Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • October 15, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 9 Each client's situa on is different and results may vary from those presented here CLIENT: NOT-FOR-PROFIT SCHOOL This employer froze its pension plan and wanted to con nue providing excep onal employee benefits, so it simultaneously increased its 401(k) match. Knowing this decision could upset some long-term employees, the plan sponsor turned to H&H for assistance. Get the full story at hhconsultants.com/succeed Put our knowledgeable professionals to work for your business. We offer a full range of comprehensive actuarial, investment advisory and re rement plan consul ng services designed to iden fy, achieve and exceed each client's specific need. RETIREMENT EDUCATION TO FORGE AHEAD FOCUS and a wide range of educational con- tent all based on their unique profile. Q. The program is currently being piloted in Connecticut. How long will the pilot last and how will it inform the program's use going forward? A. This pilot program being offered to employer groups in Connecticut is still underway, running through Dec. 31, 2019. Upon completion of the pilot, both qualitative and quantita- tive data analysis will be conducted to determine the attitudinal, clini- cal and financial impacts. Results from the pilot will inform go/no-go decisions on whether to broaden this diabetes-management program across Harvard Pilgrim's commercial business/service areas. Q. Wellness programs have been an increasing focus for insurers in recent years and a more common employee benefit. What other new programs are out there? A. While many employers still offer the basics such as flu shot clinics and biometric screenings, increasingly they are hosting convenience ser- vices such as mobile vision vans and preventive dental clinics to provide care at the worksite. These services are typically deliv- ConnectiCare joined last year. That move brought the total num- ber of plans available on SHOP to 14, up from nine previously. "We try to put our plans on all the possible shelves, meaning our small group plans," said Roberta Wachtel- hausen, a senior vice president at the Farmington-based insurer. "That's why we're on SHOP." Employers buying SHOP plans can now select plan options from both An- them and ConnectiCare, not just one or the other. Access Health CT is us- ing that as a new competitive advan- tage because the ability to mix and match coverages stands in contrast to buying group health insurance directly from a single insurer. "That's extraordinary flexibility that your employees would have, where they could pick between two different carriers," said Access Health CEO James Michel. "If you go to one carrier directly, you could only use that carrier's plan." Another advantage to buying a SHOP plan is the availability of a small- business tax credit, which covers up to 50 percent of a business' contribution to employee premium costs (or up to 35 percent for qualified nonprofits). However, brokers and others have said the tax credit's eligibility rules — to qualify an employer must provide health insurance to all employees, pay for at least half the employee-on- ly premium cost (or 35 percent for nonprofits), have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent em- ployees and pay an average annual wage below $53,000 — make it difficult for many small employers to qualify for it. The push to promote SHOP is largely separate from the marketing Access Health does for its individual market exchange, which currently has about 114,000 enrollees to SHOP's approximately 1,400 members, said Andrea Ravitz, the exchange's marketing and sales director. Part of that is because of differences in how exchange plans are sold. Customers buying individual plans have to do so during the annual open enrollment period, which runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 22, for people buying insurance for 2019. But small-busi- ness employers are able to buy from SHOP year-round. So while the marketing strategy for individual plans is focused on tailor- ing ads to targeted groups and media — i.e. running a different ad on social media platforms than the ones airing at movie theaters — efforts to get the word out for SHOP is more about networking and courting brokers. "From a purely advertising per- spective this is not where you'd go and put an ad on TV," Ravitz said. "I think our focus continues to be on brokers that sell to small businesses." For so-called micro-businesses like Galvin's, outreach from Access Health is just what the doctor ordered. These very small businesses typically lack a human-resources department or staffers knowledgeable of the ins and outs of health insurance, he said. "This is ex- tremely complex information to take in by anyone, let alone people who are working every day," Galvin said. Access Health plans to expand its business- community engagement, as it works toward gaining SHOP a better reputation among brokers and businesses. "A lot of what you're going to see … is (Access Health) building those relation- ships, and letting them know about the advantages of coming through the exchange," Ravitz said. Continued on next page >> James Michel, CEO, Access Health CT Andrea Ravitz, Marketing and Sales Director, Access Health CT A 90-MINUTE WORKSHOP, WITH PANEL DISCUSSION, Q&A AND LUNCH OPENING: Bart Kollen Deputy Commissioner, DECD TOPICS: What's Working What's Not: Bridging the Gap Good Help is Hard to Find Supply Chain Gang The Future of Manufacturing PANEL INCLUDES: David Hudson President & CEO, Joining Industries Dennis Chalk President,Marmon Engineered Wire & Cable Paul Murphy Executive Director, Aerospace Component Manufacturers Dr. James Lombella President, Asnuntuck & Tunxis Community Colleges Dr. Cliff Thermer Chair, Business Mgmt. & Adv. Manufacturing, Goodwin College Professor Michael Accorsi Sr. Assoc. Dean, School of Engineering, UCONN Susan Palisano Director, Education & Workforce Development CT Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. Manufacturing, Workforce Development & Education NOVEMBER 1, 2018 | 9:30AM-12PM | NEW ENGLAND AIR MUSEUM 36 Perimeter Rd. Windsor Locks, CT 06096 RSVP BY OCTOBER 26TH! To: Kevin Bielmeier, kbielmeier@cerc.com PRESENTED BY: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONS OF EAST GRANBY & SUFFIELD

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