No matter who we learned from, all of us can agree that some of the biggest and best impacts in life came from our teachers. So as a school administrator, taking care of teachers should be a top priority! In this blog, we’re going to revisit a concept we learned a long time ago from our teachers, and then use it as our tool for researching high quality health benefits for teachers. Which concept? The 5 Ws! Yes, you remember them: who, what, where, when, and why.
As a school administrator, taking care of teachers is a top priority!
1. WHO are you looking for?
Let’s get started by asking about who you’re looking for. You see, group plans treat many different people as though they are all exactly the same. However, one size never fits all! Everyone has different medical needs and desires that they want to see in their actual health plan. Why would you give the same thing to everyone?
The same thing for every different person on the team?
This question was actually asked back in the 1980s about group retirement benefits, too. Employees all used to be given a pension plan in a similar “one-size-never-fits-all” approach. Then as time passed and new solutions were developed, group retirement benefits (pension plans) were very quickly replaced by individual retirement benefits—otherwise known as 401(k)s!
You’re probably familiar with the 401(k) version of an individual benefit. 401(k)s have been around for a long time and have proven to be very successful in both saving money for the employer and giving a more satisfying experience to employees—one that matches the needs of each individual.
All of this goes to point us in a better direction of who you’re looking for in hopes of finding better benefits for teachers. It’s time to move beyond just giving one group plan for the entire team, and instead explore the different types of health plans available for all the different types of people on your staff.
2. WHAT are you looking for?
Now that we know who you are looking for (many individuals with many unique needs), it’s time to talk about what you’re looking for.
What we’ve learned so far is that in the old group plan construct, having only one type of group plan (no matter how “good” it may seem) will never be able to satisfy the specific personal needs of every individual. Therefore, what you’re looking for is a method of individual plans structured to meet the individual needs or preferences of each and every individual teacher. And I’m here to tell you they do exist!
But it gets even better than that…
Individual plans have a super power that group plans will never have.
Not only can individual plans meet all those individual needs, they also unlock something called Advanced Premium Tax Credits. These are, quite simply, a discount on the individual plan. Do you know what this practically means? It means that if you have a traditional group plan, you are paying full price.
With individual plans, however, you pay a discounted rate! Currently, the median discount percentage across the U.S. is 89.2% off the cost of the individual plan. This means you could be saving $6,903 per year per employee right now! Those are funds that could be used to improve the health benefit or even upgrade other fringe benefits offerings. Individual plans are the key to offering high quality health benefits for teachers.
3. WHERE are you looking?
Understanding who you’re looking for and what you can give them to improve the health benefit is great, but it leads us even further to the next question of where you’re looking for these individual plans.
What you offer right now is directly based on where you’re looking.
Obviously the health benefits you offer right now are based largely on where you’ve been looking. Therefore if you keep looking in the same places, you’re going to keep finding the same things: those old, outdated group plans that are way too overpriced. If you’re trying to find high quality health benefits for teachers, the status quo is not going to cut it.
You need a method that allows you to offer your employees individual plans, but manage them all together — so you can keep the convenience of a group plan and also unlock the power of personalized products and the huge discounts mentioned above. This is why when we’re talking about high quality health benefits for teachers, you’ve got to change where you look.
Allow me to introduce you to Managed Individual.
Managed individual is essentially the 401(k) of health benefits! It’s your opportunity as the employer to give funds to your team for them to get an individual health plan—and still keep those tax credits unlocked! That’s right, you can make sure your dollars are actually going further for your team, so they get something even better for even less.
4. WHEN are you looking?
If all of these questions have gotten your interest so far, you’ve probably already been led to the next question: when are you looking? Well, I have good news. Managed individual actually allows you to leave your old group plan and make the transition any time during the year that makes the most sense to you and your team.
You do NOT have to wait to find high quality health benefits for teachers!
In fact as a school administrator, if there truly would be a 30-50% savings compared to what you’re currently spending (and you can improve the benefit for your teachers) why would you leave that offer on the table?
Again, if you’re looking for something better, you don’t have to wait. The time to evaluate is right now!
5. WHY are you looking?
To finish up, I want to ask why you are looking. What if better health benefits could be the top way for you to attract and retain the top talent on your team while saving millions of dollars back into your budget? The best teachers are found and kept by high quality health benefits for schools! What if there were enough savings here that you could actually get the resources you need?
Start the programs and give the tools your teachers have been asking for!
What if this is the way you finally have the resources you need to start those new programs your tenured teachers have been asking for? Maybe this is finally the way you equip teachers with the classroom tools they need to make their student experiences better than ever before! Not only is this possible, but it’s happening all over the United States. And now it’s your turn!
Your best first step is to learn more by registering for my free, live educational webinar by visiting remodelhealth.com/webinar. This is your no-cost, risk-free step to gain the knowledge you need about the 401(k) of health benefits to ensure you’re doing the very best you can for your teachers. Join thousands of others just like you as we move into the future of health benefits together.
Important Notice: Remodel Health does not intend to provide specific insurance, legal, or tax advice. Remodel Health always recommends consulting with your own professional representation to properly evaluate the information presented and its appropriate application to your particular situation.