Page 42 - Delaware Medical Journal - March/April 2021
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THE 2021 HEALTH CARE CHALLENGE FOR EMPLOYERS
Sharon Ruth
For a large number of employers, the exceptional economic pressure placed on them during 2020 has only heightened the annual challenge of managing costs
treatments are on the near-term horizon, the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic remain largely unknown.
Virtually everyone expects health care premiums to increase in the months ahead, but the severity of increase is less known. Of course, even if health care premiums were to budget, with revenues mostly down over the past several months.
With so many uncertainties, many business owners are struggling to come up with a way to prepare for the coming year. From our perspective, the following three strategies can prove pivotal for employers when developing effective, long-term strategies in the current climate:
1. Incorporate a painstakingly thorough approach to employee benefits
2. Take advantage of any available digital health care technologies
3. Incorporate new and creative strategies to manage the predicted volatile trends in health care costs and their impact on insurance premiums.
this type of plan are:
• Fixed monthly premium rate, revisited annually or if there is a change in the number of enrolled employees, whichever
• Employees and dependents are responsible for paying deductibles and copays for health care services that are covered under the fully insured policy.
• Employer administration of the plan instead of the insurance company.
• Premiums are collected by the insurance carrier, who then pays health outlined in the company-purchased insurance policy.
A level-funded plan is a plan that combines the cost savings and customization aspect of and predictability of a fully insured plan. This type of plan is a form of self-insurance because the employer pays a steady fee each These plans provide cost predictability, carry little to no risk to the employer, are exempt from Affordable Care Act requirements, and
In a self-insured plan, the employer is using their own money to cover the employee claims. Employers contract with an insurance company or third-party administrator
to administer the plan. Typically, large employers have interest in this type of plan.
An individual HRA offers an alternative
to traditional group health plans. It is a non-taxed reimbursements to employees
monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs like copayments and deductibles. Employees must be enrolled in individual health insurance coverage to use the funds.
INCORPORATING A THOROUGH APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Beginning the process of investigating and learning about different approaches needs and business objectives. Waiting until open enrollment leaves you little to no time to educate yourself and your employees on possible options.
Just some of the products we recommend employers consider are fully insured, employer-sponsored plans, self- and level- funded plans, individual HRAs and, if available, group medical captives and PEOs.
A fully insured, employer-sponsored
plan is the traditional route of insuring employees where a company pays a premium to the insurance carrier. The carrier then handles health care claims
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Del Med J | March/April 2021 | Vol. 93 | No. 2
