There's a storm ‘abrewin'. 
 
What happens when good, responsible people keep quiet? Washington has forgotten they work for us. We don't work for them. Throwing good money after bad is NOT the answer. I am sick of the midnight, closed door sessions to come up with a plan. I am sick of Congress raking CEO's over the coals while they, themselves, have defaulted on their taxes. I am sick of the bailed out companies having lavish vacations and retreats on my dollar. I am sick of being told it is MY responsibility to rescue people that, knowingly, bought more house than they could afford. I am sick of being made to feel it is my patriotic duty to pay MORE taxes. 

I, like all of you, am a responsible citizen. I pay my taxes. I live on a budget and I don't ask someone else to carry the burden for poor decisions I may make. I have emailed my congressmen and senators asking them to NOT vote for the stimulus package as it was written without reading it first. No one listened.  They voted for it, pork and all.
 
O.K. folks, here it is. You may think you are just one voice and what you think won't make a difference. Well, yes it will and YES, WE CAN!! If you are disgusted and angry with the way Washington is handling our taxes. If you are fearful of the fallout from the reckless spending of BILLIONS to bailout and "stimulate" without accountability and responsibility then we need to become ONE, LOUD VOICE THAT CAN BE HEARD FROM EVERY CITY, TOWN, SUBURB AND HOME IN AMERICA. There is a rowing protest to demand that Congress,  the President and his cabinet LISTEN to us, the American Citizens. What is being done in Washington is NOT the way to handle the economic free fall.
   

So, here's the plan.

 On April 1, 2009, all Americans are asked to send a TEABAG to Washington, D.C. You do not have to enclose a note or any other information unless you so desire. Just a TEABAG. Many cities are organizing protests. If you simply search, "New American Tea Party", several sites will come up. If you aren't the 'protester' type, simply make your one voice heard with a TEABAG. Your one voice will become a roar when joined with millions of others that feel the same way. Yes, something needs to be done but the lack of confidence as shown by the steady decline in the stock market speaks volumes.
 
This was not my idea. I visited the sites of the 'New American Tea Party' and an online survey showed over 90% of thousands said they would send the teabag on April 1. Why, April 1??

We want them to reach Washington by April 15. Will you do it? I will. 
 
  Send it to; 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
  Washington D.C. 20500.

You may have read or heard in the news about additional "fees and assessments" that have been incorporated into the New York State budget, but what you may not realize is the direct impact those fees and assessments have on health insurance premiums. Health care premiums will increase as a direct

result of the State Legislature approving the Governor's proposed increases in taxes, fees and assessments on your health benefits on February 4, as part of his Deficit Reduction Plan. This increase is in addition to any annual increase you may receive. And, additional proposed increases are possible in the coming months. You can read more on the Governor's "Deficit Reduction Plan" at the Empire Blue Cross site.

A study of 2.6 million Aetna members (410,000 in an Aetna HealthFund® plan) shows that Aetna HealthFund offers sustained savings for employers over a five-year period, with members getting the care they need. The results also showed that Aetna HealthFund members are seeking increased levels of preventive care, using generic drugs more often and accessing online tools and information at higher rates than PPO members, while experiencing lower annualized medical cost increases. 

If you are not familiar with the term "Consumer Driven Health Plan," it refers to high deductible plans such as HSA's (Health Savings Accounts) and HRA's (Health Reimbursement Accounts). "More skin in the game" is what we call it, putting more of the cost and responsibilty on the consumer or business owners to reduce premiums.

If you haven't noticed, high deductible plans are really the future of health care. Gone are the days when you can go to the doctor for a check up and pay only $10 or $20 (unless of course you work at GM or for the teacher's union). Now in order to save money, you must pay either an in-network deductible or out-of-network deductible for health care services.

The insurance companies are beating their drums telling everyone that the only way to save money on health insurance is to "share the cost with them" and people are listening. What choice do we have? Health insurance rates have gone up over 90% over the last 10 years. Aetna's study confirms that if you put more responibility on the consumer, they will look for other ways to save money.

 

More and more business owners are frustrated with the ever increasing cost of group health insurance. This year alone, many insurance carriers are raising premiums close to 18% and over the last 10 years, insurance premiums have increased over 96%!  Small business owners need an affordable and comprehensive health plan to attract and retain quality employees but with healthcare costs spiraling out of control business owners are paying more and getting less.

 

A Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) can offer a significant savings in health premiums to the small business owner that is looking to reduce his or her costs. Traditionally HRA's look like the old "self funded insurance plans," but today they go way beyond the self funding concept and offer a business owner better control over insurance premiums and health care expenses. And most importantly, they can save big dollars on group health premiums. The savings for a business owner can be dramatic with an HRA, sometimes up to 30%! 

 

However, Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA's) are not for everyone. HRA's work best for companies with 10 or more employees that have a good "claims" history. If your work force is older and many of your employees are submitting several healthcare claims on a regular basis, an HRA may not be a good option for your company.  

 

But why aren't most brokers telling their clients about HRA's? Most brokers are looking for the easy sale and implementing an HRA is not an easy sale. First you need a good administrator to run the plan and that is an additional cost. Secondly, explaining to your client that they will be reimbursing some of the healthcare expenses to their employees makes most brokers not even want to discuss an HRA. But even with the additional admin costs and the mild complexity of HRA's, you can still save a lot of money on health premiums. 

I think the real reason most brokers are not discussing HRA planning, is that it reduces their compensation. Brokers get paid a commission on every dollar that you send to the insurance company. There is little incentive for your broker to show you how to save money on your health insurance when it directly affects his or her income. With all the hype coming from Washington about the high cost of health care, your broker can sit back and say, "see, everyone has the same problem like you. There is really nothing we can do."

Well, there is something you can do. We use HRA's very successfully at our company to reduce our client's health premiums. If you would like to learn how, or if you would like to see a real case study, request our free white paper today.