Just a wee bit of venting....
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...we just received our initial medical insurance renewal rates...
30 PERCENT!!!!!!! It was all I could do to not jump out my window.
This was me 10 minutes ago....::angryface::
30 PERCENT!!!!!!! It was all I could do to not jump out my window.
This was me 10 minutes ago....::angryface::
Comments
Sharon
I'd love to hear what everyone else has been experiencing...
We are part of the self-funded group of our owner company. They are agressive in finding ways to cover employees while keeping costs down, and a small part of that is due to us, that is, my boss and her expertise in this area (one of the reasons they bought us). We have had very little change from 2010 rates to 2011. I looked at our COBRA rates from 2005 and there is about 15% increase from 2005 to 2010.
If you won't improve your offer by shopping around, then look at changing your plan design. Good luck!
A hospital owns us, so they are very interested in healthy employees. We have a large employee deductible to keep our costs down, but it doesn't kick in until the employee has spent $400 on annual check ups. We also cover other important tests that many insurers count towards your deductible (doesn't count towards the $400). We cover flu shots and a variety of other immunizations. Everything is geared towards being healthy. However, the deductible is $1,000/$2,000 (it was higher until recently). Employees can participate in a 3rd party health program (blood work, etc), and a high percentage of employees do.
One of the biggest factors that help us control costs is our stop loss deductible (both specific and aggregate). We choose how high we want it, not someone else.
These are just some of the more obvious ways we have control and can make a difference. We do have to shop around though. We changed our TPA in 2010, much to the shock of our prior carrier. There was a huge difference in fixed costs. Of course, you have to be careful that the company you go with is reputable, but it really helped us this year.
If you don't have someone who really understands all the ins and outs like we do, it is best to go with a broker. Shop around there too.
Good luck!
We do a high deductible insurance 1000.00 (2000.00) family through Blue Shield and than we have an HRA with a 500.00(1000.00 family) buy down option .This buy down option allows the employee to buy down Their deductible to 500.00 (1,000) family with their HRA money once they have met the 500 (1000.00) family amount.
Since not everyone meets their deductible and uses the funds it has allowed us to keep our insurance at a slower percentage of increase. This is the first year I have had double diget increase in insurance for the last 5 years.
My dental only increased 2.5 percent and my life and STD, LTD had no increases as did my flex plan administration.
Shirley
What our broker is recommending for companies that want to cut costs is to go with a high deductible plan and fund some of the employees' out-of-pocket costs through a health reimbursement account. He says it always works out in the employer's favor.
One thing we did lose is the ability to customize the plan. We used to be able to pretty much build the plan with whatever co-pays and deductibles we wanted. Now, if we wanted to change, we'd have to go with a standardized plan design that would have much higher out-of-pocket costs for employees. Weren't quite ready for a change that drastic, but I can see it coming since our costs are astronomical.
Beth
That's the route we took years ago. We still have had to maneuver around to keep costs down. Last year we switched to a plan that had more copays to reduce our reimbursements. That's been very effective and we should realize a substantial savings.
We're waiting for our 2011 increase. We initially were given a 45% increase but we had been miscategorized. We are hoping for 10-15%.
We do have a higher deductible plan of $1250.00 and $3750 max out of pocket expense.
We do have a higher deductible plan of $1250.00 and $3750 max out of pocket expense.[/quote]
Jangle,
Your first post! Glad to have you with us here on the Employers Forum.
Sharon
:welcome: