If you want to renew or start employee health coverage by January 1, now is the time to reach out to your broker. There is a lot that goes into the process – reviewing your renewal, collecting business and employee data, sending it to the underwriter for approval, and then implementing employee onboarding. While the idea can be daunting, you are not alone! The Wharton & Power Insurance Team has a proven process for timely approvals and personalized employee support to make the undertaking as painless as possible and ensure your coverage is ready by 1/1.
Employee Health Coverage Process
Step 1:
Often the first step in the group health program process is the employer receiving the renewal letter for their current coverage. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US is facing some of the largest increases in healthcare plan costs in years. These continued rising premiums as well as plan changes can cause unease for a busy business owner. Sending the information to us allows our team to understand your situation – are you expecting a 20% rate increase or a 4%? Are there any changes to the deductible, co-insurance, out-of-pocket limit, or prescription drug coverage? The former affects affordability and the latter affects the kind of coverage you would like to offer your employees. Once we have the lay of the land, we talk with you about the implications of the changes and your priorities as an employer and business owner.
If you are not currently offering employee health insurance, this initial conversation would include understanding your goals for offering health insurance, as well as your plan priorities, company culture, and employee make up and needs.
Step 2:
The next phase uncovers a set of options that achieve your goals. We help you complete an employee census, get answers to medical questions for employees and dependents if necessary for coverage, and if applicable, review your current carrier’s bill to get a solid sense of costs. We then take all this information to our underwriters to create a set of options. As an independent insurance broker, we are not beholden to one provider. We represent a wide variety of carriers, allowing us to truly customize a plan that suits your situation.
Once we have our findings, we review them with you. Our team creates a spreadsheet with clear comparisons of the available options (including your existing plan if you have one) to help you make an informed decision. We guide you through the implications of the plan choices, weighing the implications of any coverage changes – including how to communicate them to your employees – and costs. Our goal is to ensure you have all the information you need to make an informed decision for your business and your employees.
Step 3:
Once a plan has been selected, the Wharton & Power Team implements the onboarding process, becoming an integral part of your HR team. We ensure all the necessary paperwork is filed with the carrier and set up company-wide employee meetings to explain the plan and answer questions. We also hold one-on-one employee meetings to help individuals work through their situations. If you are starting a new plan, we help on-board employees to the new system. The result of the Wharton & Power Team process is you and your employees are seamlessly set for coverage the day the plan begins.
Offering employee health coverage does not have to be painful. Let the Wharton & Power Team help you find and implement the best option for you and your employees. Send us an email or give us a call at 317.663.4138.
