From Consulting and Alternative Funding to Enrollment and Claim Support

Sometimes the difference between an average group broker and a confidant comes down to guidance beyond plan design. We provide a Compliance Rx report to all businesses we serve. In addition, our guidance surrounds legal and compliance questions as well as event driven questions like business succession strategies, mergers and acquisitions impact on plans, buy sell agreements and executive retention strategies.

In an article released by Sage|People in 2019, 14 HR experts cited the reasons why they loved their job. Interestingly, benefits RFPs were not listed by a single professional. How could that be? Well, for the most part, HR teams felt they made a difference and got to help people. After all, as one expert, Shally Steckerl, put it, "HR is the internal organs that give companies life." For HR teams that we partner with, saving time and money, both at the company and HR level frees up those resources. That, combined with vetted partners like bambooHR help automate your processes and allow you to reallocate your time to educational initiatives and team building programs.

Your priority should be managing your business. Our focus is simplifying the complexities of employee benefits for you. A partnership with PA Health Advocates means you can easily achieve your benefit objectives without negatively impacting the growth and success of your business.

Focusing on a full spectrum of consulting services, our expertise includes benefit and renewal planning, carrier rate negotiations, compliance assistance, employee communication and cutting edge benefit administration technology, all designed to maximize the competitiveness and value of your employee benefit package.

Large group employers require consultants to think “outside the box” when designing an employee benefit package. The same package that works for one company will not be the correct fit for another firm. Tailoring a benefit strategy to fit each unique client is our specialty. Utilizing innovative and cost-efficient benefit solutions, combined with the proper funding method, benefit administration technology, compliance resources and carrier relationships, we can design a comprehensive program designed specifically around your needs and those of your employees.

For a small business, shopping for group health insurance is more difficult now than ever. The Affordable Care Act has introduced an array of benefit and pricing variables that make it difficult to find the right plan for you and your employees at a price you can afford. Add to that the host of new compliance regulations, tax-related products and guidelines, wellness programs and funding methods and, well, managing benefits can be a full-time job! At PA Health Advocates, our team of experts can help you sort through these complexities to design a benefit program that’s the right fit for you company. Our vast array of internal resources coupled with strategically chosen vendors allows us to craft a strategy that will not only work for you today, but for years ahead as well.

The complexity of regulations that impact employers as a result of the Affordable Care Act, IRS and other employee related legislation can be a tremendous burden carrying stiff penalties, fees and interest for non-compliance. On top of that, rules and regulations are constantly changing from year to year, requiring an on-going, regular review of practices. Our team of experts can help you develop an effective strategy for maintaining compliance in a way that allows you to progress toward your business goals.

Business owners today can increase their control over employee benefit programs and increasing insurance costs by introducing consumer driven administrative services, such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs), Health Reimbursement Accounts (FSAs) and/or Premium Only Plans (POP). Additionally, the same vendors offering these services can often assist you in preventing costly penalties and taxes by working with you to provide COBRA Administration, 5500 Preparation, help with 1094 and 1095 filings, nondiscrimination testing and ERISA Compliance.

With the increasing number of individuals continuing to work past age 65, there’s a good chance your business either has or will have Medicare eligible employees on the payroll. There’s also a good chance that either the individual or the benefits representative at your company will have questions about Medicare benefits, enrollment or related issues. Medicare is loaded with confusing language, similar plan names, critical deadlines and a complex rating schedule. Our Medicare experts can educate and assist you and your employees to evaluate the best coverage, compare carriers, navigate the enrollment process and field any questions that may arise.

Ancillary benefit programs, when designed properly, provide employees with the ability to fill any needed gaps in coverage at rates lower than what they would be able to obtain on their own. Additionally, by offering products and services like critical illness insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, life and disability insurance, long term care insurance, dental and vision insurance, pre-paid legal and stand alone wellness, businesses can increase employee morale, productivity and work efficiency all increase…enhancing the firm’s growth and competitiveness.

Today, there are a multitude of different funding strategies available to groups of virtually all sizes. With our knowledge and expertise, we can work with you to discover if an alternative funding model can benefit the unique demographics and utilization of your workforce. Properly fitted, one of these alternative funding solutions could help you generate substantial cost savings and greater transparency without sacrificing the level of benefits you offer your employees.

Every year, businesses are faced with a renewal deadline for their group benefit programs, allowing them an opportunity to perform a thorough review of each plan and making revisions, when necessary. Strategic planning for the renewal process is critical, as it can assure that the benefits offered by the company are the proper fit for the needs and circumstances of both the employer and employee.

We begin preparation for each renewal year several months in advance, formulating a strategy with you based on a review of the latest market products, innovations and trends, along with your firm’s objectives. From this plan we negotiate with several leading carriers to obtain the benefit package that best suits your vision and your employee’s needs, at pricing that works for you.

The rapid expansion of human resource and benefit administration technology solutions is enabling employers to significantly increase operating efficiencies in areas that are often described as the “backbone” of their business. But there are a multitude of vendors claiming solutions that include payroll, onboarding to retirement, schedule management, benefit administration and other human resource related features. Choosing the right solution is the key to obtaining the maximum satisfaction and performance from an HRIS system, as it can lead to better talent recruitment and retention, more accurate processing of all HR and benefits related functions and increased flexibility for employees with self-service tools.

Benefits are a big decision that your team needs to be confident of. Across the board, cost is only one determining factor. With that said, under ERISA fiduciary guidelines, you are required to document your cost control measures. Whether it is annual RFP's, price negotiation, creative planning strategies, parts analysis (Plan Admin, PBM, etc.) or claims advocacy for out of pocket reductions, we, and our partners, can help.

Four key responsibilities of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. To effectively work, data and analysis are necessary along all parts. Being members of SHRM, NAHU, CPBGH and other trade groups give us data on the standard practices of your competitors. Equally, our partners use rich reporting features available to you to help through all four of the responsibilities of your management.