Tag Archive for: employee benefits

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How to Increase Your Employee Retention Through Benefits and Incentives

Employee retention and company attraction stem from making your employees feel valued and appreciated at work — praising employees makes them feel as though their work is important. One way to do this is to provide benefits and incentives that are competitive. Not all benefits have to have a monetary effect on your company. Here are a few creative ways to offer good benefits and incentives to improve employee satisfaction. 

INDEPENDENT WORK

It is extremely important to make your employees feel empowered to work independently. Most employees do not respond well to being micro-managed and are typically more productive when they aren’t. Allow your employees to collaborate on their schedule and choose to work when they are most productive. For hourly employees, give them the ability to offer their availability and communicate when they prefer to work so they can be most productive.

Giving your employees the ability to be independent at work simply allows them to freely collaborate on projects and tasks. Once you have done this, give them the space to succeed and show your trust in their work.

HEALTHCARE OPTIONS

Provide healthcare options that meet their needs. Offering diverse options for your diverse workforce. Options like telehealth services, dental, vision, accident, and life insurance give your employees more expansive offerings. 

Another way to improve your employees’ satisfaction is to provide educational and developmental opportunities.  Not only will these benefits improve your employees’ resumé, but offering educational benefits will give them more skills to further grow within your company. Most employees want to be able to develop further within their companies, so as an employer can be your duty to provide those opportunities for them.

PERFORMANCE-BASED BONUSES

Lastly, employers can offer bonuses based on performance to make employees feel appreciated for their hard work. These don’t always have to be a monetary bonus — you can also offer extended vacation time or other ways to show you appreciate their hard work. 

Benefits and incentives are some of the best ways to show your appreciation for your employees. Offering competitive benefits and showing employees you care will increase employee morale and satisfaction within your company. Contact us for more information on benefits for your employees.v

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ACA Penalty A and B Breakdown

All applicable large employers (ALEs) must comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which requires employers to offer minimum essential coverage to all employees.

If an employer does not comply with this employee coverage requirement could lead to penalties for the employer and potentially an IRS audit.

Below is a breakdown of ACA penalties A and B, and how they could affect your company.

Who is Considered a Large Employer?

First, who is considered a large employer?

Any company or organization that has an average of at least 50 full-time employees or “full-time equivalents (FTEs) is considered an applicable large employer.

*For the purposes of the ACA, a full-time employee is someone who works a minimum of 30 hours a week.

What Are ACA Benefits?

The ACA was created in 2010 to offer more affordable health benefits to a wider range of people. Any ACA-compliant benefit plan must cover these 10 health benefits:

  • “Ambulatory services
  • Emergency services
  • Hospitalization
  • Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care (before and after birth)
  • Mental health and substance use disorder services
  • Prescription drugs
  • Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
  • Laboratory services 
  • Preventative and wellness services and chronic disease management 
  • Pediatric services”

Additionally, ACA benefits cover birth control and breastfeeding support. 

The Employer Mandate (Penalty A)

Employers must offer at least Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) to any benefit-eligible employee. Non-compliance will generally result in a penalty of $2,500,000 PER eligible employee.

The Employer Mandate (Penalty B)

Employers must offer a minimum value plan that meets 60% actuarial value including hospitalization services.

The MV plan must be offered at a maximum contribution of 9.86% of the employee’s income – YOU pay the difference.

For example, take a California minimum wage employee: A $10.00/hour employee working a minimum of 30 hours per week has a maximum employee contribution of $128.18 per month.

If the plan cost is $300, YOU pay the difference of $171.82 per month. 

Non-compliance will generally result in a $3,750.00 penalty PER employee who enrolls in coverage through the state exchange AND receives a premium subsidy.

The Individual Mandate

The individual mandate went away starting January 1st, 2019 for the majority of Americans.

Those individuals living in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, or New Jersey will continue to be penalized for the individual mandate.

Infographic of ACA Penalty A and B Breakdown

These penalties can add up to a lot of expenses for your business. At Innovative HIA, we want to help you avoid any potential penalties for lack of proper insurance. Contact our team at Innovative HIA for more information regarding your employer benefit needs.

Affordable Care Act vs. Obamacare: What’s the Difference?

Although you’ve likely heard of Obamacare, you may not know that Obamacare is synonymous with the Affordable Care Act. This healthcare law that passed in 2010 goes by a few different names. You may also see this law referenced as PPACA or ACA (the acronym for Affordable Care Act).

Below, let’s discuss what Obamacare or the ACA covers, its goals, when you can enroll, and more.

What Do Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Cover?

The Affordable Care Act was designed with three primary goals. To:

  • “Make affordable health insurance available to more people…
  • Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the FPL
  • Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally.”

Additionally, there are sections of the ACA designed to help patients have access to affordable benefits. These sections include:

  • Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All Americans
  • The Role of Public Programs
  • Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Healthcare
  • Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health
  • The Difference Between the ACA and Obamacare
  • Healthcare Workforce
  • Transparency and Program Integrity
  • Improving Access to Innovative Medical Therapies
  • Community Living and Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act)
  • Revenue Provisions
  • Reauthorization of the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act

From these sections came the 10 essential benefits that are included in minimum essential coverage (Minor Medical), which is defined as “any insurance plan that meets the Affordable Care Act requirement for having health coverage.”

These 10 benefits include:

  • Prescription drug coverage
  • Pediatric services
  • Preventative, wellness services, and chronic disease management
  • Emergency services
  • Hospital-stay coverage
  • Mental health and addiction services
  • Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care
  • Ambulance patient services
  • Laboratory services
  • Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices

Why Was This Healthcare Law Created?

Obamacare was designed to provide basic and affordable coverage for all Americans. Before Obamacare, those with pre-existing conditions could be refused coverage or charged more for their plan.

Obamacare ensures that insurance companies allow those with pre-existing conditions to receive the same care as those without. 

Now, minimum essential coverage plans exist that provide the services required by the ACA while simultaneously being affordable for employers and employees. 

These plans help both parties stay healthy while also avoiding the fines and penalties that come along with not having health insurance (especially for Americans living in states with individual mandates).

After all, minimum essential coverage isn’t a one size fits all service. There are different options and levels to choose from to create a plan best suited for your specific needs.

Learn more by reading our article, “What is Minor Medical and What Does It Cover?”

When Can I Enroll in Obamacare?

Open enrollment is the one time of the year when employees can sign up for health insurance or change their health insurance plans.

If you choose not to enroll during the open enrollment period, your options to purchase coverage become limited. Why? You cannot purchase ACA-compliant coverage unless a qualifying event occurs.

Qualifying events include:

  • Loss of a job
  • Move to a new coverage area
  • Birth of a child
  • Loss of existing coverage
  • Family event (i.e. marriage, divorce, or death)

Depending on state requirements, employees can take advantage of open enrollment for the following year starting November 1 until approximately January 15th. Again, open enrollment varies on a state-by-state basis. States like California, for example, extend their open enrollment dates to January 31.

Read on to learn what happens if your employee misses open enrollment.

How does the Individual Mandate Affect Obamacare?

When Obamacare was first implemented, it contained a clause that required Americans to have health insurance. Those who didn’t have health insurance were required to pay a tax penalty. This tax penalty was repealed in 2017. 

However, the individual mandate is still in effect for some states in the U.S. 

Residents living in the following states have implemented individual mandates.

  • California
  • The District of Columbia
  • Massachusetts
  • New Jersey 
  • Vermont
  • Rhode Island

This means that people living in the states mentioned above must have health insurance or face state-mandated tax penalties. Read on to learn more about ACA employer penalties.

At Innovative HIA, our goal is to provide affordable ACA-compliant benefits to our clients. For more information about the plans that we offer or to enroll, get in touch with one of our brokers today.

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Navigating Individual and Voluntary Benefits

Navigating the similarities and differences between individual and voluntary benefits can seem challenging. Which ones do your employees want? What can employees get from individual benefits that they can’t from voluntary? How can benefits attract and retain great talent?

 

Here is a list of the major similarities and differences between the two to help you navigate what benefits you want to provide.

Similarities 

  • Customizable options: Both benefit options have multiple coverage options available. These customizations give people the ability to change their options to cater to their needs, their family size, and their budget.
  • Dependent coverage: You have the ability to add eligible dependents, like your spouse and children, for an additional charge.
  • There are various areas that are covered: Both types of insurance cover dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.

Differences 

  • Voluntary benefits are sponsored by your employer: Voluntary benefits are only offered through employer-sponsored healthcare plans. Those who are not employed do not have access to voluntary benefit options. The employer also chooses what options are offered and what the coverage levels are. As an employer, this can be a great way to differentiate your company.
  • Individual insurance is completely paid for by an employee: Some business owners pass the cost of voluntary benefits on to their employees, though it is not required. Some employers will also cover a portion of voluntary benefit elections for their employees. With individual coverage, the employees take the entire cost.

At Innovative HIA, we understand how important your employees are to your organization. Offer your employees the most options for coverage. When you offer your employees more options when it comes to benefits, they will likely have higher engagement levels as they feel you care for their wellbeing. Contact us to learn more about the voluntary benefits you can offer your employees.

 

Read on to learn more about how you can add value to your existing benefits plans. 

 

Article originally published on SBMA Benefits.

infographic on how to navigate individual and voluntary benefits

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How Can You Add Value to Your Existing Benefits Plans?

Benefit plans serve as a great way to provide value to employees beyond their salary. Because benefits are becoming increasingly important, it’s important that you give your employees the option to tailor their benefits to their needs. At Innovative HIA, we believe in meeting your employee’s medical needs with additional benefit options. We offer our clients the option to choose various voluntary/worksite, ancillary, and virtual health benefit options. 

How do ancillary benefits (vision and dental insurance) bring value to your employees?

Oral and eye health are essential to our overall well-being. There are quite a few serious conditions that can be detected with regular check-ups for eye exams and oral exams. More than 90% of common diseases have oral symptoms. Among these diseases that can be identified and managed due to regular oral exams are diabetes and heart disease. 

The dental plans included in our benefit offerings include preventative care and basic procedures. The preventative care services include checkups, cleanings, and x-rays. They also include cavity fillings and other basic procedures.

Vision care plans can help make annual eye exams more affordable. With the greater use of screens and an increase in eye strain because of the usage, eye exams are essential to ensuring overall health and well-being. It can also help your employees save on eyewear, lens coating and enhancements, and corrective surgery. 

How do worksite/voluntary benefits bring value to your employees? 

Accident, term life, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance provide an avenue for you to meet your employees medical needs beyond benefits. Accident insurance helps employees pay for the medical and out-of-pocket costs that may incur after an accidental injury. Term life insurance is an affordable way to provide financial protection for your employee’s loved ones during working years. 

Critical illness coverage adds a safety net for under-insured persons. Lastly, hospital indemnity insurance can offset high deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses so that a hospital stay does not become a financial crisis. Giving your employees the chance to cater their benefits to their needs is essential to their happiness. 

How do virtual benefits bring value to your employees?

Lastly, virtual benefits provide a great way to ensure your employee’s needs are met. Right now virtual health benefits are essential to a well-rounded benefits program. With Innovative HIA, your employees get 24/7 access to doctors at no cost to them! They are able to speak to a licensed physician when and where you need one by phone or on video. 

Behavioral health is also essential to your employee’s benefit programs. Our virtual health plans offer behavioral health/therapy at a $50 copay. Your employees can speak to a therapist whenever they need one.* Lastly, our benieWALLET stores their health-related information in one easy place so they are easy to access anytime, anywhere.