Now Is the Time to Start Healthcare Renewal Planning — 5 Steps for Saving
Originally Published in RMP Advisor, June 2010At a meeting during the first week in June, I was approached by a partner from a mid-sized Pennsylvania law firm whom I’ve known for many years. “I always wait until November to get my premium increases for next year,” he quizzically stated, “and at that point it’s too late to do anything about it.” No kidding!
If You Want to Save on Future Healthcare Costs, Start Your Planning Now
Is fixing your company’s healthcare in 6 weeks or less possible? Not likely. But you can fix it if you take action now. Start by downloading our white paper – 10 Steps to Fixing Your Company’s Healthcare. It’s a great summary of how employers can take an active role in controlling healthcare costs. By helping companies implement these steps, we’ve successfully cut clients’ healthcare costs by between 10% and 15% annually, while keeping the same level and quality of services for their employees.
As Albert Einstein observed, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” So for those of you who wait until November to start the health benefits renewal process, it’s time to try something different and start your planning now for 2011. Here are five important initial steps to get your company on the path today to a cost-effective renewal:
- Assess Your Current Situation
Here are a few questions to answer as you begin to assess your current health benefits package:
- What was it like going through your last health insurance renewal and did you achieve an acceptable result?
- How long have you been with the same insurance carrier? The same broker?
- If a recent renewal was not acceptable in terms of either the process or results, what are you going to do differently this year?
- Do Some Research
Go to the Internet and do your own research on corporate health plans and prices available today. Plus, use our Newsletter Archives, where you’ll find a wealth of information on how to get the most out of your healthcare dollar. Here are some useful articles to start with:
- Is Your Company Getting Its Money’s Worth?
- How to Make Your Insurance Broker a “Trusted Advisor”
- 7 Steps to an Effective Health Insurance Renewal
- Do You Have a Multi-Year Strategy for Controlling Healthcare Costs?
Finally, take a look at our series of case studies. Some of them demonstrate the processes involved and the actual results RMP has achieved for clients, while others provide examples of innovative solutions that may be helpful to your organization.
- Assess the Impact of Health Reform on Your Organization
Health reform will have an impact on you, but the questions are when and how much of an impact. Everyone’s costs are going up, and there are lots of “ifs” involved:
- If you have 100 or more employees, you’re likely on your own for the foreseeable future.
- If you have fewer than 100 employees, you may get relief from Health Exchanges in a few years. However, you have at least 3 more years of premium payments.
- If you have fewer than 25 employees, you may qualify for a tax credit.
For readers who are interested in finding out more about the impact of health reform on your company, join us for a free seminar on June 24.
- Commit Yourself and Your Organization to Meaningful Change
The process that we undertake with our clients at RMP requires some learning and takes some time. It’s not for everyone and if it’s not for you, that’s okay. But if you’re willing to make a commitment, the costs savings and benefits that result from a change in strategy will continue year after year.
- Contact Us to Discuss Steps 1 to 4
The business of healthcare is complex with lots of moving parts. Most people don’t know what they don’t know. That’s where we come in. We’ll give you information that you can understand and apply, and we’ll help you get back in control of your dealings with health insurance carriers.
Is Risk Management Partners Right for Your Company?
Maybe—this is not exactly the 12-step process for recovering from addiction and compulsive behavior, but there are some similarities. So you can begin by answering the following questions:
- Do you believe that the current health insurance system is broken?
- Do you know (and are you prepared to learn) that you have more control over this situation than you’ve been led to believe?
- Are you firmly committed to making the changes needed to gain control over your future healthcare costs?
If you can answer “yes” to each of these questions, then email us or give us a call at 610-975-4415. We can help.