One of the strangest parts about owning a business is that apparently the moment you become a business owner, you're expected to know everything. Employment law. Payroll. Taxes. Workers' comp. Cybersecurity. Marketing. Retirement plans. Insurance. Leadership. Accounting. HR. And, of course, how to fix the copier when it starts making that noise again.
I don't remember taking classes on any of this. Apparently, when you file the paperwork to own a business, someone is supposed to mail you an honorary master's degree in Everything. Mine must have gotten lost.
I've been doing this long enough now to know that some of my most expensive lessons have come from the moments when I didn't know what I was doing but acted like I did. I think that's one of the traps of running a business. People come into your office with questions. Employees expect answers. Clients expect answers. Your family assumes you know what you're doing. So, you get pretty good at looking like you know what you're doing.
Over the years, I've gotten much more comfortable saying, “I have absolutely no idea.” That's usually followed by a much better question: “Who knows more about this than I do?” I used to think leadership meant having the answers. Now I think a significant part of leadership is knowing when you don't.
Which brings me to group health insurance.
I've worked in insurance for a long time, and even I don't pretend to understand every detail of group health insurance. I know enough to be dangerous. I know enough to ask questions. But when conversations start getting deep into level funding, provider networks, prescription formularies and all the different ways a plan can be structured, I know exactly what to do. I find Jim, Katrina or Mac. That's their world, and right now, their world is changing quickly.
If you own a business in Montana and provide health insurance to your employees, there are some significant changes happening. PacificSource is exiting the group health insurance market. Our Employee Benefits team is seeing significant increases on some traditional health plans. There are also alternative options many business owners probably haven't heard much about. Some could save you money or give you more flexibility, but they could also change which doctors your employees can see, how prescriptions are covered or how much financial risk your business takes on.
If you understood all of that immediately, congratulations. You understand group health insurance better than I do, and I've worked in insurance for most of my adult life.
For the rest of us, here's the good news: you don't need to understand all of it. You need to understand what it means for your business.
I've learned that lesson in plenty of areas of running a business. I don't need to know how to wire the new lights in our office. I need to know who does. I don't need to understand every line of the tax code. I need a CPA who can explain the lines that matter to me. And I don't need to know every detail of every health insurance plan. I need someone I trust to explain where the differences matter.
You don't need to know exactly how level funding works. You need to know whether it makes sense for your company. You don't need to memorize a prescription formulary. You need to know whether the medications your employees depend on are covered. You don't need to become an expert on provider networks. You need to know whether your employees can still see the doctors they want to see. And you definitely don't need to spend your evenings Googling insurance terminology. You have Netflix. You have a family. You have options.
That's why Jim, Katrina and Mac start with questions before they ever recommend a plan: What matters most to you? What can your business realistically afford? What do your employees need? How important are your benefits to keeping your best people? What are you willing to change? What level of risk are you comfortable taking?
Those are questions you can answer. Then do what I do: find someone who knows more than you do and start asking questions.
Because I know how this goes for business owners. Your renewal arrives and you open it between a meeting, three emails, an employee question and whatever minor emergency has somehow become your responsibility that day. You see the number went up. Again. You don't have time for this, so you ask the obvious question: “Is there something cheaper?” Somebody shows you an option. You see the savings, say “That one!”, sign the paperwork and move on to the other 4,762 decisions demanding your attention.
Then somebody needs the insurance.
That's a terrible time to discover why the cheaper plan was cheaper. Maybe it was exactly the right move. But maybe the doctor someone has been seeing for ten years isn't in the network. Maybe a prescription is covered differently. Maybe there's financial risk you didn't realize your company was taking.
The problem isn't choosing the less expensive option. The problem is choosing an option you don't understand.
That's where good advice matters. A good insurance advisor shouldn't make the decision for you. They should make sure you understand the decision you're making. Here's what you have today. Here's what's changing. Here are your options. Here's what they cost. Here's what you gain. Here's what you give up. Here's the risk. Now, knowing all of that, what makes the most sense for your business and your people?
That's the conversation Montana business owners need to be having now, not when the renewal deadline is three days away or after an employee discovers something isn't covered the way everyone thought it was.
You don't have to know everything. You just have to know who to call.
If your business provides group health insurance, this is not the year to put your renewal on autopilot. The market is changing quickly, and your plan, your costs and your options may all look different. I know insurance probably isn't the reason you started your business. That's okay. You run the business. We'll learn the insurance words.
Don't wait. Schedule an appointment with our Employee Benefits team now. Bring us your current plan, your renewal if you have it, and your questions, especially the parts that make absolutely no sense. We'll help you understand your options, what they cost and what they actually mean for your business and your employees.
You don't need to become a health insurance expert. You just need one on your side.
Schedule your Employee Benefits Review with Glidewell today.