If you’re shopping for health insurance for your small business, you may be surprised to learn this. CaliforniaChoice is available exclusively through employee benefits brokers. Employers do not purchase CaliforniaChoice coverage directly from CaliforniaChoice.
At first, this may seem like an extra step. But there’s a good reason for that: You get a professional in your corner to help you evaluate your options, manage the details, and support you and your employees after the sale.
Think of your broker as your health insurance guide — not just someone who helps you choose a plan, but someone who can be there for the rest of your coverage throughout your life.
Here are five common questions employers ask about working with a broker.
1: Why do I need a broker? Couldn’t I get better service by working directly with CaliforniaChoice?
Health insurance can be complicated. There are different premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, provider networks, and plan types to consider. Then there are your employees, who may have very different needs. An employee may prefer a lower monthly premium. Someone else wants to hire a particular doctor. Someone with an ongoing prescription cares most about drug coverage. Another employee may prefer a PPO for more flexibility. An experienced health insurance broker can help you understand these choices.
With CaliforniaChoice, employees may be able to choose from a variety of health plans and coverage options, including HMOs, PPOs, and HSA-eligible plans, depending on where they live and the options available through your group.
Your broker can help you:
- Compare health insurance plans and coverage options.
- Understand premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance.
- Assess provider networks and help employees check in with their doctors.
- Understand prescription drug coverage.
- Complete the enrollment papers correctly.
- Prepare and hold your employee open enrollment meetings.
- Navigate questions that come up throughout the year.
Instead of trying to become a health insurance expert yourself, you have a professional to guide you.
2: Does using a broker increase the cost of my business?
This is one of the biggest misconceptions about working with a health insurance broker. Using a broker does not mean you are paying additional fees to access coverage. Broker compensation is typically built into the insurance carrier’s pricing structure.
In other words, working with a broker is not necessarily a choice between paying less or paying more for the same coverage. The biggest question is what you get from having a skilled professional help you navigate the process. This support can have real value.
A broker can help you compare options, identify potential cost-saving opportunities, and choose coverage that fits both your employees’ needs and your business budget. For a small business owner who is already handling hiring, payroll, customers, and everything else, having someone knowledgeable about the health insurance market in your corner can be invaluable.
3: How do I know my broker will recommend the right plan?
It’s fair to ask. When you’re dealing with traditional insurance options, it can sometimes feel like you’re choosing between one carrier at a time. California Choice works differently.
Depending on where your business and employees are located, your group may have access to more. Seven participating health plans and dozens of coverage options Through the California Choice program. This may include statewide health plans such as Anthem Blue Cross, HealthNet, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare, as well as regional health plans available in those areas. With CaliforniaChoice, your employees have more opportunities to find coverage that fits their individual needs.
Your broker can help you understand these choices, but You and your employees ultimately choose the coverage that’s right for you.
4: Isn’t a broker most useful in purchasing projects, No After the sale?
Choosing a health plan is just the beginning. Once your coverage is in place, you and your employees may still have questions. A doctor can leave a health plan’s provider network. An employee may need help understanding their benefits. You may have questions during your next renewal. Open enrollment is rolling again. This is when being a broker can really pay off.
Your broker can help you throughout the year, including:
- Open Enrollment: Your broker can help employees explain plan options and simplify the enrollment process.
- Updates: When it’s time to reevaluate your coverage, your broker can help you review your options and understand what’s changing.
- Employee Questions: From provider networks to benefits planning, your broker can help employees find the answers.
- Health Insurance Changes: Health care regulations, carrier policies, and plan details are subject to change. Your broker can help you understand what these changes mean for your business.
The goal isn’t just to sell you a health plan. It’s about building an ongoing relationship with someone who understands your benefits strategy and can help you manage it.
5: What else can a health insurance broker do for my business?
A good employee benefits broker can be an important resource for your business beyond purchasing initial health insurance. Health insurance comes with rules, deadlines, and regulatory requirements that can be difficult to keep up with when you’re busy running a company. Your broker can help you understand the changes that may affect your business and point you to the resources and information you need to stay on top of your responsibilities.
For example, certain employers may have ACA reporting requirements depending on their size and circumstances. Not sure if your business qualifies as a Applicable large employer (ALE) or what does this mean for your reporting obligations? This is exactly the kind of question you can bring up with your broker. We discuss this in more detail in another post, 5 Things Employers Need to Know About ACA Minimum Value Reporting. Add a link once published Helping you understand things like this proves the real value of your broker.
California Choices What Makes California Different?
The value of working with a broker becomes even more apparent when you see what CaliforniaChoice has to offer. CaliforniaChoice is designed to give small businesses Greater control over health insurance costs while giving employees more choice.
Control your contributions.
with one Defined contribution Typically, you determine the amount or percentage that your business contributes to employee health coverage. Employees can then use this contribution toward available health plan options. This gives you more predictability about your benefits budget while giving employees more flexibility to choose coverage based on their individual needs.
Lock in your price for 12 months.
CaliforniaChoice also offers a 12 month price lockhelps protect your business from mid-year premium increases. If premiums change at your next renewal, you can reassess your defined contribution for the following year instead of being surprised by a mid-year increase.
Give employees more choices.
CaliforniaChoice offers a range of health plan options and provider networks designed to give employees choice at different price points. This means you’re not necessarily asking every employee to fit into the same health plan. You can give your employees more choices while maintaining more control over your business’s contributions.
Your broker is more than a salesperson.
The fact that CaliforniaChoice requires a broker is not intended to make buying health insurance more complicated. This is designed to make the experience more personal. Instead of navigating group health insurance alone, you have someone who can help you compare options, explain details, communicate with your employees, support open enrollment, and help you with questions.
If you’re considering employee health insurance or want to see if CaliforniaChoice might be a good fit for your business, start a conversation with a broker. If you don’t already have one, CaliforniaChoice makes it easy to find one.
