It Is STILL About The Cost of Healthcare
Take a look at the following graph This little beauty was tweeted out on February 17, 2018 by @marketwatch. The primary problem we have in the employee benefit space is the cost of insurance – at least that’s what most people think. This year, we have been routinely presenting 13-15% increases for our clients’ medical […]
Why Business Owners Should Not Ignore Their Employee Benefit Plans
The other day I was having a discussion with a business owner. OK, that’s not exactly unusual in my line of work. Blue Ocean Benefits & Consulting has more than 250 businesses as clients, so barely a day goes by when I’m not talking with either existing clients, or future ones. It’s fair to assume […]
How to change your company’s employee contribution strategy without risking a mutiny from loyal employees
In our last article we talked about 3 Employee Benefits Contribution Strategies you can use to stabilize the cost of Health Insurance to your business. However there’s a big difference between understanding these strategies, and effectively implementing them. For some organizations the existing benefits environment and infrastructure – which could have been in place for […]
3 Employee Benefits Contribution Strategies – Pros and Cons
Many small businesses struggle with how much to ask their employees to contribute to their employer-sponsored medical and ancillary coverages. The Goldilocks Principle applies here like everything else. Too little, and employees will leave for better benefits or not take an offer of employment at all. Too much, and your bottom line suffers and puts […]
Why the ACA and any Republican plan doesn’t and won’t work
So if you turn on the news this week (or any week), you hear about the Republicans’ American Healthcare Act and whether or not the Republicans and President Trump will ever get it passed. There is a lot of serious back and forth about the pros and cons of each plan (for a pretty good […]
How Trump May Cover Americans with Preexisting Conditions
President-elect Donald Trump promises that Americans with pre-existing conditions will have access to health insurance, even after he dismantles Obamacare. But the system wouldn’t work the way it did under Obamacare, which revolutionized coverage by prohibiting insurers from turning away the sick or charging them higher premiums based on their medical conditions. And that’s left […]
Which Health Insurance Plan Will You Choose this Fall?
Now that America has finally made its choice for president, millions of Americans face another consequential choice this fall: which health insurance plan to sign up for during their employer’s annual open enrollment season. As health insurance costs continue to rise, that choice increasingly involves a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account (HSA). Let’s […]
Health Plan Costs to Increase by an Average of 25%
WASHINGTON — Premiums for midlevel health plans under the Affordable Care Act will increase by an average of 25 percent next year, while consumers in some states will find significantly fewer insurance companies offering coverage, the federal government said Monday. But the Obama administration said three-fourths of consumers would still be able to find plans […]
Is High-Deductible Health Insurance Worth the Risk?
As companies push workers to pay more for their medical care, millions of employees are facing a tough decision, choosing between high premiums and high deductibles. The choice is this: Pay more every month for peace of mind later, or pay less and run the risk of having higher out-of-pocket costs down the line. And […]
Aetna Insurance Will Subsidize the Apple Watch
If you want an Apple Watch to keep track of your health, Aetna might help you pay for it. The health insurance provider announced on Tuesday it will subsidize the cost of the device for some of its customers. Aetna didn’t specify how much it would contribute to the cost, but noted it would be “a […]