Health Savings Account

A Health Savings Account (HSA), is a tax advantage account you can set up which allows you to deposit tax free money, at the time of the deposit, into the account to pay for certain medical expenses. Basically, you put money into a tax advantage account and you take money out to pay for curtain medical expenses.

Group Health Insurance

A great way to obtain cheaper health insurance is to join what’s called Group Health Insurance or GHI. GHI basically consists of a group of people who bring their money together to pay for each other’s medical expenses. It simply works by bringing the capital of group members together to cover each individual member. Medi-Share.org is a great example of this.

Employers Health Insurance Plan

If you are a full-time employee of a small or large business, it is possible that they provide some sort of health insurance coverage to their employees. Employers can negotiate with insurance providers to lower costs and some employers might even contribute to your monthly premiums, helping your cost go down. If you’re self-employed and obtain health insurance for your business, you might be entitled to receive tax deductions for your medical expenses.

No matter what cheap health insurance plan you chose, it’s important to remember to do your due diligence through researching what provider, coverage, and rate is right for you.

The cost of health insurance has increased 119% in the past 9 years. To manage this risk, employers have changed health insurance carriers, raised copays, deductibles, and passed much of the premium increase to their employees. For the most past, these solutions are “Band-Aids” and this cost increase has become unsustainable and many employers are looking for a better approach.

I can promise you that I am not suggesting that there is a magic wand that will slash your health insurance rates. What I am suggesting is that there is a financial instrument available called a Group Health Captive which gives mid-sized employers (50-500 employees) a terrific opportunity to take control and significantly reduce this very large expense. The purpose of a Group Health Captive is to eliminate insurance carrier underwriting profit and minimize costs. When combined with utilizing proven risk reduction strategies, this approach offers substantial short-term and long-term savings for employees and employers. By pooling employers, the Captive enjoys preferential buying power.

Believe it or not, there are many employers who have implemented such proven risk reduction strategies with tremendous success, often resulting in renewal rates under 3%. Safeway, for example, has achieved noteworthy medical plan savings. Safeway has experienced flat claims the past 4 years, while nationally rates have increased 38% in that same period of time. In addition, the percentage of Safeway’s employee’s who are obese and/or smoke is now 70% of the national average. Point is, there are several proven tools and techniques that empower (and incent) employees to better manage their health. The result … a healthier workforce, a more productive workforce, and significantly lower health insurance premiums.

Did you know?

Did you know that 7% of adults in the US are diabetic?
Did you know that 26% of adults in the US are pre-diabetic?
Did you know that 67% of American adults are either overweight or obese?
Did you know that 24% of Americans are smokers?
Did you know that 5-10% of employees can incur 50% of your company’s claims?
Did you know that 70% of the claims insurance carriers pay are the result of preventable and modifiable conditions … lifestyle choices?

On average, smokers spend $1400 per year in healthcare expenses more than non-smokers. This is a very expensive lifestyle choice. Should smokers pay the same rates as non-smokers? Should bad drivers pay the same car insurance premium as good drivers?

If an employer is serious about lowering their health insurance costs, it is important to create a culture of good health and promote personal responsibility. Is your company doing anything to help prevent your “at risk” employees from developing chronic conditions. It is clearly a lot less expensive preventing diabetes from occurring than treating diabetes the rest of one’s life.

Your company may have reasonable health insurance rates now, but do you know how many “ticking time bombs” exist in your group? If so, how is this data measured from year to year? An effective program is able to identify employees who are “high risk” and employees who have the potential to become “high risk”. Nurse Outreach, Education, and Incentives are in place to help these employees better manage their health.

We are promoting a Group Health Captive program that is not just a Benefits Plan, it’s a Business Model.

Financial Opportunities

Underwriting profits belong to the EMPLOYER rather than the INSURANCE COMPANY.
Reserves belong to the EMPLOYER rather than the INSURANCE COMPANY.
Investment Income belongs to the EMPLOYER rather than the INSURANCE COMPANY.
Prescription Rebates Belong to the EMPLOYER rather than the INSURANCE COMPANY.

I feel that our Group Health Captive model is far superior to your current approach. I am confident that we can save you money, encourage a healthier lifestyle, and save you and your employees a significant amount of money going forward. Though savings are not guaranteed, based on research and track record, we anticipate a savings of 10%-20% in year 1 and greater savings going forward. 

Our Group Health Captive only accepts “like-minded” employers who are willing to implement our Wellness Initiative. If your company is accepted into the Group Health Captive, you will be able to offer your employees any type of PPO coverage. We have access to over 200 PPO networks , so our model is ideal for employers with multi-state employees.

Typically health insurance is not something considered by most until they reach middle age, however the trends are starting to change, revealing that more young people are opting for private health insurance cover rather than purely relying on the NHS. Benefits of having private health insurance include things likenot having to wait for treatment or surgery if you fall ill. Seeing as the average wait for an outpatient appointment on the NHS in England is around seven weeks, it makes sense that people would put convenience and piece of mind over money matters. For people in younger generations, the speed at which they get treated could make all the difference to their lives – having to take seven days off work is one thing, but having to take seven weeks off while you even wait for an appointment is going to cause all kinds of problems for both you and your employers. It is especially important to think about this during the current economic climate as, if you have to leave your job due to illness, how easy is it going to be to find other employment?

Health insurance policies can be tailored to suit your needs. They don’t have to be expensive, although generally the more you pay the more comprehensive your level of cover will be. What kind of policy you go for depends on your budget and how much cover you think will be necessary. There are also many different types of health insurance you can go for. For instance, private medical insurance covers those who wish to be treated in a private hospital. Private medical treatment generally offers a more comfortable experience, where staff are more attentive and the lengthy waits experienced with the NHS are cut out.

For young professionals who have started a family or are thinking about it, critical illness insurance cover is a must. This type of insurance is often grouped together in a policy with health insurance and will provide you with financial security in the event that a critical illness leaves you unable to work. If you are diagnosed with one of the illnesses that fall under your policy, you will be paid a tax-free cash sum. Although critical illness insurance cover has been criticised in recent years, the Financial Services Authority have cleaned up the industry, making information clearer for policy holders and making the industry safer.

accident or illness, you will not have to worry about money. The better standards of care and the shorter waiting times for treatment, such as a necessary operation, mean that you can resume day to day life quicker with as little disruption as possible. Professionals have enough to worry about at the moment without having to think about the possibility of serious illness too and health insurance should be a serious consideration for all.