With the desperate need to control healthcare costs, employers are eager to have a solution that allows them the advantage of large numbers but the autonomy to create their own destiny. The current constraints and opaque pricing models of the provider-payer relationship as well as “secret” PPO contracts have yielded a healthcare system that is confusing, hard to navigate and, in some situations, bankrupting to healthcare consumers. These days it takes an employee benefits consultant who understands how to think around problems before they ever really become problems.
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Perhaps the most notable change in this movement toward self-funding is the number of smaller employers getting in the game. Although most of these are level-funded arrangements, employers see the value in gaining control of their plan with a focus on what’s important to their specific employee base. Plus, the tax advantage isn’t bad either, as state taxes are eliminated on most self-insured plans.
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Technology makes it easier to do just about everything. It simplifies and speeds banking and paying bills. It allows people to stay connected with colleagues, friends and family in numerous ways. It enables collaboration, creativity and research. But relying on technology alone to solve connectivity challenges can be problematic. Connectivity takes a human touch and that goes the same for employee benefits.
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As Bill Gates once said, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.”
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