The Open Enrollment Period: Time to Rethink Your Employee Health Insurance

It’s October, and that means companies have heard or will soon be hearing from their insurance brokers about annual group health insurance renewal rates. And, as group rates continue to rise, that means employers will also soon feel the stress of telling employees that their premiums are increasing yet again.

Open Enrollment Means It’s Time to Evaluate Health Benefits

The good news is there’s a better way to offer employees health insurance and it’s the perfect time to make the change. Why? Because the 2016 open enrollment period (the time when individuals can shop for and purchase their own health insurance, either through the public exchanges or the private market) is just around the corner. The open enrollment period starts November 1, 2015 and ends January 31, 2016 – making this the ideal time to replace your traditional group plan with a practical option that sends employees to the individual market to buy their health insurance.

With a comprehensive service like Gravie, employers are freed from having to administer employees’ health insurance; they let Gravie handle all that. Employers provide additional compensation that employees may use to buy insurance, but have little to no other involvement beyond that.

Employee Experience with Gravie

Our advisors help employees through the process of choosing a plan that’s best for them. They’ll also help your employees check if they’re eligible for government tax credits. If they are, advisors will help them apply for and get these credits through either the state or the federal exchange (depending on which state you live in). After your employees choose a plan, advisors are there to help with health insurance-related issues that might come up throughout the year.

Things to Consider

Sound interesting? Here are some things to think about now to help you determine whether the transition from a group plan might be a smart one for you and your employees:

• How much are premiums going to increase? Has the coverage changed – is there more choice or flexibility in the plan or are you simply paying more for the same plan? Will your contribution increase?
• Are employees happy with the plan they have today?
• Is there a range of ages and situations in your employee pool that need to be taken into account when choosing your plan?
• How much of your company’s time and resources are spent on insurance research, selection, and administration?

If your answers to these questions confirm that your plan is less than ideal for you and/or your employees, it might be time to switch to an approach that takes the administration of healthcare off your desk, and gives your employees more choice. Most employees find a plan on the individual market that meets their needs and costs less than what they’d pay for a comparable group plan.

You Can Still Help Your Employees Pay for Insurance in the Individual Market

Gravie is simple to use, too. You decide the amount of money you’d like to provide each employee and Gravie takes care of getting that money directly to the insurance companies. It’s as easy as that; no dealing with paperwork or fielding employees’ questions about their coverage. Another bonus? You’ll never have to hold another rate renewal meeting!

Learn More Today

As open enrollment gets closer you might have more questions. We’re happy to answer them all. Call 844.540.8701, fill out our contact form here, or tweet us @gogravie.