There is ANOTHER MAJOR BENEFIT to making this move: Much of the "front end" exposure is absorbed by the gap plan, and does not show up in the major medical experience. Renewal premiums, then, often drop to single digits. So, the company not only saves premium dollars immediately, but possibly for years to come! Pretty cool.

This can have a positive effect on turnover, primarily for those employees that are already on the major medical plan, in other words, the more "highly" compensated.

BUT, most employers' turnover problems come from the "lesser" compensated! This includes those who are NOT QUALIFIED to participate, or CANNOT participate because they simply cannot afford it.

What is the root cause of Turnover?

I do not have to tell you how employee morale can affect a company's bottom

Think back...a long time ago…when you had an open mind!

What attracted you to your first job? Maybe you were still living at home and just wanted to make a few extra bucks? Later, when you graduated from High School or College your goals had probably changed. Money was certainly important, but what about those extra "perks" offered by your new employer—enticing weren't they? Maybe you were impressed with being offered all kinds of benefits, from health insurance to a 401k, group life to disability insurance, and even birthdays to vacations days.

Perhaps your needs changed as you transitioned from a single person through raising a family. I am sure you have heard the old saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." That is certainly true when it comes to basic needs!

Today, you may BE the Employer or maybe the Human Resource Manager. Either way, you feel the weight placed upon your shoulders to provide benefits to your employees, to help them feel appreciated, and hopefully somewhat secure. After all, they need you, and you need them.

With today's high costs of providing health benefits, more and more employers are finding it necessary to "re-think" how to tackle this difficult situation.

What's a company to do?

Employers from virtually every industry are asking themselves:

• Do we cut back on the health benefits we offer?
• Do we raise deductibles and/or co-pays?
• Do we transfer more risk and/or costs to our people?
• Do we offer benefits based on employee "class?"
• Do we eliminate health benefits altogether?

Many employers have already made some of these changes, if not all of them, or they are possibly contemplating doing so at some future date.

However, REDUCING BENEFITS, or NOT PROVIDING THEM AT ALL, even for some of their staff, can have a detrimental effect on ALL THREE MAJOR BUSINESS GOALS:

• Increasing Revenues
• Decreasing Expenses
• Increasing Efficiency

Making decisions that could have a negative effect on their overall profitability makes many business owners very nervous indeed!

Can a company actually CONTROL the rising costs of Major Medical coverage?

It is no surprise to most companies that rate increases in the double digits are not at all uncommon these days. These rates reflect the "experience" of the group. Higher "utilization" of the plan often translates into much higher premiums at renewal.

No wonder so many companies are being forced to "re-evaluate" their options!

However, there is a new generation of Voluntary Benefit plans, commonly called "gap" coverage that allows a company to increase their deductible, resulting in a significant reduction in premium. This plan is designed to "match" the changes in the major medical plan.

They then "add" the voluntary gap plan to the "front end" of their benefit plan to cover most of the new "exposure" to the employee. This plan can cover most of the expenses that would have been covered by the "old" major medical plan, up to the new deductible. The result: The TOTAL premium for both plans COMBINED can cost an employer from 10% to 20% LESS THAN THEIR PREVIOUS PREMIUM! Lower premiums—with no significant reduction in benefits! It is almost like having your cake and eating it, too.

It is a simple mathematical calculation. Check it out, and let the numbers do the talking!

There is ANOTHER MAJOR BENEFIT to making this move: Much of the "front end" exposure is absorbed by the gap plan, and does not show up in the major medical experience. Renewal premiums, then, often drop to single digits. So, the company not only saves premium dollars immediately, but possibly for years to come! Pretty cool.

This can have a positive effect on turnover, primarily for those employees that are already on the major medical plan, in other words, the more "highly" compensated.

BUT, most employers' turnover problems come from the "lesser" compensated! This includes those who are NOT QUALIFIED to participate, or CANNOT participate because they simply cannot afford it.

What is the root cause of Turnover?

I do not have to tell you how employee morale can affect a company's bottom

Today, you may BE the Employer or maybe the Human Resource Manager. Either way, you feel the weight placed upon your shoulders to provide benefits to your employees, to help them feel appreciated, and hopefully somewhat secure. After all, they need you, and you need them.

With today's high costs of providing health benefits, more and more employers are finding it necessary to "re-think" how to tackle this difficult situation.

What's a company to do?

Employers from virtually every industry are asking themselves:

• Do we cut back on the health benefits we offer?
• Do we raise deductibles and/or co-pays?
• Do we transfer more risk and/or costs to our people?
• Do we offer benefits based on employee "class?"
• Do we eliminate health benefits altogether?

Many employers have already made some of these changes, if not all of them, or they are possibly contemplating doing so at some future date.

However, REDUCING BENEFITS, or NOT PROVIDING THEM AT ALL, even for some of their staff, can have a detrimental effect on ALL THREE MAJOR BUSINESS GOALS:

• Increasing Revenues
• Decreasing Expenses
• Increasing Efficiency

Making decisions that could have a negative effect on their overall profitability makes many business owners very nervous indeed!

Can a company actually CONTROL the rising costs of Major Medical coverage?

It is no surprise to most companies that rate increases in the double digits are not at all uncommon these days. These rates reflect the "experience" of the group. Higher "utilization" of the plan often translates into much higher premiums at renewal.

No wonder so many companies are being forced to "re-evaluate" their options!

However, there is a new generation of Voluntary Benefit plans, commonly called "gap" coverage that allows a company to increase their deductible, resulting in a significant reduction in premium. This plan is designed to "match" the changes in the major medical plan.

They then "add" the voluntary gap plan to the "front end" of their benefit plan to cover most of the new "exposure" to the employee. This plan can cover most of the expenses that would have been covered by the "old" major medical plan, up to the new deductible. The result: The TOTAL premium for both plans COMBINED can cost an employer from 10% to 20% LESS THAN THEIR PREVIOUS PREMIUM! Lower premiums—with no significant reduction in benefits! It is almost like having your cake and eating it, too.

It is a simple mathematical calculation. Check it out, and let the numbers do the talking!

There is ANOTHER MAJOR BENEFIT to making this move: Much of the "front end" exposure is absorbed by the gap plan, and does not show up in the major medical experience. Renewal premiums, then, often drop to single digits. So, the company not only saves premium dollars immediately, but possibly for years to come! Pretty cool.

This can have a positive effect on turnover, primarily for those employees that are already on the major medical plan, in other words, the more "highly" compensated.

BUT, most employers' turnover problems come from the "lesser" compensated! This includes those who are NOT QUALIFIED to participate, or CANNOT participate because they simply cannot afford it.

What is the root cause of Turnover?

I do not have to tell you how employee morale can affect a company's bottom

However, REDUCING BENEFITS, or NOT PROVIDING THEM AT ALL, even for some of their staff, can have a detrimental effect on ALL THREE MAJOR BUSINESS GOALS:

• Increasing Revenues
• Decreasing Expenses
• Increasing Efficiency

Making decisions that could have a negative effect on their overall profitability makes many business owners very nervous indeed!

Can a company actually CONTROL the rising costs of Major Medical coverage?

It is no surprise to most companies that rate increases in the double digits are not at all uncommon these days. These rates reflect the "experience" of the group. Higher "utilization" of the plan often translates into much higher premiums at renewal.

No wonder so many companies are being forced to "re-evaluate" their options!

However, there is a new generation of Voluntary Benefit plans, commonly called "gap" coverage that allows a company to increase their deductible, resulting in a significant reduction in premium. This plan is designed to "match" the changes in the major medical plan.

They then "add" the voluntary gap plan to the "front end" of their benefit plan to cover most of the new "exposure" to the employee. This plan can cover most of the expenses that would have been covered by the "old" major medical plan, up to the new deductible. The result: The TOTAL premium for both plans COMBINED can cost an employer from 10% to 20% LESS THAN THEIR PREVIOUS PREMIUM! Lower premiums—with no significant reduction in benefits! It is almost like having your cake and eating it, too.

It is a simple mathematical calculation. Check it out, and let the numbers do the talking!

There is ANOTHER MAJOR BENEFIT to making this move: Much of the "front end" exposure is absorbed by the gap plan, and does not show up in the major medical experience. Renewal premiums, then, often drop to single digits. So, the company not only saves premium dollars immediately, but possibly for years to come! Pretty cool.

This can have a positive effect on turnover, primarily for those employees that are already on the major medical plan, in other words, the more "highly" compensated.

BUT, most employers' turnover problems come from the "lesser" compensated! This includes those who are NOT QUALIFIED to participate, or CANNOT participate because they simply cannot afford it.

What is the root cause of Turnover?

I do not have to tell you how employee morale can affect a company's bottom

However, there is a new generation of Voluntary Benefit plans, commonly called "gap" coverage that allows a company to increase their deductible, resulting in a significant reduction in premium. This plan is designed to "match" the changes in the major medical plan.

They then "add" the voluntary gap plan to the "front end" of their benefit plan to cover most of the new "exposure" to the employee. This plan can cover most of the expenses that would have been covered by the "old" major medical plan, up to the new deductible. The result: The TOTAL premium for both plans COMBINED can cost an employer from 10% to 20% LESS THAN THEIR PREVIOUS PREMIUM! Lower premiums—with no significant reduction in benefits! It is almost like having your cake and eating it, too.

It is a simple mathematical calculation. Check it out, and let the numbers do the talking!

There is ANOTHER MAJOR BENEFIT to making this move: Much of the "front end" exposure is absorbed by the gap plan, and does not show up in the major medical experience. Renewal premiums, then, often drop to single digits. So, the company not only saves premium dollars immediately, but possibly for years to come! Pretty cool.

This can have a positive effect on turnover, primarily for those employees that are already on the major medical plan, in other words, the more "highly" compensated.

BUT, most employers' turnover problems come from the "lesser" compensated! This includes those who are NOT QUALIFIED to participate, or CANNOT participate because they simply cannot afford it.

What is the root cause of Turnover?

I do not have to tell you how employee morale can affect a company's bottom

There is ANOTHER MAJOR BENEFIT to making this move: Much of the "front end" exposure is absorbed by the gap plan, and does not show up in the major medical experience. Renewal premiums, then, often drop to single digits. So, the company not only saves premium dollars immediately, but possibly for years to come! Pretty cool.

This can have a positive effect on turnover, primarily for those employees that are already on the major medical plan, in other words, the more "highly" compensated.

BUT, most employers' turnover problems come from the "lesser" compensated! This includes those who are NOT QUALIFIED to participate, or CANNOT participate because they simply cannot afford it.

What is the root cause of Turnover?

I do not have to tell you how employee morale can affect a company's bottom line. I am sure you see it in your everyday life.

Have you ever noticed that when you go out to your favorite restaurant, you can almost "sense" the morale of your server by their very attitude and the quality of the service you receive? There is probably a very strong correlation between that restaurant's benefit program and the server's job satisfaction—and it shows up right at your table!

Don't get me wrong—I'm not picking on food service—it's just a little more "visible" there. It also shows up with customer service personnel, sales people, line workers, fork lift operators, and, oh yes, it even shows up in break rooms! The truth is: It shows up EVERYWHERE—INCLUDING a company's BOTTOM LINE!

It's very simple: Satisfied employees stay. The others go.

What is the actual cost of Turnover anyway? And why should I care?

In every study I have researched, and information I have received from some of the most experienced and respected human resource managers anywhere, the answer is the same:

VERY EXPENSIVE!

It seems that the number STARTS at $3,500, at a minimum, to replace ONE $8.00 per hour employee! That's almost THREE MONTHS WAGES SPENT—for just one lost employee! The cost goes up exponentially for the more highly compensated people. This includes advertising for the job opening, interviews, screening, training the new hire…Oh, you know the rest.

Therefore, many employers are turning to Voluntary Benefits to provide more VALUE! But, Voluntary Benefits are just what they say they are!

Voluntary benefits are FIRST voluntary to the employer who takes the time to find out what kinds are available, decides which ones best suit his or her company's objectives, and then VOLUNTARILY decides to make them available to their employees.

Voluntary benefits are THEN voluntary to the employees, who can pick and choose among the choices offered, based on his or her personal needs.

Oh, and ONE OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION: It is painfully obvious that losing good people is a very expensive reality. However, Voluntary Benefits are usually paid 100% by the employee! And, they will still love you for it!

In addition, most voluntary plans qualify for "pre-tax" treatment under Section 125 (Cafeteria Plans). This is an opportunity for a company to save a significant amount on "payroll taxes."

Under this scenario, both the EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER save money. A WIN, WIN for sure!

What is best to offer: PORTABLE Voluntary Benefits…or GROUP Voluntary Benefits?

The answer lies in what the employer wants to accomplish! If the company already has a "benefits rich" program, portable benefits are just fine—with one caveat: When a company uses ONLY portable voluntary benefits, although they have enhanced their program, they have in reality become a "collection facility" for the insurance company. The employer collects premiums through payroll deduction and forwards them each month to the insurer and, except for the "good will" it generates, doesn't even get compensated for it!

The MOST IMPORTANT POINT on this issue: Once they get the plans you offer, if they can "keep them on their own," what "holds" them to you? Nothing! They can go to work for another company and not lose a thing!

But, YOU still have to spend that $3,500 or more to replace EACH and every one of them!

ON THE OTHER HAND…

If an employer's goal is to ATTRACT and RETAIN GOOD EMPLOYEES (