Cheap Alternative to Health Insurance!

I am going to do some more research on this new Health Care Reform Bill…. I am wondering as a small business owner if I could just use the government for major medical?? Here is what I am thinking. Lets say I decide not to have insurance and I just pay the penalty which I think is $750 a year which is far cheaper than paying Health Insurance premiums. Now lets say I have a catastrophic event like a heart attack….. with the new reforms health insurance companies can not deny me coverage based on a pre-existing condition. So I will coast along paying my annual penalty until something big happens and then buy insurance….

Who are we kidding….. We all know that it takes healthy people paying their premiums to make the current health insurance system work and the only thing that keeps them paying their premiums is the fact that they are scared that something will happen that would create a pre-existing condition.

So, what do you think….. Are you willing to pay the penalties??? I think I am……

Welcome!

Just wanted to take a moment to welcome my friend and fellow business leader to the world of blogging! Take a moment now to visit his blog… The Real Estate Guy!

Making Friends

Demands on us are high I know. In sales there are no safety nets. If you don’t make the sale we may not eat. So we often develop this thing called “commission breath”. This is the death of any salesperson. “CB” will lead you down the path of being a pushy, results driven, sign here, commission counting salesperson. We CAN NOT go to our clients with this attitude. Now I know the markets are tough. I am out there everyday too. I believe that in today’s market, as tough as it is, it is more important than ever to form relationships through listening and being all about solutions. I believe that this is the key points of my job description…. friend maker, problem solver, solution provider….. If we can follow this track the commissions will come. So will you “sell” something today or will you go out and make a friend today…… The choice is yours..

Bright Future!

I am not to excited about the actual Health Care Reform Bill but I am excited about what I believe is a bright future for the Voluntary Benefits industry. Two segments excite me!

1) HR Consulting – With all of these new mandates and laws it will make those of us that approach our business as a consultant more important than ever. Now I realize that not all Voluntary Benefits companies take this approach but for those of us who do… Fasten Your Seat belts! Companies are going to be searching for solutions when it comes to managing their benefits packages. My belief is that if we come in trying to provide solutions not products that there is going to be more doors to open up than we will have time to walk through. I believe that we may even gain accounts that we could not touch in the past because of this. Now the second part… Voluntary Benefits. Our products pay fixed amounts for specific events. What that tells me is that we are not affected. We protect employees income and there future. We are not mandating anything! We are just here when they need us. Your accident, cancer, etc.. does not say what doctor or hospital to go to; just show us that you went and what was done. We provide payments directly to our customers! It is between us and our client not us, Government then client. Keep your head! Small business owners need us now more than ever!

Health Care Reform and You!

This Health Care Reform thing has got me thinking. I have a few questions for you and I want your feedback…..

1) Are you for Health Care Reform?

2) How will Health Care reform personally affect you?

3) will this cause Health Insurance premiums to go up or down? Why?

4) Will taxes have to increase for this to be paid for?

Please comment I want to hear what you have to say?????

Effective Benefits Communication

Careerbuilder.com recently did a survey that revealed something disturbing….. 24% of workers no longer feel loyal to their employers and 19% plan to leave their current employer this year! Need I say more?

It is an exciting time in the marketplace. We are having to be more strategic in our efforts to help employers retain employees. So, you may be asking what is the most effective way to retain employees. I will say without a doubt it is effective benefits communication. If you ask about their benefits you will typically only hear about their health premium going up or some other negative. Think about it, most of the time that the “Group Meeting” is called is because the employees are being told the negative while trying to put a good spin on it… If we are going to help employers retain then we are going to have to paint the big picture for the employees and also give employers the ability to give extra benefits at little or no cost to them!

Give me a call I would love to talk with you about employee retention strategies! (931) 581-4234 or send me an email @  scot@thebradfordagency.com

Bill Passes

O.k, so the job bill is just waiting for the President’s signature….sigh… They are predicting that it will create 250,000 jobs. I wonder how many small business owners that they sat down with and heard their opinions??? I think most small business owners like myself would simply ask for more customers. I am so confused??? It is like doing everything in reverse. I will say it again…. Put the money in the taxpayers pocket and let them decide. The best products and services will come out on top and those companies will grow and need to hire more employees. Wow I think I just described Capitalism but all that I am seeing in this bill is Washingtonism….

New Tax Credit??

Obama says that it is time to put Americans back to work…. I agree, but what is the best way to do that? For all of us in the business world is how? Obama says that the way to do that is to give a tax credit of $5,000 to small business owners that hire new employees on 2010. That is a novel idea but a $5,000 credit will not pay the new salary, benefits and taxes associated with that new hire. The fact of the matter is that the public’s credit is tapped. A lot of the growth that we have seen in the past years has come from the use of credit cards and now with consumers being tapped out who is going to spend money to increase the bottom line of our businesses. The simple fact is that we staff based on need and in the small business world we a lot of times are forced to be reactive versus proactive. This also makes me think of a couple other questions….

1) How large will your small business have to be to “earn” this tax credit?

2) How will we as taxpayers pay for this tax credit?

The only answer that makes sense to me in solving this economic issue is to simply put the money back in the hands of the taxpayer and let them decide how to spend it; then capitalism will do its job! As people spend more money then we will staff according to the need!

Do Wellness Programs Really Work?

Wellness Programs in the workplace is the true sign of healthcare reform. I believe that true healthcare reform will come whne we all take on more responsibility for our own health and healthcare cost. The fact of the matter is that employeers have alot to benefit from these wellness programs. Check out the results below…..

• Canada Life Insurance reported a return of $3.43 on their fitness program, and an overall return on investment of $6.85 on each corporate dollar invested on reduced turnover (32.4% lower), productivity gains and decreased medical claims,
• DuPont’s Worksite Health Promotion pilot sites saw a saving of 11,726 disability days and a return of U.S. $2.05 for every dollar invested by the end of the second year,
• The Canadian government’s corporate wellness programs returned $1.95-$3.75 per employee per dollar spent (as reported by Dr. Roy Shephard),
• Municipal employees in Toronto, missed 3.35 fewer days in the first six months of their “Metro Fit” fitness programs than employees not enrolled in the program,
• British Columbia Hydro employees enrolled in a work-sponsored fitness program had a turnover rate of just 3.5% compared with a company average of 10.3%,
• Johnson & Johnson estimated an average saving of U.S. $224.66 per employee per year for the four years examined after the program introduction, with the bulk of the savings being in the third and fourth years,
• Pacific Bell reported that overall absenteeism decreased after implementing a program,
• Coca Cola report saving $500 every year per employee after implementing a fitness program, with only 60% of their employees participating,
• Coors Brewing Co. reported that for each dollar spent on their Corporate Wellness Program they saw a $5.50 return, and the employees who participated reduced their absentee rate by 18%, and
• Prudential Insurance Company reported that the benefits costs for employees participating in their program were $312, as opposed to $574 for non-participants

I believe that we all can benefit from Wellness Programs. Employeers will lower premium cost because of a healthier risk pool as well as increasing productivity! Employees will reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle and maybe the increased energy and attitude might get that raise or promotion. Insurers…..I dont need to say anything here….

The Benefits Guy???

This blog is devoted to the issues of workplace benefits and issues surrounding HR management. We will discuss the latest news as well as compliance issues. So, check back in daily, if not hourly, to keep up with the ever changing workplace. Who knows, I am sure that we will also discuss healthcare reform and the effect on the heart of America…..