JPA helps small busineses transition to level-funded health plans
In the last several years JPA has helped many Georgia employers transition to level-funded health plans to replace traditional health insurance. One of the primary reasons a small employer would want to consider partially funding their own health benefits is cost. With traditional group health insurance, premiums are often expensive and can be unpredictable from year to year. In contrast, level-funded health plans provide the predictability of self-funded plans, making it much easier to manage costs and the bottom line.
More About Level-Funded Health Plans
Level-funded health plans (aka partially funded) are a hybrid of self-funded plans and traditional health insurance. These plans are especially appealing to small business owners as they allow them to take advantage of all the cost-saving and benefit design features of a self-insured plan, however, they share some of the risk with one of our top national carriers.
How Level-Funded Health Plans Work
An employer will select any of the fully insured plans that our carriers offer. These plans include Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs) and Point of Service Plans (POSs). The rates will be determined by the group’s claim history. Next, stop-loss insurance is added to protect against catastrophic claims. Since the carrier will handle the administration of the plan, there is no need to hire a separate vendor to handle claims and processing.
Benefits Typically Included In a Level-Funded Health Plan
Common benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage. However employers can often include extras like telemedicine, mental health support, wellness programs, and other specialized benefits like maternity care.
Advantages of Level Funding
- The premiums for level-funded health plans are generally much lower than fully insured plans, even with the added expense of stop-loss insurance. That is because the employer shares some of the risk.
- In addition to low premiums, employers enjoy certain tax exemption savings and potential refunds of unused premiums annually (unlike a traditional plan).
- Employers can tailor their health benefits to meet the specific needs of their employees.
- More access to claims data to understand the various cost drivers of their health plan leading to better, informed decisions.
Interested in Transitioning to a Level-Funded Health Plan?
Our thorough plan analysis will help you determine if level-funding is right for your company. Give us a call, email or fill out our online form below.
Email: in**@*********ts.com
