Managing Employee Benefit Costs Negotiations via Our Websites

Are health insurance costs giving you a headache? Wondering if you can negotiate flat premiums for your business? Here's a reality check - rising premiums are the norm, but it's worth a shot to keep them reasonable.

According to the grind, employer-sponsored healthcare coverage in the U.S. is expected to increase by 6% to 9% in 2025. Small businesses I know have seen their premiums skyrocket by 10%, even 15%.

But is it possible to buck the trend?

Your benefits partner - the key to success

During my stint as the finance boss at Campbell Soup's large supply chain operation in Northwest Ohio, collective bargaining every three years usually meant heated discussions about healthcare costs and plan designs. Luckily, we had a team of benefits gurus to help us navigate the jungle.

When I moved to running a small business, I was suddenly in a meeting with our benefits consultant (I hadn't even known we had one until then!). They simply told us what our healthcare premiums would be in the new year - talk about a fact-drop! It was too late to explore other options. So, we gave them the boot and started shopping around for a new consultant. During our latest renewal, after being slapped with an initial proposal for a steep premium hike, we managed to negotiate a multi-year, flat premium agreement.

Picking your benefits pal

Finding the right benefits partner is crucial. Research the firm, check their rep, understand their areas of expertise, crunch the numbers, and get comfy. It's also essential to meet the lead executive and their crew. Make sure their personality and style click with yours, as trust is key.

Ideally, your benefits partner should be one of your besties, your trusted advisor, and your go-to confidant for benefits issues and beyond. Setting the tone for the relationship means being direct about your expectations and priorities, asking questions, leveraging their knowledge, and being a good communicator.

Be honest, open to dialogue, and explore every service your partner offers. Don't take your benefits consultant for granted, and don't let them forget they're working for you. Trust is everything, and that's why you hired them in the first place.

With your benefits partner by your side, you can define a benefits strategy, develop plans to manage costs, perform the ol' block and tackle activities, and even educate your employees on deriving value from the benefits you offer. They can also help with plan designs, audits, compliance, and renewals.

Negotiating a successful renewal

We secured a multi-year healthcare agreement, featuring flat premiums, while holding onto consistent plan designs. To ace your renewals:

Understand your benefits strategy. What do your employees need, want, and expect? What's the impact on your overall business and HR objectives? Can you offer top-tier benefits to attract top talent, or is a more basic package enough? Knowing your strategy will help you determine if any changes to your mix of benefits are needed.
Be proactive. Coordinate with your benefits partner to map out the timeline for each aspect of the renewal process - from preparing requests for proposals to delivering employee communications - well in advance.
Get out there early. Your current provider might offer a renewal plan that looks pretty tempting, but be careful! To lock in that "special pricing," they might ask for your firm commitment in just one to two weeks. Getting competitive bids from other providers early in the game will help you assess your current provider's "specials" objectively.
Expect alternatives. Your benefits partner should procure proposals from multiple providers, encompassing quotes for a variety of plan designs from each, and perform due diligence on each proposal. A good partner will leave no stone unturned to ensure they bring the best deal to the table.
Review the proposal. Once your benefits partner has obtained and analyzed each proposal, they should walk you through them in detail, contrasting and comparing each proposal to your current plan, highlighting the pros, cons, and other points of interest, and offering a recommendation.
Revisit plan designs. Sometimes, a different plan design can be a win-win, better meeting the needs of your employee base while costing less than your current plan.
Multi-year contracts. Don't be afraid to consider multi-year agreements - carriers often offer incentives to secure your commitment.
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