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MiniMeds by Pete Campoli Employers with part-time, hourly, temporary, and seasonal employees can find a promising solution in limited benefit medical insurance. These plans offer simple and accessible health benefits without busting your client's budget. Traditionally, these part-time, hourly, temporary, and seasonal workers don't qualify for major medical plans. They represent about 40% of America's 45 million uninsured; a number that is continues to grow. In fact, The Government Accountability Office reported an 8% drop in the share of small employers (3 to 199 employees) offering health benefits from 2001 to 2006. Businesses with part-time workers may end up paying proportionately more for conventional health plans, which are generally designed for salaried, full-time employees. With monthly plans, your client may have to add or subtract from a monthly list bill whenever employees come and go, which can be especially cumbersome when employees terminate mid-month. Also, with a monthly premium rate, it can be difficult to determine how much a business is spending per hour on benefits or can spend on benefits. Limited benefit plans are beneficial for employers that budget on a cost-per-hour basis. Your clients only pay for the number of hours an employee works each month since these plans charge an hourly premium rate. This aligns employee benefits costs more closely with monthly payroll. Also, there is no need to add or remove employees from a monthly list bill with a limited benefit plan. Your client can offer a limited benefit plan that costs 85 cents per hour. In fact, plan costs vary from 25 cents per hour to nearly $3 per hour. A limited benefit plan may not offer the same coverage as a major medical plan. But, 72% of plan participants account for only 11% of healthcare spending, according to a Watson Wyatt study. Also, the 4% of plan participants with chronic or catastrophic illnesses incur half of all healthcare charges. A study by the American Association of Healthcare Consultants reveals that 86% of health plan participants use less than $1,001 of their benefits each year. Fixed payment medical benefits are designed to apply to the routine services that families are likely to seek, such as doctor visits and child immunizations. With an hourly plan design, businesses can offer a customized, cost-effective medical benefits solution, which can be an effective tool for employee recruitment and retention. Smaller businesses can turn to limited benefits to help fill the medical insurance void when the alternative may be to provide no coverage for employees. Pete Campoli CLU, CFP, is a regional benefits vice president with Symetra Financial, a family of companies that provides employee benefits, retirement plans, annuities, and life insurance through independent distributors nationwide. For more information, call Mr. Campoli at Symetra Financial's Lake Forest, CA office at 949-462-3279 or email pete.campoli@symetra.com. |
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