Risk & Business Magazine California Fall 2017 | Page 2

MULTI-CARRIER HEALTH INSURANCE
BY: KEVIN TIMONE
CHIEF SALES OFFICER OF ORANGE
3
A
Reasons More Employers Are
Moving To A Multi-carrier Program
multi-carrier health insurance
program offers advantages
to small businesses—and
their employees. That’s why
more and more employers
are turning to programs like the
CaliforniaChoice multi-carrier, employee-
choice private exchange.
Essentially, it boils down to three reasons:
(1) budget control, (2) employee choice
(with multiple health insurance carriers),
and (3) the availability of plans compliant
with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
you complete control over what you spend
on your employees’ health benefits, year
after year.
2. EMPLOYEE CHOICE, MULTIPLE
INSURANCE CARRIERS
Unlike purchasing health insurance
directly from a health insurance carrier,
with an exchange like CaliforniaChoice,
you and your employees have a
selection of different, top-rated carriers.
(CaliforniaChoice offers seven different
insurer options.)
1. BUDGET CONTROL
Controlling healthcare costs is easy with
Defined Contribution. You decide how
much you want to contribute toward your
employees’ healthcare benefits. You can
select a Fixed Percentage (50 percent to
100 percent) of a specific health plan and/
or benefit, or you can contribute a Fixed
Dollar Amount for each employee. For example, one of your employees
might choose a PPO from Anthem Blue
Cross because of a particular doctor or
hospital in the Anthem network, while
another employee who rarely visits the
doctor might choose an HMO from Kaiser
Permanente. A third employee might
choose an HSA-compatible HMO from
UnitedHealthcare because of cost and tax
considerations.
Your employees then apply your generous
contribution to whichever health plan
and benefits they prefer. If an employee
selects a plan that costs more than your
contribution, he or she pays the difference.
It’s that simple. Offering this level of choice—without
increasing your costs as compared to a
single health plan solution—gives you a
recruiting advantage and a powerful tool
to retain your current employees.
At renewal, you have the option to adjust
your contribution—up or down—giving
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3. ACA-COMPLIANT PLANS
A multi-carrier program ensures your
health insurance benefits are compliant
with the requirements of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA). You can choose from
a variety of full and limited healthcare
provider networks, giving you and
your employees access to the doctors,
specialists, and hospitals you all want at
the best possible price point.
With CaliforniaChoice, you can choose
one ACA metal tier or two. You can select
either a Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze
plan or a Tiered Choice plan, which gives
you access to two metal tiers (Platinum/
Gold, Gold/Silver, or Silver/Bronze). This
can significantly increase the number of
plans and doctors you and your employees
can use.
For more information about offering
your employees access to multiple
health insurance carriers in a single
program, talk to your broker or visit
www.mycalchoice.com to find a
CaliforniaChoice broker in your area. +
Kevin Timone is the Chief Sales Officer
of Orange, California-based CHOICE
Administrators, the nation’s leader in
developing and administering group
employee-choice
health
insurance
exchanges.