The business world is not always easy; in fact, it can be downright stressful. The recent changes to health care are certainly not helping the stress factor. Choosing a health care plan that benefits your business and your employees can be frustrating and even a bit confusing.
The Affordable Care Act was touted as “Putting consumers back in charge of their health care”. The question is, did it? On the surface the ACA sounds really great and it does have advantages. The problem is knowing exactly what it provides for businesses like yours.
One recent problem the ACA seems to not be addressing is mental health benefits. One reason this is a problem is that many mental health professionals do not accept insurance, forcing patients to pay out of pocket for care.
This and other ACA concerns are why we diligently do our homework, so to speak. We keep up to date on all the latest ACA and health insurance news, policies and regulations. It is our job to cut through the red tape so you don’t have to.
Here at Sonus Benefits, the goal is to help our clients figure out the right health benefits package for their businesses. Each business is different and may not fall neatly into a pre-made package. We understand that you need a package that encompasses the things that matter to your business and your employees.
Sonus Benefits offers:
Over 100+ combined years of experience in health benefits consultation
Our team of experts work with you to come up with solutions that are long term. We are not interested in a so-called quick fix. We want our clients taken care of now and in the future. Our clients do not have to worry about outsourcing because we take care of them right here.
That really is an important thing, right? The knowledge that you are not just a case number–you have names and faces and real time concerns. We work with you, not around or over you. Whether you have questions about current ACA policies or finding a local dentist, we are here for you.
What this all means is that we take the guess work and, with a little luck, the frustration out of choosing the right health benefits package. We put all of our knowledge and effort into eliminating one stressful aspect of your business. You can count on us for current information and friendly service.
Employee Benefits |By Sonus Benefits,
Custom Tailored Benefits Strategies Are Better For Business
Three items consistently top the list of concerns for small-business owners: time management, income over expenses, and hiring and retaining qualified employees. Benefits consulting companies, such as Sonus Benefits, can create customized employee benefits strategies that add value to each of these three areas. Sonus supports small businesses by utilizing its 100 years of collective experience and expertise to specifically tailor strategies to each of its clients. Every small business is unique and needs a teammate that is both trustworthy and approachable. Here is a simple explanation about customized employee benefits strategies and how they provide value to small businesses.
What is an employee benefits strategy?
Employers have a wide berth in the variety of benefits they offer to employees. While some benefits are mandatory, most are not, but all employee benefits come at some cost to the employer. Sonus devotes its expertise to helping small-business owners understand their options and strategize for their companies’ future. An employee benefits strategy is a roadmap for reaching the owner’s goals for employee benefits at specified benchmarks. Many businesses think in terms of three- or five-year goals and sometimes even longer.
What does it mean that Sonus provides a custom-made strategy for each of its clients?
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to employee benefits. Sonus recognizes that every small business is unique. Many employers are primarily concerned about the costs of providing employee benefits, whereas others place emphasis on the employees’ needs and wants. In either case, clients can select from a wide variety of benefits, including but not limited to the following:
Medical and Dental Insurance (Fully Insured and Self-Funded)
Vision Benefits
Life Insurance
Voluntary and Worksite Benefits
Wellness Programs
Consumer-Driven Health Plans
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Health Spending Accounts (HSAs)
Tuition Assistance
Pension Plans, Profit Sharing, Deferred Compensation and Qualified Retirement Plans
Executive Benefits
Benchmarking and Strategic Planning
How does this benefit my small business?
Time and money are always at a premium for small businesses. One study from January 2015 found 52% of small-business owners work more than 60 hours per week. Additionally, 54% of those same owners have used personal savings to support their businesses. A customized employee benefits strategy allows small-business owners to spend valuable time on making money rather than spending it on unnecessary or overpriced benefit packages.
Crafting a strong benefits package can also help to attract and retain more talented employees. The NFIB’s Report on Small Business Economic Trends in February 2015 reveals that 14% of small-business owners cite qualified labor as their top concern. Small businesses need to remain competitive with their larger counterparts in order to draw qualified candidates. Benefits can also help to boost or maintain employee morale, often leading to higher productivity.
Optimism about the growth of small business is currently at its third highest point since 2007. It’s a good time to be a small-business owner, and Sonus wants to partner with you to make it even better. We can help educate your team and create a customized benefits strategy that can grow with your company. Contact us today for more information.
Employee Benefits |By Sonus Benefits,
Benefits Planning: Overview
It’s inevitable: small businesses that are successful require greater forethought and maneuvering to reduce their liabilities. Regardless of size or how a business is held, threats can come from all sides-the government, clients, competitors and within the company. Employees, whom businesses are often dependent upon, are a major source of lawsuits due to employment practices and employee benefits administration. Errors made in the administration of employee benefits can be costly, in the form of penalties, legal action and loss of tax benefits. It’s an area of vulnerability that is remedied only with hyper-attention to details, deadlines and fiduciary responsibilities.
Properly managed and developed employee benefits programs have a win-win for both employee and employer. Statistically, you will have happier and more productive employees. Benefits that extend to non-employee family members also go a long way toward reduction of employee friction. Hiring a firm to professionally manage the employees’ benefits package removes a layer of potential miscommunication between employer and employee and gives them a positive if not bulletproof perception in the handling of their health benefits or retirement plans.
Employers can often feel that employee benefits are a necessary burden. However, the benefits to employers are intrinsic. They have happier, more solid employees, and they can leverage their plans to attract top-notch talent. What’s more, the amount of their contribution may reduce their overall tax liability while strengthening the workforce. The right employee-benefits firm is a form of protection for the employer, and its knowledge and guidance should be at the disposal of the businesses it helps.
The most popular employee benefits, health and retirement plans are the most prone to detrimental errors. For example, a common error with health plans is the failure to enroll new employees during the open-enrollment time frame. This will result in the employees’ being excluded from the health plan. Should those employees have a medical need, there wouldn’t be coverage, and they may be forced to sue their employer. If the business manages its own employee plans in-house, it must be aware of deadlines and be organized to ensure that paperwork is submitted properly and in a timely manner.
This is where Sonus Benefits comes in. We support you and your employees as you navigate what is best for the health of your business. We track deadlines, changes and opportunities in the benefits world so that you can focus on other aspects of running your business. If you have any questions about how our team can help you, please reach out and contact us.
Employee Benefits |By Sonus Benefits,
The Future of the Affordable Care Act
What can we expect from 2015?
It’s a new year, which means a new chapter in the life of the Affordable Care Act. With the Republican party in control of the senate and the Supreme Court weighing in on subsidies at the federal level, it appears as if there is a lot of uncertainty ahead in the world of Health Care. Fortunately, the potential outcomes for the Affordable Care Act are easy to, at least, speculate about, and through education we can all prepare for what 2015 might hold.
Option #1: Repeal
One scenario is that the Republicans will repeal the Affordable Care Act. You are probably familiar with this idea because it sat at the centerpiece of many re-election campaigns. Although the passion to act on this promise is palpable, the likelihood of it happening seems slim. The Republicans need 60 votes in the Senate in order to defeat a filibuster that would keep the vote from coming to the floor. Even if the party could strongly unite towards the goal of repealing the ACA, the President will be likely to veto any bill that sets out to accomplish and a ⅔ vote in the House & Senate to override the President’s veto is probably not on the agenda for the 2015 political calendar.
Option #2: Reform
The American people seem to mostly agree on at least one thing, the Affordable Care Act isn’t all bad. From coverage up to age 26 to elimination of pre-existing conditions, some of the key provisions of The ACA have had a positive impact on the lives of both individuals and families. If the ACA was repealed, some of these more popular policies would also fall by the way-side, disappointing the voters that selected the members of the 2015 congress.
The problem is, in order to improve some of the perceived weaknesses of the Affordable Care Act, our government would have to work together towards a unified outcome. This means Republicans and Democrats in both the Senate and the House, and President Obama have to embrace a bipartisan effort to improve upon what we’ve already got. It may seem hard to believe, but examples of this sort of teamwork (specifically regarding The ACA) do already exist and could (maybe?) become even more frequent in the year to come.
Option #3 Replace
Similar to reform, there is the potential of replacing the existing ACA policies with a new and improved version. Leading Republicans, like Orrin Hatch, are particularly keen on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.
The downside is this puts us back at square one. The effort of repealing and replacing will likely take many years rather than coming to fruition this year.
Option #4: Supreme Court Pushing Compromise?
The Supreme Court has decided to hear the King v. Burwell appeal. As of right now, the Affordable Care Act only provides subsidies for insurance purchased in state Exchanges. So what about the more than 35 states that have federal Exchanges? That’s exactly what the Supreme Court aim to determine: Are individuals purchasing insurance on federal Exchanges eligible for subsidies and tax-credits?
Let’s say the Supreme Court decides that subsidies aren’t available in federal exchange states. This could mean the death of the ACA because millions of people will not be able to afford coverage. Additionally, “pay-or-play” penalties would no longer be implementable because they are only assessed when employees gain subsidized coverage.
The moral? Maybe the government will work towards a compromise rather than let the Supreme Court decide. This puts us back to Options #1 & #2, but under a tighter time frame encouraged by amicable political behavior.
So what’ll it be?
That’s a great question, with no concrete answer. There are a lot of factors influencing the fate of the Affordable Care Act. If we’re expecting to experience some finality in 2015, it’ll only happen when bipartisan compromise becomes the name of the game. King v. Burwell sets the tone for this sort of behavior and an appreciation of some of the positives of the ACA will lead the charge. The rest remains to be seen.
Employee Benefits |By Sonus Benefits,
What Is Defined Contribution?
Regardless of the politics surrounding The Affordable Care Act, healthcare reform has brought a lot of attention to opportunities for employers to better serve the needs of their employees. It may be difficult to identify what opportunity is the best fit for you, but Sonus Benefits aims to give you the guidance you need to make an informed decision. We’d like to shed some light on Defined Contribution, one of the features available to employers who are opting to enroll in private exchanges as a means of providing health care for their employees. Let’s investigate the basic framework of a private exchange and whether or not Defined Contribution is the best choice for your team.
What’s a private exchange?
It’s an online marketplace for buying health insurance and other related products. Unlike a public exchange, which is owned by the government, private exchanges are owned by a private- sector company or non-profit. Just think of it like shopping online for your groceries, but instead, you’re selecting the health coverage options that best suit your lifestyle.
Still wondering what private exchanges are all about?
Give this blog post a read. It gets much more specific about the public and private exchange options that are available for you.
What is Defined Contribution?
It’s kind of like an allowance, but for insurance. An employer sets an amount of money to be given to employee each month (or year) and the employee spends that money to custom create a health benefits plan according to their personal preferences. The employer can establish rules surrounding how that money can be used, but in general, where that money gets utilized within the private exchange is up to the employee.
Can I have an example?
Absolutely! Let’s say an employer gives each employee $350 a month for health insurance. The employer can decide that $300 of those dollars should be spent on health insurance and the remaining $50 can be spent on other benefits options like disability insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, or vision insurance.
The employee then heads to the online private exchange and decide what sort of combination of coverage best matches their needs. It becomes the choice of the employee, for example, whether they’d like a high deductible or low deductible. The end result is completely personalized health care coverage.
That’s a lot of responsibility!
That’s one way to look at it, but no employee will have to navigate creating a customized plan alone. There are advisors, like the fine people at Sonus Benefits, who are available to help coach employees through their decisions and find what will really work best for them.
What if, as an employer, I still want to offer 100% coverage for something?
You absolutely still can. Defined Contribution give employers increased control over their benefits plan. You can decide how you’d like to spend your money and where.
What are the benefits of Defined Contribution?
It eliminates the pain that comes from trying to force a one-size-fits-all solution on a group of people. Everyone has unique needs and Defined Contribution puts control in the hands of the people who know those needs best, individuals.
Employers will see increased control over the administrative burdens of providing health coverage. There are no more surprise increases in rates or decreased range of coverage. Employees will experience greater freedom to maximize the impact of their benefits plan.
Overall, you’ll notice increased satisfaction with insurance options for both employees and employers.
Where do I sign up or learn more?
You can visit our private exchange portal on our website and watch informational videos about Defined Contribution and whether or not it is the right option for you.
You can also make contact with a member of our team and we’ll walk you through your decision.
Employee Benefits |By Sonus Benefits,
Private Exchanges Explained
There has been a lot of media attention surrounding both The Affordable Care Act and its alternatives, but you might find yourself wondering what it all really means. Whether you are an employee or an employer, it can be difficult to navigate the shifting landscape of what is best for you and the people you care about. Sonus Benefits is going to take a stab at answering some of the questions that may have been itching at you lately. We’re going to start by focusing on private health care exchanges, but if you click around our website and blog you’ll run across even more excellent information to keep you informed and engaged with your options. Ready? Let’s dive in.
What is a private exchange?
We’ll break it down into two pieces. First, an exchange is an online marketplace for buying health insurance and other related products. What makes it private is who owns the exchange; in this case privately sector company or non-profit.
Oh, well… Then what’s a public exchange?
It’s very similar to a private exchange, but owned and managed by the government. Enrolling in the public exchange may result in a subsidy or tax-credit for participants.
Which is better?
This is the big question right now. We’ll let you officially decide, but in general private exchanges have gained popularity because they exist as an alternative to public exchanges. Many experts believe that private exchanges offer more insurance plan flexibility at lower costs for both employers and employees. Many other experts believe public exchanges give the greatest opportunity for those who truly need insurance to gain access to it. For example, public exchanges may be optimized for individuals and small businesses, while private exchanges may also appeal to mid-sized and large businesses.
So what does the have to do with The Affordable Care Act?
The Affordable Care Act is a hallmark of reform in healthcare. Regardless of the politics surrounding this legislation, change has been instituted because people were unsatisfied with the rising price of health care, lack of customization with regards to insurance plans, and the inaccessibility of medical care. Whether you like it or not, healthcare reform is here to stay and an increased market presence for private exchanges is a byproduct of this shift.
Can I trust something that is brand new like this?
Actually, private exchanges have been around since way before The Affordable Care Act. There are examples dating back to the 1980s. They are just getting extra attention right now. Additionally, that extra attention is resulting in huge innovations in private exchanges that are doing nothing but improving on an already established idea.
Are there different types of Private Exchanges?
Most private exchanges are funded through something called Defined Contribution. This is when an employer gives employees a set amount of money to utilize towards purchasing an insurance plan. There are alternatives to this method, but Defined Contribution is emerging as the most popular way to participate in a private exchange. Within Defined Contribution relationships there are two additional types of exchanges: single-carrier (one insurance provider offering multiple types of plans) and multi-carrier (multiple providers offering multiple plans)
What are the benefits of a private exchange?
It really depends on your needs, but that is the beauty of the private exchange. First, plans are left in the hands of employees, but can still (with the help of defined contribution) be something that is offered as a part of a benefits package from a company. Employees and employers have outstanding flexibility when it comes to selecting the coverage that is best for them. Employers experience decreased administrative costs and unprecedented freedom from climbing health care contributions. Employees gain greater access to higher quality and totally customized plans that are specifically designed to match their budgets.
Isn’t it true that if it costs more, it’ll be better?
This is actually a popular misconception that is currently being challenged by health care reform. Unlike many other goods and services, higher prices in health insurance do not mean better or more extensive coverage. Private exchanges have made this increasingly clear to both employers and employees.
What if I own a business and just want to drop coverage instead?
Ultimately, that is your choice and you should always do what is best for you and your employees. However, forcing employees to a public exchange or to select their own private exchange can be a lost opportunity to leverage your benefits program to attract and retain the best possible candidates.
What if I don’t make the right decisions because I don’t have someone to help me make them?
That’s what we are here for. Sonus Benefits employs experts that are specifically trained in helping you make decisions that will benefit you most. We’ll work with you to identify your goals and then help you develop the best way to get there. If you’d like to ask us any questions even just after reading what we’ve written here, just give us a <>. You don’t have to navigate these changes alone
What does the future of health insurance look like?
That’s an outstanding question. The only thing that we can promise you is that private exchanges will become more and more popular over the coming years. Most employers are gearing up to make the shift, but aren’t quite sold on it yet. What’s most important is what the future of YOUR health insurance and benefits program looks like. Your case is incredibly unique and it will be important to work with an advisor to determine what direction best suits your needs.