HR professionals spend countless hours on personnel & payroll administration,compliance with employment related laws and regulations and the accompanying paper pushing and employee chasing;not to mention attracting new employees and other strategic initiatives. It’s no surprise to us that our services are welcome relief to the already overworked professional. The changing landscape of health, life, dental, disability, retirement plans and other employee benefits products and their funding options, trends, government regulations, carrier rules and delivery channels is daunting by itself. Trying to manage this in a 3 to 4 week period once a year for your plan’s renewal, while maintaining your cost and benefit objectives can be overwhelming.  Aebly & Associates does this 24/7. We know the carriers,the products, the trends, the opportunities, funding alternatives and how to package this into competitive programs that meet your cost objectives and employee needs. We operate as an extension of your human resources department in conjunction with many outside vendors, insurers and service providers.

We make it easy for you to stay on top of the latest products and ensure you are getting the most from your premium or funding dollars. In healthcare, there are literally hundreds of plan options available to your company.  Aebly & Associates can assist you in developing plan design alternatives based on your specific circumstances, benefit objectives and cost considerations. And if we determine you are well situated we will advise you accordingly; after all, it’s just as important to know why you shouldn’t change as it is to know why you should. We can narrow down the myriad of plan designs and present you with the options that meet your goals with minimal time spent by your staff. Your annual renewal will be an effortless process with  Aebly & Associates guiding you through the maze.

“How often should I go out to bid? Is there any value to placing all my business with one insurer? What are the pros and cons of the new plans? How will my employees likely view any proposed changes? How can I lower my cost and keep my employees happy? Are there any alternative funding options? What do you recommend?”

We have the extensive experience necessary to answer all your questions and provide you with our unbiased recommendations on any or all of the following:

Types of Employee Benefits

• Health
• Consumer Driven Plans Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA’s)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s)
• Life
• Disability – Short & Long
• Dental
• Vision
• Long Term Care
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Retirement Plans
• Cafeteria & FSA Plans
• Voluntary Benefits

Sometimes “going to market” with your program is the only way to know if you are getting a good deal. Knowing when and how frequently to go to market is a critical decision influenced by many factors. Not doing this at the right time or the correct way could cost your company thousands of dollars and/or impact your level of benefits. Our clients realize that  Aebly & Associates doesn’t leave this to chance; we know your program & results, the markets, the industry, the competitive nature of certain coverage’s at various times, the underwriting process, the actual people looking at your program and most importantly when it’s the right time to go market for you and how to position your program for the most favorable results. Our thorough analysis and recommendations will take us through the following phases, as necessary, considering your objectives and overall situation:

Program Review

1. Review current offering(s)
2. Evaluate carriers & vendors performance
3. Establish goals
4. Plan design considerations
5. Funding options
6. Short & long term goals

Bidding

1. Prepare specifications

• Plan Designs
• Funding options
• Provider Networks, including disruption analysis & geo-access
• Stop-loss, if applicable

2. Draft & submit RFP’s
3. Analyze vendors’ proposals
4. Solicit additional information as needed
5. Summarize our analysis
6. Negotiate final terms
7. Make our recommendations

Implementation

1. Notify winning bidders
2. Compare contracts with proposals and specifications
3. Coordinate employee communications and enrollment meetings
4. Ensure a smooth implementation

Ongoing Support

1. Provide day-to-day servicing
2. Interact on your behalf with all vendors
3. Resolve any issues or problems that arise
4. If applicable; request appropriate utilization reports from all carriers and vendors and review with management on a regular basis
5. Provide proactive advice on changes to your program, vendors or carriers
6. Compare program results with stated objectives
7. Keep you informed of new products and services
8. Negotiate renewals
9. Go to market for you when appropriate 

FULLY INSURED…..SELF-FUNDED…..PARTIAL SELF-FUNDED…..EXPERIENCE RATED…..STOP-LOSS….TPA/ASO/R&C/UCR/PPO/EPO/POS…..What are my options? What’s the risk/reward? What are the pros and cons? What are the trends? How do I get started and how do I transition out if I’m not satisfied? What do all the acronyms mean?

Aebly & Associates is your valuable partner in this process and will help you evaluate risk and determine which option is right for you. We will review your financial objectives and corporate goals and based on your circumstances we will make recommendations that we believe are in your best interest.

In some cases we will design a program to transition you to self-funding over several years. In other circumstances it may make sense to explore experience rated options or perhaps transition from self-funding back into the fully insured market. Or, you may wish to self-fund only certain coverage’s such as medical, dental, or vision and let an insurance company assume the risk for other, more volatile coverages, such as long term disability.

We will look at all segments of your program; medical, hospital, prescription, dental, vision, disability and we will advise you of the course we believe is in your best interest based on the many circumstances influencing your program and your objectives. We will negotiate stop-loss coverage and meet with you regularly to review management reports and provide advice on proactive changes to your plans and/or administration.

As an independent consultant/broker, if one segment of your program is not performing as expected we can replace that segment for you, with no interruption to the rest of your benefits and minimizing your time and cost in the process.

Employees want more benefits and employers are trying to contain the cost of the benefits they already provide. Expanding your benefit offering while maintaining your financial objectives need not be a conflicting exercise.

Industry research indicates that people want to acquire more products and services through their workplace because of the convenience. Voluntary benefits with no cost to the employer, no minimum (or minimal participation depending on the type of benefit) participation requirements and no limited enrollment periods are becoming increasingly attractive.

Voluntary benefits can save employees money (and employers too if done on a pre-tax basis), fill the coverage gaps between employer provided benefits and the individuals unique needs, provide convenient access to a wide range of products and accompanying professional counseling and can provide convenient payment options through either payroll deduction or electronic fund transfer. Voluntary programs allow an employer to expand benefit offerings without increasing hard dollar costs. Soft costs can include introductory meetings, employee handouts/payroll stuffers and one-on-one meetings; although lunchtime and breaks can be utilized to minimize employee downtime.

Types of Voluntary Products:

• Life Insurance
• Dental Long Term Care
• Short & Long Term Disability
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• Cancer Policies
• Vision
• Direct payroll withdrawal employee Auto insurance program
• Direct payroll withdrawal employee Homeowners’ insurance program
• Direct payroll withdrawal employee Personal umbrella insurance program
• Direct payroll withdrawal employee Boat insurance program
• Prepaid legal plans
• Critical Illness