing a company with sufficient funds to:

• Hire more employees
• Purchase new machinery
• Increase employee salaries

To truly understand how your benefits plan can change your business for the better, you need to look ahead, not just until the end of the year.

The Bigger Plan

A great benefits adviser won’t consider their work done after they unlock savings opportunities within your benefits plan. Just as your business evolves over time, your adviser will ensure that your plan evolves with it. The savings uncovered in the first year of your new plan will likely expand over time to reflect the changes in your company.

Your benefits plan isn’t a stagnant expense – it’s a strategic advantage for your business. Working with an adviser who respects the long-term potential of your plan by treating it as an ever-evolving tool can ensure that the savings you unlock this year will only grow in the years that follow.

A Brighter Future in Benefits

One-time savings are great, but accumulating savings are even better, especially when that money can be put right back into your growing business. Though changing your benefits plan can be intimidating, a great adviser will ensure that your risk pays off in the form of big savings that can used to help your company evolve in both the immediate and distant future.

Contact me today to learn more about the long-term impact of a great benefits plan.

Many business owners know that they can’t afford to keep spending as much as they are on their benefits plan. The prospect of big changes, however, can be intimidating, even when they understand that the ultimate goal is to create huge savings that can help them grow their business.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to create big savings in your benefits plan is to have your adviser find alternative sources for your employees’ medication. Rather than accepting the astronomical expenses of drugs, your adviser can find less costly sources that provide the exact same medication for a fraction of the price. It’s a simple change that can create incredible savings for your business, and your employees have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

An Unnecessarily Costly Expense

Just as clothes, foods, and home supplies can cost more depending on where you buy them, drugs can also vary wildly in price depending on their source. Many insurance plans don’t allow alternative sourcing, but working with a great adviser can allow your employees to have the exact same medication for a fraction of the cost. Better yet, your adviser may be able to arrange for your employees’ drugs to be sent directly to their home, saving them time as well as money. There’s no reason for you and your employees to spend so much money on an expense that can so easily be slashed by thousands of dollars.

Zeroing in on Easy Savings

Focusing on medication-based savings can save your business tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, even if you have only one employee who needs just one expensive drug. We saw this firsthand with one business we’ve worked with. Their existing plan saw them paying $88,525 for the 14mg multiple sclerosis medication Aubagio and $102,122 for all their employees’ drugs.

Under our plan, we would be able to:

• Find an alternative source for Aubagio to bring the cost down to $16,179, which would save them $72,346, or about 82 percent of the original cost
• Bring the total drug costs of $102,122 down to $19,437, saving the company $82,686 in just one year
• Eliminate the employees’ copay, saving them a total of $2,516 on their medication

The numbers don’t lie – sourcing drugs is an easy fix that can save you and your employees a significant amount of money.

A Swift Path to Growth

Most changes in your benefits plan will require time for your business to see the full effect – usually between three months and a year. Though the savings are worth it, business owners are understandably eager to see faster results. The challenge, of course, is figuring out how to achieve fast, significant savings that will contribute to long-term business growth.

Alternative drug sourcing can be the answer your company is looking for. Finding low-cost alternative sources for your employees’ medication is a solution that can be implemented almost immediately, offering huge savings for both your company and workers. Best of all, there are virtually no negative effects – people don’t care where there medication comes from as long as it’s the same drug they need, and they’ll appreciate it even more if their drug costs are reduced by hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.

A Small Change With a Big Impact

As you prepare to make big changes in your benefits plan, kick things off with savings that stem from cost-effective medication choices. When you let your adviser find a low-cost source the drugs your employees need, you immediately open the door to massive savings that can help your business grow and thrive for months to come without any negative effects on your employees.

Contact me today to learn more about how sourcing medication can be a fast and simple way to save your business thousands.

The end of the year ushers in a number of important dates, and amidst all the holidays and festivities, many employers also have to focus on their upcoming benefits plan renewal. Business owners have long been convinced that their renewal must take place at the end of the year, or at the very least, they’ve become so accustomed to that annual routine that they haven’t even thought about scheduling their renewal for a different time of the year.

The reality, however, is that you can reschedule your renewal for virtually any time of the year if you’re working with a great benefits adviser. By pushing your renewal to a different date, you can avoid adding any more big changes to an already hectic time, and your adviser can help you navigate such an important switch.

Making Time for Change

One of the biggest challenges for many businesses toward the end of the year is the amount of time employees spend away from work. In addition to the company-wide days off like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, many workers also try to fit in their annual vacation time during the final two months of the year. This can be challenging for business owners trying to renew a plan that impacts their entire workforce.

Imagine how moving your renewal date ahead could combat this struggle. With the holidays over, you and your employees can come back to work feeling refreshed after some time off. Plus, with those sporadic days off out of the way, you can comfortably schedule educational meetings for your employees to ask questions about any changes to their plan without worrying that a large number of them won’t be able to attend.

Focusing on What Matters

Your benefits plan is probably the second- or third-largest expense for your business, and it deserves the attention that reflects its impact on your company. With your and your employees’ focus likely dedicated elsewhere in the busy final weeks of year, scheduling your renewal for the holiday season might result in details being overlooked or changes being forgotten.

By changing your renewal date, you and your employees can put your focus on any remaining end-of-year goals while properly enjoying your time off with your families. Rather than adding more to your plate during a time when you and your staff have other matters on your minds, waiting for the new year allows you to focus on what’s important as the final months of the year come to a close.

The Power of a Great Adviser

The prospect of changing your renewal date can be intimidating to some business owners, but that’s what your adviser is there for. A good adviser can help take the stress out of both the holiday season and moving your renewal date by:

• Working with your business throughout the year to understand your plan’s evolving needs
• Preparing your employees for the changes that will take place in their benefits plan
• Helping your business transition with the steps needed to move your renewal date

By working with an adviser who understands your business, you can make big upcoming changes – including a new renewal date – exciting rather than intimidating.

The Gift of Better Benefits

Developing an improved benefits plan means being willing to implement big changes, and one of those changes may involve moving the date of your renewal. With a great adviser who can help you navigate that switch, moving your renewal away from the holiday season can enable you and your employees to dedicate more time and attention to your plan as it develops with your business.

Contact us today to learn more about the positive impacts of changing your renewal date.

The price of healthcare benefits rises dramatically every year, and it looks like 2021 will be no different. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) projects that next year’s healthcare benefits will cost 5.3 percent more than they did this year, further necessitating effective cost management strategies for employers who want to increase their savings.

While some brokers may offer rate holds to business owners to combat this struggle, employers should still think twice before accepting such an offer, especially if they don’t have access to important data about their claims.

Here’s why you may not want to accept a rate hold from your benefits carrier:

Trust in Transparency

The benefits industry has jaded many business owners into thinking that they should take their brokers at their word when it comes to securing the best possible prices for their plan. Because of this, many employers have become accustomed to paying more every year for their benefits, trusting that their brokers are truly getting them the best possible deal.

In reality, though, knowing whether or not you’re getting the optimal price on your benefits package is impossible if you don’t know what you’re paying for. Most fully funded plans don’t allow advisers to access claims data, meaning that business owners have to put all their trust in brokers who get paid on commission. The average benefits plan provides little transparency, and that means that employers have no way of knowing if they’re getting a good deal or if their carrier is getting a good deal.

No Deal Without Data

Your benefits plan is one of your company’s largest expenses, and yet, many employers don’t know how much they should be spending on their plan. Your broker may frame your rate hold as a good deal, but if you don’t know the numbers behind it, you may be getting ripped off.

Imagine this happening with other major purchases in your life. If a car salesman offered you a brand-new high-end sports car at 50 percent off, you might think you’d be getting a great deal. But you’d never sign the papers without knowing the actual price and quality of the car – otherwise, you might end up having to pay off a $50 million car (discounted to just $25 million!) with a faulty brake system.

Rate hold offers from your carrier should be met with the same skepticism and scrutiny. Otherwise, you can still end up paying too much for a low-quality plan.

The Search for Something Better

Rather than accepting a rate hold, work with an adviser who has the tools to access the data within your benefits plan and can help you adjust your costs accordingly. For example, if you’re paying $600k for your plan, but the numbers show that you only have $400k in claims, you may be giving $200k back to your carrier without even realizing it. A great adviser could analyze the data and prevent that money from going to waste, enabling you to put it toward:

• Bonuses or raises for your employees
• New and qualified hires
• Employee retention to avoid COVID-19 layoffs

A rate hold may sound like the best option available to your business, but you may just be settling if you don’t have an adviser working to create savings from your plan.

Letting Go of Rate Holds

Before convincing yourself that a rate hold is the best way to avoid dramatic price hikes in your benefits plan, speak with an adviser who wants to help decrease your benefit costs. By increasing the transparency in your plan through access to important data, your adviser can help find savings that might otherwise be buried in your plan, going straight to your carrier instead of being invested back into your company.

Contact us today to learn more about how a great adviser can help you gain access to incredible savings in your benefits plan.

Though fully funded benefits plans may be the best choice for some businesses, self-funded plans can provide employers with unique tools that can help them access and use the data that is often hidden in the benefits industry. Carriers use data as justification to increase premiums – often dramatically – while keeping the specific numbers hidden from employers. As a result, business owners frequently pay more than necessary for the employees’ care, all while being kept in the dark about why these additional expenses are imposed.

Understanding why access to data is so important and working with an adviser who can get access to important numbers in your plan can help you and your employees save big while ensuring they get the care they need.

Uncovering the Numbers
One of the biggest problems contributing to overspending on benefits is the simple fact that many medical procedures aren’t even needed. In fact, a 2014 survey conducted by the John Hopkins research team revealed that up to 30 percent of medical care – including 22 percent of prescription medications, 25 percent of medical tests, and 11 percent of procedures – may be deemed “unnecessary.”

Having access to data like this can empower you and your employees to make better, most cost-effective choices about healthcare. Your adviser can help your employees advocate for care that they need without overspending or overmedicating.

Mysterious Mistakes
Errors in data collection are bound to occur in any industry, but in a world as pricey as the benefits industry, those mistakes can be expensive. According to a report from The Associated Press, an Equifax audit found that hospital bills costing $10,000 or more contained an average billing error of $1,300. Believe it or not, that number isn’t even the most alarming one when it comes to medical billing errors – the Medical Billing Advocates of America have found that up to 80 percent of medical bills contain mistakes.

Of course, these billing mistakes are rarely detrimental to the carrier. Instead, employers and patients are the ones who get hit, potentially throwing away thousands of dollars as a result. A great adviser will have tools and strategies to reduce erroneous spending and ensure that you’re only paying for the care your employees receive.

An Adviser on Your Team
From the moment your employee becomes unwell to the time they’re finally feeling their best again, there is plenty of opportunity for incorrect data to increase costs and compromise their care. Working with an adviser who has the necessary tools to access that data can not only help your employees return to wellness, but also save them (and you) money in the process.

A good adviser knows to take benefits data with a grain of salt, and they can use the data that they find to:

• Search for cost-effective alternatives to help your employees save money
• Work with patient advocates to enforce proper billing
• Reduce unnecessary and invasive medical procedures

By working with an adviser who has access to the tools they need to see the data for themselves, you regain control of your benefits plan.

Data You Can Trust
Working with an adviser who knows how to access your benefits data and use it to your advantage can be crucial in developing a high-quality, low-cost plan. By examining variables like unnecessary medical care and billing mistakes, your adviser can more effectively work for and with you, building a benefits plan that’s based on numbers you can believe in.

Contact me today to learn more about how better access to data can give you a better benefits plan.

As the spread of the novel coronavirus has transformed the world over the past few months, the way we view the healthcare system has been altered forever. For example, many providers are now relying heavily on remote appointments to ensure that patients with non-emergency symptoms are treated without exposing themselves or others to the virus.

While much of the United States is only just finding out about how great telehealth can be, this tool has been helping employers and employees receive high-quality, low-cost healthcare for years. If you’re still unsure about implementing telehealth into your own benefits plan or just want to know more about how it can impact your employees for the better, consider how this tool can be of particular importance during the time of COVID-19:

Staying Safe While Getting Treatment

Spending time in a waiting room full of sick people when you only have a minor ailment is never desirable, but during a time like this, it’s even riskier. Many providers are now offering telehealth options to keep both patients and doctors safe, and if your plan already includes remote treatment opportunities, your employees may already be familiar and comfortable with communicating with their doctor from a distance.

By including telehealth in your benefits plan, your employees can accomplish much of the healthcare process while practicing social distancing, including:

• Diagnosis
• Prescription
• After-care

Reducing the necessary amount of time spent out of home receiving care can help keep your employees from getting seriously ill or infecting others.

Peace of Mind For the Whole Family

Your workers may have other people in their life who need care during this time. Imagine this scenario: your employee is working from home while their partner, who has been deemed “essential,” is still going to work and having to interact with other people face-to-face. One of your employee’s two young children gets sick enough to raise concern. Without telehealth, your employee has to go to the doctor with both of their kids, risking the health of their family, the medical staff, other patients, and everyone their spouse interacts with at work.

With telehealth, however, your employee can have a remote video call with their child’s doctor without even needing to get their kids in the car. With their whole family covered, no one has to worry that they’ll be exposing their family members to all the germs that can be found in a doctor’s office.

Saving Money When It Matters Most

Telehealth isn’t just convenient – it’s a far less expensive way to get high-quality care for minor ailments and illnesses. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reports that telehealth visits can cost just $45 for non-emergency calls compared to $160 at an urgent care center.

As money grows tight or becomes a concern for workers during this uncertain time, these savings will mean that much more to your employees. The last thing you want your workers to have to worry about right now is how they could afford their care if they got sick, and including telehealth tools in your plan can help reduce their financial stress.

High-Quality Care From a Distance
Seeing a doctor face to face can be necessary sometimes, but in many other minor medical situations, a remote appointment can make a stressful time a bit easier for your employees. By keeping your workers safe, protecting their families, and saving them money, including a telehealth option in your benefits plan can be imperative in helping your workforce through the coronavirus pandemic.

Contact us today to learn more about how telehealth can keep your employees safe and healthy.