1. “Healthcare costs just go up every year”

• Wrong. With the right risk management strategies, many businesses were able to save north of $5,000 dollars per employee last year — without watering-down coverage. 

2. “Partially self-funded plans are risky” 

• Wrong. Partially self-funded plans give you the visibility and ability to control financial liabilities while capping your total costs. Paying for healthcare your employees don’t use, and over-paying for inferior healthcare is risky. 

3. “We have to increase deductibles or water-down coverage to save money”

• Wrong. With the right risk management strategies, businesses can reduce costs and IMPROVE benefits creating a win/win for all stakeholders. 

4. “Network discounts are important”

• Wrong. Marketing claims about discounts off of infinity may sound good, but it’s net prices that actually matter. 

5. “Larger firms do a better job than small ones”

• Wrong. McDonalds, anyone? 

6. “There are only a few insurance companies to choose from”

• Wrong. While there may be only a few insurance companies to choose from in your area, there are infinite ways to build employer-sponsored health plans. Just because your broker hasn’t built you a custom plan, it doesn’t mean that you can’t. 

7. “We can only make changes to our health insurance at renewal”

• Wrong. Businesses can usually add bolt-on risk management solutions or revamp their entire program mid-year. In fact, it’s often beneficial to do so. 

8. “Our broker provides us with objective advice”

• (Usually) wrong. Most benefit firms (especially the big ones) receive hidden year-end bonuses from insurers that cloud their objectivity and reduce their will to innovate. Stated differently, it’s often more profitable and easier to promote the status quo than to provide meaningful insights that deliver measurable results. 

9. “Rising healthcare costs aren’t really affecting us”

• Wrong. Healthcare is usually a top-3 expense and often the fastest growing financial risk on your P&L statement. Inaction is not only eroding your profit margins and your company’s ability to grow, but the resulting financial stress it creates is hurting your employees as well. 

10. “Our employees love our health insurance”

• Wrong. Most health plans have a net promoter score that ranks below TV and Internet Providers — not good.