Category / Self Funding

by Medcon Benefit Systems Group, Inc.

Advantages of Self-Funding

Sharon McReynolds

As mentioned in a prior article, self-funding an employee benefit plan as a long-term strategy to save money works because it does afford an awesome opportunity for an employer to achieve savings plus cost control. Over history, the smaller employers, those traditionally under 250 or even 100 employees, have been hesitant to self-fund their health plan as in the past it was commonly believed that self-funding was only appropriate for “large groups.” Our previously owned third party administrator (TPA), Group Administrators, Inc., survived and flourished on companies with less than 250 employees and several with down to 25 employees. We were able to establish the right plan design, the correct specific deductible amount as well as placement of an aggregate coverage, often paired with a monthly accommodation feature, that allowed our clients to be confident in their determination that self-funding was in fact a formula for success.

The purpose of this article is to allow you to gain some insight into the key determining factors to consider for your company when deciding if self-funding is a viable option for you. The right health plan can and should be an integral part of the proper growth and success of your company, the wrong one can have very negative impacts. We believe you can offer the benefits much larger companies offer, taken down to a proper scale, to benefit you, the small employer.

A self-funded plan affords all groups, regardless of size, the opportunity for savings. You have the opportunity to pay your own claims, while a TPA administers the claims, processing them, issuing ID cards, handling the tasks that the insurance companies typically do. The difference: they hire a “stop-loss” carrier on your behalf to take on a large piece of the risk, leaving you with the risk under the stop-loss amount. Your company pays for the everyday claims, the stop-loss carrier is there to protect you from the run-away claims. If designed properly, you know exactly what your risk is from one year to the next, and oftentimes, from one month to the next. Again, if designed properly, your risk should line up with what you were paying in a fully insured environment.

Obviously there is now some incentive for the employer and employees to be involved in the delivery of health care: cost savings. Wellness programs, HSA’s, consumer-driven health plans with high deductibles paired with programs allowing employees to participate in their own comparison shopping on their respective providers or hospital charges before they are incurred — all are great ideas to incorporate to save money on the overall health plans that we design.

Self-funding also aids the employer in knowing what and where you are paying for delivery of care. Wouldn’t you like to be able to dig into the amount your company is paying toward emergency room visits, or specific drug costs? How about the overall cost for in- and out-of-network claims, or wellness visits? Self-funding will afford you the opportunity to see exactly where your health plan dollars are spent month-to-month, giving you the chance to make informed decisions moving forward at renewal regarding benefit changes or employee contributions. You can tailor the benefits to meet your specific group’s needs. Employers with self-funded health plans see exactly how the plan performs, thus removing the element of surprise at renewal as it relates to substantial increases or decreases in premium.

With over 30 years of experience in the self-funding arena, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the concept in further detail. Please visit our contact us page to schedule a more in-depth discussion.

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by Medcon Benefit Systems Group, Inc.

Self-Funding: Points to Consider

Gaining popularity similar to it’s peak in the early 1980’s, self-funding is making a comeback. Many brokers / advisers are not well versed in this concept, and therefore are less likely to present the approach to clients. One point they will also likely not share with clients: commissions are paid on the stop loss premiums, not the entire premium amount.

There are reasons to consider self-funding that typically outweigh the reasons not to self-fund. Most importantly, you should be working with an experienced adviser. One who works with self-funded clients day-in and day-out. An adviser who has relationships with a number of Stop Loss Carriers, Third Party Administrators (TPAs) and Pharmacy Benefit Managers, just to name a few.

The first point to consider – self-funding is not a “one year” solution. I do not recommend self-funding to any of our clients if they are not willing to commit to an overall 3-5 year plan. Typically the concept is a win for the client on average four out of five years, but you must be prepared for the bad along with the good.

Additionally, the size of the group should not deter your group from exploring self-funding as an option for your plan. I hear many of my peers say a group has to be at least 200 or 100 employees to consider self-funding, and that is just not true. If a client is financially stable and the adviser understands and communicates all risks involved in the contract, self-funding can be offered successfully as an alternative for clients with as few as 20-25 employees. Some of our clients in the range of 25 employees have been self-funded for over ten years, and are very happy with the stability of the rates over that time period.

Many smaller to mid-size clients should consider a closer look at self-funding due to some distinct advantages under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

This is the first in a series of posts that will focus on the concept of self-funding. With 30+ years experience in all things self-funded, we have a lot to share. We welcome questions and hope those who read will learn something. Continue to follow us for more information coming soon.

by Medcon Benefit Systems Group, Inc.

Self Funding – Act II

Having been in the insurance industry for over 25 years, collectively our agency specializes in “self funding.”  It is with great pleasure that we welcome the resurgence of this funding instrument back to center stage.

Self funding gives the employers back the control — the control over both plan design and the financing of their health care benefit plan.  While the employer assumes the risk of expected claims, you will purchase insurance (stop loss coverage, both specific and aggregate) to protect your plan against unpredictable or catastrophic claims.

The financial control is gained by paying for only the claims that your employees incur, when they incur them.  In a fully insured environment you pay a monthly premium up front for what the insurance company believes your claims are going to be, advance premium payments.  This also translates to the insurance company holding/investing your money.

By funding your own claims, you are also avoiding the costs of claim reserves as well as premium taxes.  Included in these charges are the insurance company’s profit margins, risk charges, and their administrative fees.  There will be administrative fees associated with your  self funded plan but typically much lower than those of a fully insured plan.

The self-funded vehicle allows the employer to design the health benefit plan to meet their specific needs.  It offers the flexibility to manage costs and make changes to better manage utilization and take advantage of discounts offered through third party vendors.  All of which can help in the making of a much more cost effective plan.

We will be discussing the advantages  of self funding in more detail in future blog posts.  Should you have a questions please feel free to contact Sharon McReynolds at 214/739-5212 or email smcreynolds@medconbenefit.com.