Self-Funded Insurance
Published on a national health company's website May 2012
What if there was a way to save money on insurance premiums while still offering the same or even better coverage to your employees? Self-funding can be the solution to growing insurance costs.
Self-funded insurance is an arrangement where an employer provides health care or disability benefits to employees with his or her own money. Even though these plans are called “self-funded” the employer does not usually assume 100% of the risk. Extreme claims like transplants, leukemia or premature births can be covered by a type of insurance called stop-loss or excess-loss which covers the employer for claims above a predetermined price. In other words, the employer accepts most of the risk, but controls that risk with a stop-loss plan.
Changing from an insurance program that is the same for every employee to a self-funded plan can make a big difference. Joseph Berardo, Jr., CEO of MagnaCare said in an interview with Inc Magazine, "Savings can be in the range of 10 to 20 percent.”
Link to Article: Should You Self-Fund Your Employee Benefits?
Sometimes most of your employees are young and healthy which means it doesn’t make sense to pay a one size fits all premium. In many cases, self-funding will not only save you money, but it will attract the best employees.
The pros are clear. Self-funding allows the employer the flexibility to customize insurance plans for everything from employee eligibility to cost-sharing to retiree benefits.
Many large and small companies are switching to self-funded insurance programs because it saves them money and allows them to create customized plans. It just makes sense.
Sources:
Physicians Health Care
Society for Human Resource Management
Kaiser Family Foundation
What if there was a way to save money on insurance premiums while still offering the same or even better coverage to your employees? Self-funding can be the solution to growing insurance costs.
- 47% of employees in firms with 200-999 workers are self-funded according to the 2011 Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans.
- Self-funded insurance plans are the solution to almost half of large employers’ problems.
- The same Kaiser Survey reports 58% of workers with a self-funded plan are also covered by stop-loss insurance.
Self-funded insurance is an arrangement where an employer provides health care or disability benefits to employees with his or her own money. Even though these plans are called “self-funded” the employer does not usually assume 100% of the risk. Extreme claims like transplants, leukemia or premature births can be covered by a type of insurance called stop-loss or excess-loss which covers the employer for claims above a predetermined price. In other words, the employer accepts most of the risk, but controls that risk with a stop-loss plan.
Changing from an insurance program that is the same for every employee to a self-funded plan can make a big difference. Joseph Berardo, Jr., CEO of MagnaCare said in an interview with Inc Magazine, "Savings can be in the range of 10 to 20 percent.”
Link to Article: Should You Self-Fund Your Employee Benefits?
Sometimes most of your employees are young and healthy which means it doesn’t make sense to pay a one size fits all premium. In many cases, self-funding will not only save you money, but it will attract the best employees.
The pros are clear. Self-funding allows the employer the flexibility to customize insurance plans for everything from employee eligibility to cost-sharing to retiree benefits.
- Self-funding gives the employer better data because the employer will have greater access to employee health claims.
- Another benefit is more cash flow. You know how to use your money better than an insurance company.
- Self-funded coverage is not prepaid which means you will have more cash on hand to invest in other areas of your business.
- Self-funding allows that flexibility. Your employees will also be happy because their premiums will be lower.
Many large and small companies are switching to self-funded insurance programs because it saves them money and allows them to create customized plans. It just makes sense.
Sources:
Physicians Health Care
Society for Human Resource Management
Kaiser Family Foundation
Be Sincere in Criticism; Don't Sugar Coat
Published in college newspaper April 2012
In audio engineering there is a process called hard limiting. Audio editing programs display sound or music as a wave.
If you have ever seen a heart monitor where there is one continuous digital line that rises and falls with the beat of the heart, it is the same idea. When hard limiting is applied to an audio wave it cuts off the peaks on the top and bottom creating a uniform wave. Instead of a healthy beating heart it is a flat line.
Cutting off the top and bottom peaks of a sound wave will take out any notes above the range that the speakers can pick up. You can still tell a piano from a guitar and a male from a female voice, but there are no notes above or below the range the speakers can produce.
Mormon culture can be a hard limiter to excellence. In our effort to make everyone feel good, we limit people from doing really great work. We also prevent people from failing because we don’t want to hurt their feelings. There are winners and losers in life. If you don’t experience failure, you cannot appreciate success.
I remember playing sports at church. We never had winners or losers (except in church basketball). Many times we didn’t even keep score. I can’t tell you how many group sessions I’ve sat through at BYU—Idaho where my classmates were supposed to give legitimate feedback and all they said was, “It’s really good. I just really like how you did this.” I even asked how to improve, but they were afraid to say anything to avoid hurting my feelings.
If my work sucks, I need you to tell me because if you don’t I will never improve. I understand where they are coming from. It is totally uncomfortable to point out a person’s weaknesses. We’ve been taught our whole lives not to do that, but there is a way we can bring weakness to light to inspire change. That’s how Jesus taught.
Steve Jobs could be one of the most ruthless business leaders of our time, but he drove people to excellence. In Walter Isaacson’s book “Steve Jobs” Isaacson says, “But even though Job’s style could be demoralizing, it could also be oddly inspiring. It infused Apple employees with an abiding passion to create groundbreaking products and a belief that they could accomplish what seemed impossible.”
Jobs held people accountable. He also told people when their products didn’t fit his standards. His employees learned to do great work.
I’m not suggesting that we be rude or give destructive criticism. I am suggesting that we change our “feel good” culture to one of open and constructive criticism. When I read a classmate’s paper and I can tell they just threw words down to get points without any thought, I want to reserve the right to respectfully tell them their work is garbage. Also, when a student goes out of his or her way to do more than is required I want to celebrate the success in front of the class and let other people know that it is okay to shine.
A person can stand out from the crowd, do excellent work and still be humble enough to hold a temple recommend.
Instead of manipulating the results like a hard limiter does to recorded music to make it sound better than it really is, we should allow the real, raw audio to play. Sometimes there are notes that hurt to listen to, but occasionally there is a combination of music that truly moves and inspires.
In audio engineering there is a process called hard limiting. Audio editing programs display sound or music as a wave.
If you have ever seen a heart monitor where there is one continuous digital line that rises and falls with the beat of the heart, it is the same idea. When hard limiting is applied to an audio wave it cuts off the peaks on the top and bottom creating a uniform wave. Instead of a healthy beating heart it is a flat line.
Cutting off the top and bottom peaks of a sound wave will take out any notes above the range that the speakers can pick up. You can still tell a piano from a guitar and a male from a female voice, but there are no notes above or below the range the speakers can produce.
Mormon culture can be a hard limiter to excellence. In our effort to make everyone feel good, we limit people from doing really great work. We also prevent people from failing because we don’t want to hurt their feelings. There are winners and losers in life. If you don’t experience failure, you cannot appreciate success.
I remember playing sports at church. We never had winners or losers (except in church basketball). Many times we didn’t even keep score. I can’t tell you how many group sessions I’ve sat through at BYU—Idaho where my classmates were supposed to give legitimate feedback and all they said was, “It’s really good. I just really like how you did this.” I even asked how to improve, but they were afraid to say anything to avoid hurting my feelings.
If my work sucks, I need you to tell me because if you don’t I will never improve. I understand where they are coming from. It is totally uncomfortable to point out a person’s weaknesses. We’ve been taught our whole lives not to do that, but there is a way we can bring weakness to light to inspire change. That’s how Jesus taught.
Steve Jobs could be one of the most ruthless business leaders of our time, but he drove people to excellence. In Walter Isaacson’s book “Steve Jobs” Isaacson says, “But even though Job’s style could be demoralizing, it could also be oddly inspiring. It infused Apple employees with an abiding passion to create groundbreaking products and a belief that they could accomplish what seemed impossible.”
Jobs held people accountable. He also told people when their products didn’t fit his standards. His employees learned to do great work.
I’m not suggesting that we be rude or give destructive criticism. I am suggesting that we change our “feel good” culture to one of open and constructive criticism. When I read a classmate’s paper and I can tell they just threw words down to get points without any thought, I want to reserve the right to respectfully tell them their work is garbage. Also, when a student goes out of his or her way to do more than is required I want to celebrate the success in front of the class and let other people know that it is okay to shine.
A person can stand out from the crowd, do excellent work and still be humble enough to hold a temple recommend.
Instead of manipulating the results like a hard limiter does to recorded music to make it sound better than it really is, we should allow the real, raw audio to play. Sometimes there are notes that hurt to listen to, but occasionally there is a combination of music that truly moves and inspires.
Water Polo and Prayer
Published in worldwide magazine: New Era September 2009
A few years ago I attended a summer swim camp at Brigham Young University in Provo. Growing up in Tennessee, I didn’t have many LDS friends. I was so excited to fly west to meet other kids who shared my faith and passion for swimming. Little did I know that my decision to go to this camp would change my life.
Everyone attending the camp was given a dorm room and a roommate. My roommate, Sam, was on the water polo and swim teams at his high school in Southern California. He also just happened to be one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. Within five minutes of talking, I felt like we were best friends.
Sam talked to everyone. He radiated confidence and people were drawn to him. He made more friends in a few hours than I had made in my entire life!
That night, Sam and I were in our dorm room getting ready for bed. I was about to turn the lights off when Sam quietly knelt down beside his bed and offered a silent prayer. I was blown away! How could someone so popular and so good at sports be humble enough to get on his knees and pray at night? I turned the lights off and lay in bed thinking about what I had just witnessed.
The next day, I saw my friend in a whole new light. I wondered why he continued to kneel and pray at night when his parents weren’t there to make him. I started to have my own personal prayers. At first, I just prayed while lying in bed. Then I built up the courage to pray kneeling. I would turn the lights off, kneel, pray, and jump into bed in one fluid motion.
As I started to gain confidence in myself, my prayers grew longer and more sincere. My spiritual strength increased with every prayer. I realized what Sam had was spiritual strength. He radiated that strength with love toward other people.
By his example, Sam inspired me to pursue water polo, and I later had the wonderful opportunity to play for the University of Tennessee. But more importantly, through his simple example of praying each night, he inspired me to continually strengthen myself spiritually through prayer. (See Alma 37:6–7.)
Serving as a missionary in the Idaho Pocatello Mission, I pray more than ever before. Every time I kneel in prayer I remember my friend Sam, who taught me by example to “set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer” His strength and comfort (Daniel 9:3). This is one way that I can achieve the divine potential that God sees in me.
A few years ago I attended a summer swim camp at Brigham Young University in Provo. Growing up in Tennessee, I didn’t have many LDS friends. I was so excited to fly west to meet other kids who shared my faith and passion for swimming. Little did I know that my decision to go to this camp would change my life.
Everyone attending the camp was given a dorm room and a roommate. My roommate, Sam, was on the water polo and swim teams at his high school in Southern California. He also just happened to be one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. Within five minutes of talking, I felt like we were best friends.
Sam talked to everyone. He radiated confidence and people were drawn to him. He made more friends in a few hours than I had made in my entire life!
That night, Sam and I were in our dorm room getting ready for bed. I was about to turn the lights off when Sam quietly knelt down beside his bed and offered a silent prayer. I was blown away! How could someone so popular and so good at sports be humble enough to get on his knees and pray at night? I turned the lights off and lay in bed thinking about what I had just witnessed.
The next day, I saw my friend in a whole new light. I wondered why he continued to kneel and pray at night when his parents weren’t there to make him. I started to have my own personal prayers. At first, I just prayed while lying in bed. Then I built up the courage to pray kneeling. I would turn the lights off, kneel, pray, and jump into bed in one fluid motion.
As I started to gain confidence in myself, my prayers grew longer and more sincere. My spiritual strength increased with every prayer. I realized what Sam had was spiritual strength. He radiated that strength with love toward other people.
By his example, Sam inspired me to pursue water polo, and I later had the wonderful opportunity to play for the University of Tennessee. But more importantly, through his simple example of praying each night, he inspired me to continually strengthen myself spiritually through prayer. (See Alma 37:6–7.)
Serving as a missionary in the Idaho Pocatello Mission, I pray more than ever before. Every time I kneel in prayer I remember my friend Sam, who taught me by example to “set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer” His strength and comfort (Daniel 9:3). This is one way that I can achieve the divine potential that God sees in me.