TO INSURE, OR NOT TO INSURE?
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Angela Stovall a Dairy Queen manager on Moody Street prepares a sundae treat during the lunch rush, September 22, 2009.
Are you a small-business owner considering offering health insurance? The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers this advice:
Before purchasing a policy, interview several licensed agents that specialize in small business' health insurance needs. Compare prices for equivalent coverage and ...
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Are you a small-business owner considering offering health insurance? The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers this advice:
Before purchasing a policy, interview several licensed agents that specialize in small business' health insurance needs. Compare prices for equivalent coverage and see how premiums have changed over the past five years.
Before selecting a plan, survey employees to find out what coverage they consider particularly important.
Understand factors that influence the cost of small group coverage in your state. The range of premium rates an insurer can charge is typically set by state law. Some states, however, have community rating, where everyone in a specific region pays the same rates for health insurance.
Take advantage of tax benefits available to your company. Businesses can typically deduct 100 percent of the premiums they pay to qualifying health plans for their employees. Talk this over with your accountant or tax adviser.
Tap into resources available from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and your state insurance department. The NAIC's Consumer Information Source is available at https://eapps.naic.org/cis and the Texas Department of Insurance can be found online at http://www.tdi.state.tx.us.
Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners news release and Business Reporter Allison Miles
BY ALLISON MILESAMILES@VICAD.COMBenefits issues can become trickier when it comes to larger corporations, but that doesn't make them any less important.
The concept of offering benefits is part of what helps a company remain a competitive player, said Kevin Lowery, Alcoa's director of corporate communications. Alcoa offers a variety of things, such as bonuses, 401-Ks, healthcare insurance and dental plans.
The company operates more than 200 sites in 31 countries, according to its Web site.
Benefit plans vary from site to site, depending on what would help employees in a specific region most, Lowery said. Some countries already offer health-related benefits that don't come free in the United States, he explained.
The local office isn't completely out of the loop when it comes to employee benefits, said Laurel Cahill, spokeswoman for Alcoa's Point Comfort plant. It's there as a resource for employees with questions about their benefits, she said. It also encourages healthy living through wellness programs and a corporate Weight Watchers program, where the company helps with expenses.
"Those are just some things we can do on the local level," she said.
Corporate offices also determine health insurance plans for the local Performance Food Group and the Invista plant, respective company representatives said.
Invista strives to offer market-base competitive benefits packages to employees that have a variety of options, spokeswoman Amy Hodges said. Those benefits include everything from 401-K programs, medical insurance for health coverage and savings accounts, she said.
Traditional benefits are important and necessary, but a company doesn't have to stop there, Lowery said. Alcoa also brings a few new things into the mix.
Employees can take part in special volunteering efforts or in the company's Earth Watch program, which allows employees to study sustainability and environmental issues throughout the world, with financial help from the company.
Recently, those trips have included an employee who went to Costa Rica to study how to improve the birth rate for endangered sea turtles and another who went to Vietnam to learn how to improve migratory patterns of butterflies in that region.
Another program allows employees who opt for generic prescriptions - and who don't mind receiving them by mail order - to get them for free. It helps the employee and lowers the company's overall costs, Lowery said.
With any company that operates sites throughout the world, determining insurance programs and coverage types can be harrowing.
"It is a fair bit of work, but also it's an important area for us," Lowery said.
Heard about the Healthy Texas Program?
The Healthy Texas Program, an initiative to help small-business owners purchase affordable health insurance, became law in June , according to an article in TDInsight, a publication released by the Texas Department of Insurance.
Through the program, enrollees can select from a variety of state-approved, private-market health plans.
The state-funded reinsurance fund will pay 80 percent of an individual's total claims between $5,000 and $75,000 incurred in a calendar year. The plan also covers 100 percent of claims less than $5,000 and more than $75,000. It also covers 20 percent of costs between $5,000 and $75,000, up to the maximum annual benefit limit.
Employer/employee premiums will likely average about $200 a month, with employers paying a minimum of 50 percent.
The legislature approved $35 million to pay reinsurance claims for the fiscal year 2010-2011.
The Texas Department of Insurance will begin enrolling groups in the program in April.
For more information, contact the Texas Department of Insurance at 800-578-4677
Source: http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/ pubs/insight/200906.pdf
Angela Stovall and her family have it good.
With no major illnesses or allergies to speak of, they typically feel pretty healthy. Mom even works at a local fast food restaurant, which the kiddos undoubtedly enjoy.
At any rate, Stovall rests assured knowing she's protected in case someone does fall ill.
The store manager for Victoria's Moody Street Dairy Queen has medical and dental insurance through her company.
"It makes you feel better knowing you're ready," she said. "Just in case."
The decision to offer healthcare benefits to employees is a big one for many small-business owners.
The local Dairy Queen offers coverage because it's important for people to have insurance, said David Baker, who owns franchises in Victoria, Cuero, Yoakum, Goliad and Gonzales.
Benefits are also a helpful recruiting tool, he said, since not every fast food restaurant offers them.
The company offers two different plans - a "mini med" for hourly employees and a major medical plan for management - said Elva Rhodes, office manager for Columbine Investments, which does business as Dairy Queen.
The "mini med" applies to hourly employees who have been on the job a year or longer. It pays a certain amount for doctor visits, X-rays, hospital stays and more, Rhodes said. After 18 months on the job, employees also qualify for a dental plan.
The company's major medical plan is for management. Through it, the company charges a flat $75 per month and pays half for spouses or children. Dental is offered separately.
That insurance plan hasn't always been the same, Rhodes said, explaining that, as time progresses, premiums tend to increase.
"Usually the increase isn't that bad but, when it starts creeping up, we start looking for quotes," she said. "Usually we find it's better to switch."
Regardless of a business' size, the law doesn't require companies to provide private-sector health plans, said Gloria Della, director of public affairs for the United States Department of Labor. Companies can amend or terminate those plans whenever they choose.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act does require companies to maintain a uniform plan - whether it involves health insurance or not - and to spell out that plan in the document that goes out to employees, explaining how they become entitled to benefits.
Crossroads Movers, Inc. used to provide medical insurance but, with the company's quick turnover rate, it didn't make sense, owner Joyce Foster said.
"I just had to drop it," she said, explaining they still carry workers comp. "I was paying for months and they'd work two weeks and quit."
Crossroads Movers is trying to change its insurance situation, but with a little help from its friends.
The Southwest Movers Association has about 2,000 members in Texas, Foster said, and they're working to come up with a medical insurance plan that encompasses the group. By coming together, she said, they hope to get cheaper rates.
"Other than that, I can't afford it," she said. "You can't make enough profit a month to pay for it."
And Crossroads Movers isn't alone. In August the National Association of Insurance Commissioners released a study detailing small-business owners' ability to provide insurance and their knowledge of coverage.
During the study, the NAIC surveyed 500 small-business decision makers and found one-third of them admitted they could not afford health insurance for employees, according to an NAIC news release.
With today's economic climate, small-business owners should pay close attention to any decision that could affect their financial future, NAIC President and New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny said in the release.
"Now, more than ever, it is important they get smart about their choices and consider the implications that making a bad decision could have on their business and their employees' future," he said in the release.
The decision about whether to offer insurance - and, if so, what plan to go with - is a big one, and it varies from business to business.
As for Stovall, benefits aren't something she typically looks at when hunting for a job, but she said she's glad Dairy Queen offers what it does.
"It makes me feel more comfortable," she said. "And I mainly got it for my kids. I want to look out for them."
