Help for a High Health Plan Renewal

It’s health plan renewal season, and some employers are in for a sticker shock. But, before you swallow a double-digit rate hike that will cost you and your employees, it’s critical to find out whether the rate is, indeed, a fair reflection of your group’s risk profile.

While the timeline for taking proactive action is tight, you’re not without recourse.

Get an Independent Benefits Analysis, ASAP.

Bring in a carrier-agnostic benefits advisor with the experience and expertise to dig into the data. You’ll need an advisor that can jump into action and assess your situation:

• Plan structure
• Rates
• Employee info

This is what my team and I do for companies facing a bad renewal. Sometimes we find that this year’s bad rate is aggravated and compounded by a previous high renewal (meaning this year’s hike is twice as high as what’s fair).

And, even when your group’s health profile isn’t ideal, it’s still possible to significantly reduce costs by optimizing your plan design.

For example, we came in to help:

• ThousandEyes secure a 5% renewal rate (down from 20%).
• SquareTrade save $700k on health plans.

Don’t go out for RFP and hope for better news.

We’ve seen this backfire. Because the only data other carriers have to go by is the high renewal rate you just got from your current carrier. To secure a better outcome, you need to bring data to the negotiating table. Going out for a competitive bid minus data to back your case will quickly ruin your chance to reduce your costs.

Understand that bad news typically arrives late.

If you’re 90-days out from your health plan renewal, and you don’t know what your rates are yet, this is a glaring red flag. It’s a little known, strategic tactic on the carrier’s and broker’s part because it compresses the time you have available to do something about it.

We’re Here to Help.

In short, there’s no downside to having a Lumity benefits advisor perform a complimentary benefits analysis. My team and I can quickly let you know what can be done to reduce healthcare costs for you and your people.

Request your analysis today.