California health insurance  -  Health insurance for engineering

New Angle For Engineering Firms to Save on Health Insurance

 

 

Finally, a solid knowledge of science is getting rewarded.

 

By a health insurance carrier no less.

 

The last 10 years have seen a slow, unending spiral in the cost of group health insurance rates.

 

This is probably the best opportunity we've seen in a decade for engineering firms.

 

We'll get into the how, why, and what of it so you can get started.

 

If you want to run your quote, you can do so any time here. There's no cost for our services as Licensed health insurance agents.

 

The Basic Blueprint for ACEC Engineering Savings

 

Here's the high-level overview. We'll dig into the weeds later.

 

One of the top 3 largest health carriers nationwide has partnered with ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) to offer health insurance to qualified companies.

 

As licensed group agents, carriers are always touting some new offering and it's usually just marketing hype (anathema to a self-respecting engineer).

 

We were skeptical of this new offering for this very reason.

 

We then started to see the rates.

 On average, we're seeing 25% savings over any equivalent plan on the market.

 

25%. That's not a round error.

 

Initially, we assumed there was an error with the quote and so we double-checked.

 

No error.

 

From year to year, it's not unusual to see savings in low to mid single digits between carriers for a given benefit level.

 

25% is not that!

 

So...our next thought...what gives?

 There's no free ride in the universe. (quick...name the law of conservation!!)

 

We enquired further as to how this carrier was able to do this.

 

After all, this was a full network offering...no skimpy doctor lists.

 

It was one of the strongest carriers in the country. No fly-by-night, bogus company.

 

Their response was interesting.

How can The Carrier and ACEC offer Engineering Firms Such Savings?

 

It's pretty genius.

 

First, congratulations.

 As engineers, you take care of yourself. On average, you avoid drinking, smoking, drug-use and other self-destructive behaviors more than other professions.

 

You do go to the doctor more and check any little thing but you also tend to take the needed meds as instructed and avoid the big hospital bills.

 

That last one is huge.

 

In fact, the vast majority of health care costs are tied to facility-based care.

 

Think hospital, surgicenter, etc.

 

The 80/20 rule is in full effect here. Even more so.

 

Roughly 90% of health care costs in an insured pool comes from 5% of the insured.

 

Think of chronically ill, heavily medicated, and facility frequented.

 

Open heart surgery can run $100K. Chronic diabetes can run $40K. Hep C can run $60. Annually. Dialysis...$5K monthly. On and on and on.

 

Guess what, engineers (on average) avoid these situations more than the average.

 

That's the genius behind the carrier's move.

 

You have to hand it to them. Innovating while their industry is in existential peril.

 They realized that engineers are much less costly to insure and found a way to Cherry-pick this risk pool.

 

Again, genius!

 

So what did they do?

The Carrier/ACEC partnership for Engineering firms

 

They partnered with an Engineering Association, one of the oldest and most respected in the country.

 

They took large group benefits and composite ratings and used them as a scaffolding for small companies (size 1-100).

 They are able to avoid many of the onerous ACA requirements since it's structured in a trust.

 

Look...as engineers, you have to respect their ingenuity in approaching this problem. (health insurance cost, that is).

 The ACA requirements (age rating, pediatric dental, etc) alone have roughly doubled the cost of group health insurance since 2014.

 

ACEC provides the eligibility side of it and also allows the carrier to craft the program in such a way that you receive the savings (association structure).

 

There is a cost for the ACEC membership but this included in the quote so that you see the net health insurance cost.

 

By the way, the 25% savings we've seen includes the membership.

 

You'll also get savings and other benefits from the membership but the real reason is to save on the health insurance.

 

So...what do the options look like and how do we get the quote?

The Engineering Health Plan Options

 

First, we have a full range of plan options including PPO, HMO, and HSA's depending on your area.

 

We also have United's full suite of ancillary products such as dental, vision, and life. ACEC is also partnered with Guardian for more robust life, disability, and other products.

 

The plans are guaranteed issue (regardless of health) and utilize the full carrier networks, nationwide.

 We can offer a range of plans to each employee based on a defined contribution (either fixed dollar amount or % of a given plan).

 

This "cafeteria" option is very popular since it allows an engineering firm to plan their budget better while allowing employees to choose plan coverage according to health care needs, budget, and doctors.

 

This is most exciting offering we've seen in group health insurance (assuming you're an engineering firm) in years!

 

So, who can qualify?

Qualifying for ACEC Engineering firm.

 

Basically, we want to be in the 87 SIC codes.

 

Which firms are eligible to join ACEC in California:

1. Definition. A Member Firm of a Chapter shall be an individual firm, parent firm, branch office, division or subsidiary which meets all of the following criteria:

a. The firm provides independent consulting engineering or land surveying services for clients on a fee basis, and

b. The firm has one or more Individual Members who is a Registered Professional Engineer or Licensed Land Surveyor in the State of California, and

c. The firm does not have any commercial affiliations or alliances which would create a conflict of interest with the practice of consulting engineering or land surveying, except that a firm may be a subsidiary of a parent or holding company, providing the firm is independently managed by a Registered Professional Engineer or Licensed Land Surveyor, and

d. The firm maintains an established office or offices for the practice of consulting engineering or land surveying within the boundaries of a Chapter. However, if a firm’s office is located outside the boundaries of a Chapter, that firm may nevertheless be a Member Firm of that Chapter provided that the firm’s membership is approved by both the Chapter in which the office is located and the Chapter which the firm wishes to join.

 

There is no requirement that the firm be registered by the State.

 

If you have any questions please contact us at help@calhealth.net or request your quote here.  We can also send a secured email to request the census to quote.

 

The key factor as to whether they will qualify for regular membership is:

 

Does the company have a registered professional on staff?

Remember, it doesn’t just have to be a registered civil engineer or land surveyor, it can be an whole array of other licensed professionals:

 

• AG—Agricultural
  
• CE—Civil Engineer
  
• CH—Chemical Engineer
  
• CO—Consulting Engineer
  
• CS—Control System
  
• EE—Electrical Engineer
  
• FP—Fire Protection
  
• GE—Geotechnical Engineer
  
• IE—Industrial Engineer
  
• LS—Land Surveyor
  
• ME—Mechanical Engineer
  
• MF—Manufacturing
  
• MT—Metallurgical
  
• P—Petroleum Engineer
  
• PS—Photogrammetric Surveyor
  
• RG—Registered Geologist
  
• QU—Quality
  
• SE—Structural Engineer
  
• SF—Safety Engineer
  
• TR—Traffic Engineer
  
  We're happy to help you with questions on ACEC qualification. Please email, call 800-320-6269, or run your quote here.

How to proceed if you're a prospective Engineering Firm?

 

It's easy...and free.

 

Please complete the quote request form here.

 

You can also send census data securely to us. Just request secured email from help@calhealth.net  and we'll send a secured email.

 

You can look at the form what is required but it's basically:

 

1. Date of birth of employee and dependents if quoting
2. Zip code
3. Company name, zip code, and SIC code
4. Contact phone and email

 

That's it!

 

Since it's treated like large group, the quote process generally takes about 5 days since it's technically under the Large group wing of the carrier.

 

We'll turn your quote around right away and expedite the entire process.

 Our services are free to you as licensed group health agents who have helped 1000's of companies secure coverage since 1995.

 

United has a similar Association health plans with the National Restaurant Association here.

 

Call us at 800-320-6269 and we can go through any questions you have.  It's what we do all day long.  Thanks!