Unfortunately as a new company entering the world of employee benefits, they were forced into the high priced community rated pool created under Obamacare. At the time the idea of using alternative funding arrangements was just beginning to enter the equation and for many insurers they were still a work in progress. Many products were still being developed and few were approved by the Department of Insurance.
My client did what they had to do and bit the bullet paying a steep price. All the while knowing that I would be coming back this year with high expectations that we would have a few extra arrows in the quiver. Which is exactly what we brought.
I have to say, there was pain in the process. Employees had to complete an online data collection program. FormFire is an encrypted portal for employees that streamlines them through a questionnaire enabling their personal and health information to be integrated into almost any health insurer's application. While time consuming and tedious it's become the only way to effectively receive underwritten rates from insurance companies.
In the end it's the results that matter. A couple of month's worth of headache has resulted in this healthy small employer finding savings. And, they can confirm that there is a significant cost for Obamacare.
In case you want to know how much savings...
$55,475 to be exact. More than enough to help this growing start up hire an additional employee.