How can small employers look to reduce the cost of healthcare offering when the Affordable Care Act has brought in so many seemingly onerous requirements? Many of these requirements move against logic and common sense underwriting practice. Underwriting is a function of risk management, or assessment. Small business healthcare savings are difficult enough to achieve without the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The secret to small business healthcare savings is in the above statement and it relates to Risk Management. Under PPACA, employers who self-fund their employee health plans have access to tools the traditional small group market does not have. Self-Funded employers can utilize the Medical Application to determine the overall risk profile with the group and identify people who may be in need of additional care—HIPAA protected, of course! This allows for the small employer to design a plan that meets their needs specifically and even to design remedial and proactive wellness and population management programs that help keep the workforce healthy, or, in the case of remediation, return it to health. Under the Affordable Care Act, there is no requirement that small businesses (under 50 FT employees) offer an affordable health care plan. Individuals, however, are still required to have health insurance. If a small business has a benefit plan that is properly managed for risk tolerance and benefit design, rather than just the “lowest price on the spreadsheet,” the small employer can have a plan that is both cost effective and an asset to the company in terms of employee morale, retention, productivity, and training. Small business healthcare savings can be achieved by following Risk Management practices. USA Business Choice has an exclusive program called “Risk Assessment Protocol™,” or “RAP” that helps smaller employers identify, manage and mitigate the risk associated with offering a health plan. It all starts with underwriting! Contact us today! USA Business Choice was founded exclusively for Smaller Employers and their entry into the Self-Funded world. We have built products for the Small Group market to work with the educated broker. USA Business Choice: Built for Small Business, Forged by Choice!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 15:17:01 +0000