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Healthcare and Benefits - A Modern-day Tower of Babel Story

Balance billing, COBRA, co-insurance, donut hole, EAP, urgent care, formulary… is your head spinning yet?  I’m just getting started.   In about the year 2242BC, according to The Bible in Genesis 11:1-9, following the great flood, the descendants of Noah migrated westward into the land of Shinar.  Some Biblical scholars believe that the people, wanting …

Student Loan Repayment Benefits

A growing number of companies are offering student loan repayment assistance programs as an employee benefit. In fact, the number of employers offering student loan-related benefits doubled to 8% over the past year, the 2019 Employee Benefits Report by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) found. There are two primary reasons employers are increasingly …

It is estimated that more than one-quarter of all employers with at least 50 employees now offer a student loan repayment benefit. Why? Got millennials? Want to keep them? Need more? Some 70% of millennials graduate with more than $37,000 of student loan debt. The average for metro Atlanta residents is $22,000. That’s why. Unless …

Who owns your benefits consultant

“The Benefit Company is Committed to Remaining Privately Held”, one brochure stated.  We recently had an internal discussion about employers being better off as a client of our firm because we are Privately Held. One of our team members asked, “Do employers care if we are Privately Held?”  An immediate response included, “…nimble, flexible, entrepreneurial – …

New Years Resolution for Benefits

With the beginning of each New Year, many individuals contemplate a set of New Year’s resolutions. Webster’s Dictionary defines a resolution as a firm commitment to do or not to do something. In what ways can employers develop resolutions for employees and their benefits package?  To identify what I believe is a priority in this …

Reference Based Pricing
It’s no secret that health insurance premiums have been steadily rising for many years. For employers, this means an ongoing search for ways to save money while continuing to offer quality benefits for employees. One innovative concept for self-funded employers that is rapidly growing in popularity is Reference Based Pricing, or “RBP”. RBP strategies have the potential to save significant amounts of money for both employers and employees. However, they also require special care to ensure success for both parties. Let’s take a look at how these plans work, as well as some of the pros and cons for employers considering this strategy.
HR News September 2018

Legal Updates & Reminders: New Model FMLA Notices & Medical Certification Forms are now available on the gov website. The content of the notices and certifications has not changed; just the expiration dates, extending to August 31, 2021. Nevertheless, make sure you start using these new forms immediately. New DOL Office: The U.S. Department of …

How To Save Healthcare

The first part of an article is often used to convince the reader of the writer’s credibility, right?  Here goes… I’ve been in the benefits industry for over 10 years and consult with clients that have 1,000s of members and those with 100s.  Over the last five years we have plans with flat to negative …

social media's effects on employee engagement

Lessons Learned on Being Human Again Have you read the novel, “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”?  Neither have I. My daughter, cleaning out her room before heading back to college, left a copy of it on the hallway table.  The title caught my attention and I began to consider what the storyline might be. …

How bad grammar can cost you.

While growing up in rural Georgia just east of Athens, I adored my mother who served as a senior class teacher of English Grammar.  I was barely a teenager when she would routinely bring home her grammar quizzes to challenge my acumen at a much higher academic level than I had earned.  I might add; …