Group Major Medical
We educate Business Owners who are Concerned, Confused, and Overwhelmed with Healthcare and Rising Healthcare Costs.
We teach our clients to develop strategies that help contain this alarming and 
out of control trend.
With our strategies, our clients experience small increases in their healthcare costs without compromising their level of benefits. We are often able to improve the level of service for their employees.
Existing Conditions
Annually, healthcare costs are increasing in double digits. If this trend continues, Healthcare costs will double within the next five years. Many employers will be forced to drop sponsorship of their plans entirely.
Current Focus
Most employers and health agents focus each year on finding the most competitive carriers with the best level of benefits and rates. Prior to renewal time agents and employers huddled together to determine which insurance carriers have the best networks, benefits, and pricing. This strategy often results in changing carriers on an annual basis. Employers taking this road over the next three to five years will be unlikely to lower healthcare costs while maintaining the same level of benefits.
Healthcare Costs is a Business Issue and Not a Health Issue
If you want to reduce your healthcare costs, you must view it as a business issue and not a health issue. Top management must be actively involved. A paradigm shift is necessary. A fundamental key to managing healthcare costs is behavioral change of the population. The first priority is health and the productivity of the employees and their dependents. Managing the healthcare plan should be a secondary consideration. Employees health should be a primary goal for business success and survival.
Group Disability
Disabilities Cause Nearly 50% of All Mortgage Foreclosures, Compared to 2% Caused by Death*
An illness or accident resulting in disability can strike when least expected. Mortgages, car payments, utility bills and other financial obligations quickly exhaust most people's savings. Shenandoah Life's Disability insurance programs can help protect employees from financial disaster if they become disabled by an accident or illness for an extended period of time.
- 43% of all 40-year-olds will suffer a disability for at least 90 days prior to retirement**
- 17.2 million people, or 9.9% of the working age (16-64) U.S. population in 1998 had a disability that prevented or limited work***
Protect Your Employees Against Loss of Income When It's Needed Most! \
Sample Long Term Disability Plan
| Monthly Benefit | 60% of basic monthly earnings |
| Maximum Monthly Benefit | $3,000 or $5,000 |
| Minimum Monthly Benefit | The greater of 10% or $50 (may vary by state) |
| Elimination Period | 90 or 180 days |
| Maximum Benefit Duration | Social Security Normal Retirement Age |
*Source:"Health Affairs", The Policy Journal of the health Sphere, Feb. 2, 2005
**Source:"Market Watch: Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy," Health Affairs Web Exclusive, Feb. 2, 2005
***Source: Stoddard, S., Janus, L., Ripple, J. and Kraus, L. (1998) Chartbook on Work and Disability in the United States, 1998. An InfoUse report. Washington, D.C.: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
Group Life / Accidental Death & Dismemberment
Each year, more than 8 million workers are seriously hurt or killed by injuries sustained while they're off the job.* 
Life insurance is the most common insurance benefit provided by employers, after medical benefits. Yet millions of Americans are underinsured: in fact, during the past two decades, the number of households in America without life insurance has increased by 103% - even though the number of households has risen only 39%.**
*Source: National Safety Council, March 2007
**Source: "Trends in U.S. Household Life Insurance Ownership", Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA) Report, 2000.
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Group Dental & Vision
80% of American Adults Currently Have Some Form of Periodontal Disease.*
A Valued Benefit
Recent studies have shown that oral health is imperative to general, total-body
health. An unhealthy mouth can lead to an unhealthy body. Encouraging your
employees to safeguard their dental health by offering group coverage can
result in healthier, more productive employees. Providing your staff with group
dental insurance is just as important as offering any other benefit, and no
benefit package is complete without dental coverage.
Almost 90% of systematic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, display early warning signs in the mouth**
*Source: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 2006
**
Source:
Academy of General Dentistry, AGD Impact "Oral Health Mirrors Overall Health", April 2001.
Regular eye exams can provide important information about overall health and spot many health problems, including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and glaucoma, in the early stages of development.
Eleven million Americans have vision problems that could be easily corrected by the use of eyeglasses or contact lenses (National Institutes of Health, 2006). While vision insurance can help combat the costs of regular eye examinations and prescription eyewear, it is also an important wellness benefit.
"Every seven minutes, someone in America will become blind or visually impaired." American Foundation for the Blind – 2005
Section 125
How Employers Benefit from a Section 125 Premium Only Plan
Employers benefit by reducing the matching Social Security and Medicare taxes, and sometimes Federal and State unemployment taxes.
Example
| Pre-tax Cafeteria Plan contributions | $3,000 |
| Number of employees | x 20 |
| Total employee annual contributions | $60,000 |
| FICA factor (Medicare & 55) | x .0765 |
| Estimated annual FICA savings alone | $4,590 |
How Employees Benefit from a Section 125 Premium Only Plan.
Employees save 22.65% to 40% of their pre-tax Section 125 premium deductions in just federal income taxes alone. The actual tax savings are on city, state, and federal income taxes, including Social Security and Medicare taxes on all money employees use to pay for their portion of insurance premiums. Under a Section 125 POP employees take-home pay is increased which helps reduce the high cost of providing health coverage for family members.
