Large and small businesses alike are receiving their employee health plan renewals this month. Costs rise each year, and 2021 is seeing a 9-12% increase range across the board. Open enrollment is a time for reevaluation for both you and your employees. If you are looking to offer a different solution for health benefits, a Professional Employer Organization, or PEO, may be your best option.
What is a PEO?
A PEO offers a co-employment model for its members, allowing employers to pool their employees with other organizations. That power of numbers allows small and mid-sized businesses to offer employee benefits similar to Fortune 500 companies. Indianapolis-based, Worksmart Systems, has over 9,500 employees in its program which allows them to provide high-quality health plans, human resources administration, payroll and other services at a reasonable cost to its co-employers.
Employee Health Benefits
Often the largest barriers for small and mid-sized businesses in offering employee health benefits are cost and implementation. PEOs offer a solution to both these issues. Your business joins one large group plan, taking advantage of the economies of scale enjoyed by much larger organizations. For example, Worksmart offers a self-funded plan offering four options. They partner with Anthem, whose expansive network in Indiana offers greater discounts leading to more cost savings for you and your employees. Worksmart handles open enrollment as well as individual employee claims and questions throughout the year. Even if you have an HR Specialist in your organization, partnering with a PEO can help them be more efficient with their time and access support in all areas of human resources. Click here to read more about the Value Proposition of a PEO.
When you partner with a PEO, you are getting the benefit of economies of scale, shared liability and expertise. As a co-employer, the PEO streamlines your business operations and provides a safety net for your decisions. They are not there to make day-to-day decisions about how you run your company – that’s your area of expertise. A PEO adds efficiency, structure, and accountability to the backend of your organization.
Before you check the “accept” box for your current employee health plan, it may be worthwhile to learn more about how a PEO could be a better option. Send us an email or give us a call at 317.663.4138.
