We offer a rich variety of benefits, and a thoughtful sound approach to plan design that helps clients develop a winning and long-term solution for their benefit programs. But wait – our service is not limited to plan design and implementation! Make sure to visit our HR Services page to find out why many clients refer to us as an extension of the HR department.
*Click the links below to uncover detailed information on our benefit programs.
Following are details of the more traditionally employer sponsored Group Benefits we offer, how they typically work and what coverage they may provide.
A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) requires group members to obtain their health care services from doctors and hospitals affiliated with the HMO. Members are required to designate a primary care physician who treats and directs health care decisions and who coordinates referrals to specialties within the HMO network. HMOs offer access to a comprehensive package of covered health care services in return for a prepaid monthly amount (or “premium”). Most HMOs charge a small co-payment depending upon the type of service provided.
With a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) members save the most money on healthcare, if they use providers within their network. If providers outside of the network are used, it is possible that those services may not be covered at all. Deductibles must be met on this plan before some services will be covered. PPOs require a co-pay for physician visits.
A Health Savings Account (HSA) combines a high deductible/lower premium health insurance plan (PPO) with a savings account. Both employer and employee can contribute, tax-free to the savings account, which can help fund the deductible and other qualified medical expenses. Once the deductible is met, the insurance starts paying.
A Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) combines high deductible/low premium health insurance with a tax favored savings account. Employers contribute to the savings account, which can be used for to fund co-pays and other qualified expenses prior to the deductible being met.
Single, Dual or Triple Option Plans offer eligible employees a choice between several different types of plans as described above.
Below you will find detailed information on the benefits of Dental and Vision plans.
Dental Plans
Regular dental exams help employees stay healthier and more productive in the work place. Simple routine visits to the dentist, which are usually covered 100% by insurers, help to detect serious underlying conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The National Association of Dental Plans and the Centers for Disease Control have performed studies that show that employees with Dental Insurance plans have better attitudes and are less likely to suffer from depression, a common condition in today’s fast-paced world.
Dental Plans offer a variety of diagnostic, preventative care and corrective services including cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings, root canals, orthodontia for children, and emergency care while traveling.
Vision Plans
Similar to dental policies, vision plans are inexpensive and save money on routine exams, eyeglass frames and lenses, contacts, and even discounts on procedures like LASIK. Monitoring your eye health with regular exams also helps to prevent serious eye diseases like glaucoma and cataracts and also helps to detect early stages of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Permanent Life Insurance
Life insurance that builds cash value and the savings can be tax deferred and/or borrowed against, if needed. These policies are known as Permanent Life Insurance.
Term Policy
Life insurance that does not build cash value, however, it will pay a set amount to the named beneficiary upon the death of insured within the stated term. Some policies may also make payments upon terminal or critical illness.
Here’s how Disability plans typically work.
Short Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), STD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a two-week waiting period and will continue to pay the employee until he/she recovers or maxes out the benefits–usually anywhere between one month to two years, depending on the policy.
Long Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), LTD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a 90-day waiting period, although it could be much longer depending on the policy, but will continue to pay the employee far longer than STD–for a few years, up to age 65, or even for life.
If someone requires long-term care, it is not just an emotional strain but a financial one as well, impacting retirement savings and overall financial position.
Savvy employers know that access to additional resources can increase employee productivity when confronted with managing long-term care situations. Long-Term Care plans demonstrate to your current and prospective employees that your company cares about them–increasing the ability to attract and retain the very best talent.
Most LTC plans are designed to provide benefits for care through nursing homes, assisted living centers, home health care and adult day care.
Employers can provide a base benefit while giving the employees the opportunity to “buy up” and obtain the level of coverage that they need for their families.
The following non-traditional group benefits offer a great tax savings in addition to other advantages to both employers and employees. Click the links below for specific details.
Shared Funding Plans allow small employers to take advantages of all the cost saving and benefit design features of a self-insured plan that typically is designed for larger groups. However, any small or large group could benefit greatly by the cost saving opportunities of a shared funding plan.
Here’s how it works.
First, an employer will select any of the fully insured plans that the carrier offers and rates will be determined by the group’s claim history. Stop-loss insurance is added to protect against catastrophic claims.
Just like with an insured plan, the carrier will handle the administration of the plan, processing claims and offering members on-line access to benefit explanations and other reporting tools.
Premiums for shared funding plans are generally much lower than fully insured plans because the employer shares some of the risk.
Employers who opt for shared funding plans may save even more costs by implementing wellness programs into the workplace.
When employers self-fund their own health plan, they will benefit from a significant savings in premiums, increased cash flow, tax advantages in addition to having more control over the benefits that the plan offers.
Although not always a popular choice for small employers, today, self-insured plans are considered to be good options for both small and large employers. GBS specializes in helping employers set up and maintain self-funded health plans and would be happy to give you a no cost analysis to determine if a self-funded health plan option is right for your company.
Here’s how it works:
A self-funded health plan requires the employer to become the insurer. Most often, employers will partner with a PPO to provide services for the plan. A third party (a TPA) is engaged to handle claims and processing. Because self-insured employers run the risk of large catastrophic claims, they will purchase stop-loss insurance to protect them in such an event. Even with the additional expense of stop-loss insurance, employers can enjoy saving thousands in premiums and other advantages.
Employees elect a set amount of pre-tax dollars to be deducted from each payroll. The employee purchases an individual health insurance policy in which he/she chooses completely on their own and is responsible for paying the monthly premiums directly to the carrier.
The employee is then reimbursed by the employer for the monthly premium with the pre-taxed dollars.
The average working employee in America spends thousands of dollars annually on certain types of medical benefits, daycare expenses and transportation services. By participating in an FSA, an employee’s taxable income is reduced, which increases the percentage of pay they take home and allows them to pay for these benefits and services with the pre-taxed dollars, in essence giving them a discount on these services.
Here’s how it works:
This tax-favored savings account is funded solely by the employee through regular pre-tax payroll deductions. Employees elect how much they want withdrawn from each pay period, which can be changed annually or upon a qualifying event such as marriage or divorce. Throughout the plan year, funds can be withdrawn from the account (tax-free) to pay for eligible medical, dental, vision, prescription and dependent daycare expenses. Some FSAs include work-related parking and transit costs. The administrator of the FSA account can issue a debit card that is tied to the FSA making it easy to use the account when needed.
Repeated national surveys show that employers who promote wellness oriented work environments benefit from lower premiums, reduced absenteeism, and an increase in employee productivity, morale and overall satisfaction.
GBS will help you incorporate wellness benefits at little or no cost and further help to keep your employees engaged in these programs.
Employees enjoy the following types of wellness benefits designed to help them develop healthy lifestyle habits.
Voluntary benefits help employees manage financial risk and will enhance your employer paid benefits by providing protection that goes beyond traditional health benefits. These supplemental benefits are 100% covered by the employee, but are offered at a special discounted “group-rate” and they are conveniently paid through pre-taxed payroll deductions. Voluntary Benefits are easy to set up and manage, and surveys consistently show that employers who offer them have a higher rate of employee satisfaction. Click the links below for more information on the specific types of voluntary benefits you may want to offer to your employees.
Gap insurance provides benefits that supplement a major medical and comprehensive benefit package. It works by paying a significant amount of the deductible on a major medical plan. More specifically, the additional benefits help to cover out-of-pocket expenses related to coinsurance, co-pays and deductibles for inpatient and outpatient services. For example, if you have a $5,000 deductible on your major medical plan, gap coverage could pay up to $4,000 of that deductible.
Some key features:
If you have a health insurance plan and/or disability insurance, a Cancer or Critical Illness Plan will provide benefits in addition to your other coverage.
-Lump-sum cash benefit paid directly to you.
-You decide how best to spend your payment.
-No network restrictions.
-Benefit level choices to fit your needs and budget.
-Simple plan options for your needs and budget.
Unlike a traditional major medical plan that reimburses you or pays directly to a provider for approved hospital stays and medical care, a Hospital Indemnity Plan pays a lump-sum payment directly to the insured. The cash payment helps with out-of-pocket expenses and covers your employees when they are off work due to a hospital stay. The coverage is usually a set amount per day, per week, per month, or per visit depending on the benefit level selected.
Accidents can happen anytime and Accident insurance helps to protect employees from financial hardship due to a great deal of medical and out-of-pocket expenses that follow accidental injuries. Emergency treatment, hospital stays, medical exams, transportation and lodging needs are just a few of the expenses that accident insurance can help cover. Some policies can even pay benefits in as little as one day, based on time of claim submission.
Permanent Life Insurance
Life insurance that builds cash value and the savings can be tax deferred and/or borrowed against, if needed. These policies are known as Permanent Life Insurance.
Term Policy
Life insurance that does not build cash value, however, it will pay a set amount to the named beneficiary upon the death of insured within the stated term. Some policies may also make payments upon terminal or critical illness.
Here’s how Disability plans typically work.
Short Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), STD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a two-week waiting period and will continue to pay the employee until he/she recovers or maxes out the benefits–usually anywhere between one month to two years, depending on the policy.
Long Term Disability
During the time an employee is unable to work due to a qualifying disability (illness or injury), LTD generally allows for income payments to the employee to begin after about a 90-day waiting period, although it could be much longer depending on the policy, but will continue to pay the employee far longer than STD–for a few years, up to age 65, or even for life.
If someone requires long-term care, it is not just an emotional strain but a financial one as well, impacting retirement savings and overall financial position.
Savvy employers know that access to additional resources can increase employee productivity when confronted with managing long-term care situations. Long-Term Care plans demonstrate to your current and prospective employees that your company cares about them–increasing the ability to attract and retain the very best talent.
Most LTC plans are designed to provide benefits for care through nursing homes, assisted living centers, home health care and adult day care.
Employers can provide a base benefit while giving the employees the opportunity to “buy up” and obtain the level of coverage that they need for their families.
Below you will find detailed information on the benefits of Dental and Vision plans.
Dental Plans
Regular dental exams help employees stay healthier and more productive in the work place. Simple routine visits to the dentist, which are usually covered 100% by insurers, help to detect serious underlying conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. The National Association of Dental Plans and the Centers for Disease Control have performed studies that show that employees with Dental Insurance plans have better attitudes and are less likely to suffer from depression, a common condition in today’s fast-paced world.
Dental Plans offer a variety of diagnostic, preventative care and corrective services including cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings, root canals, orthodontia for children, and emergency care while traveling.
Vision Plans
Similar to dental policies, vision plans are inexpensive and save money on routine exams, eyeglass frames and lenses, contacts, and even discounts on procedures like LASIK. Monitoring your eye health with regular exams also helps to prevent serious eye diseases like glaucoma and cataracts and also helps to detect early stages of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Regular group life and disability insurance often only cover a fraction of the owner and its executives’ salaries. Key Person Life, Disability Insurance and Buy/Sell Agreements are tailored with protection for key personnel whose continuation in the business is crucial to its success. Key Person polices can be customized to wrap around the group plan for key executives, which protects the business and the executive’s family in the event of a sudden critical illness or death.
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