When and how can I enroll in Medicare?
A broker can help narrow down your options and help choose an insurance carrier and plan that fits your needs and budget. Working with a broker can ensure that your doctors will be in network with your plan, confirm how your medications will be covered and explain exactly how the plans work.
When is Medicare open enrollment and how do I know which plan is right for me?
What is the annual enrollment period for Medicare?
What exactly does a licensed insurance agent do and why is it important?
What benefits can I offer to help retain my employees if my business can’t afford to offer traditional insurance?
As a small employer there is more than traditional group insurance you can offer to your employees. In traditional group insurance you are required, as the employer, to cover 50% of the cost for the plan per employee. Those costs can add up really quickly when you're a small business and maybe don't have extra room in the budget for insurance costs. Many small employers are looking to Health Reimbursement Arrangements or HRA accounts. There are many different types of HRA accounts that businesses may use. The major benefit to HRA over traditional group coverage is that the employer sets the amount that they're willing to cover and it doesn't have to be the same for each employee type. As the employer you set an amount you wish to give the employee each month and they source their own insurance. The HRA money is used to cover the cost of the premiums and can be used to pay for expenses for health, dental and vision. One of the major advantages of using an HRA is it allows the money that's run through the HRA to be tax deductible for the business and tax deferred for the employee, so neither the employer nor the employee are paying taxes on the money that's used through the HRA. A lot of employers are using the HRA money as a way to give raises to employees, which gives the tax advantage to both the employer and the employee, just the same way a traditional group insurance policy is paid with pretax dollars. A broker can help you determine if a traditional group or using an HRA would be the best fit. If you end up going the route of HRA and the employees need help finding coverage, a broker will walk them through the process of determining which plan will fit their needs and budget the best. I've found that employees are much more satisfied if they get to control their plan and costs. They're going to be much happier than if they get one option and told they have to take it or decline and have no insurance at all.
