If you are an employer searching for how to best insure your employees with Group Health Insurance in the East Bay Area, whether you are in Fremont, Hayward, San Leandro, or Oakland, my advice is to find an Independent Broker that specializes in Health Insurance and Group Health Insurance. If you have a broker or find one that is more of a generalist, run screaming. Our services are free and if you end up with a broker that does not know the landscape of Group Health Insurance or Employee Benefits, you are doing yourself a big disservice. Since our services are free, having an expert is a big deal.
Having an expert in Employee Benefits and Group Health is a good thing
When you enlist the services of an expert, you are utilizing their knowledge of the industry and their years of experience in this very dysfunctional world. Group Health is not only expensive, its something that you don’t want to get wrong. When I got into the industry in 2003, it was not nearly as complicated as it is today. With all of the mandates and compliance issues that employers face, its something that you want to make sure you have dialed in properly. A miss step can cost you big. If the Dept of Labor ever comes to your business, you had better be prepared to show them how you are compliant. There are too many compliance issues to go into for this little blog, but rest assured, if you don’t have those issues covered, you will find out in a big hurry
Compliance issues with the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare
With the Affordable Care Act coming into play in 2010, employers are having to do things that defy logic. Again, I can’t get into specifics, but just know, that if you are an employer, you just can’t have some Employee Benefits and forget it. There are some steps you have to take and paperwork that you need to have on hand to avoid problems and penalties. Even if you don’t have over 50 employees, you still have to take action on some issues. A good broker that specializes in Group Health Insurance or Health Insurance, knows what I’m talking about. My advice, find a broker that you trust. Google them. Stalk them a bit and find out what they are all about. How are their ratings. Its all important. If they are idiots, you’ll find out fast!