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Employee Assistance Programs 101

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have been around for longer than you might think, and have an interesting origin. They began in the 1940s as programs to help combat employee alcoholism, and from there the Employee Assistance Program evolved to help employees manage daily challenges in work and life. Maintaining a healthy work life balance can be difficult for many employees, which can cause stress, affect well-being, and lower productivity levels. As an employer, an EAP can be a major benefit to you; having one in place can help keep your employees healthy and happy, which will in turn help boost your bottom line. Before you can decide whether an EAP is right for your business and your employees, you need to know exactly what they are and what you can offer your employees through them.

What Is An Employee Assistance Program?

EAPs are voluntary benefits that employers can choose to offer. You are not required to provide them, but they can be useful. Not all Employee Assistance Programs offer the same services, but services offered can include:

Counseling for personal and work-related issues, including anger management, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, psychological problems, psychiatric disorders, chronic disease, stress management, and grief.
Training and development for things like communication skills, conflict resolution, team-building, leadership coaching, and more.
Resources and referrals for childcare, and other forms of care.
Financial or legal resources for planning, retirement, divorce, custody cases, debt, and more.
Access to wellness programs such as those for weight management and substance abuse, as well as gym memberships.

Services provided are free to employees, and sometimes for their families, as well.

Why Offer an EAP?

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, in 2003, U.S. companies lost more than $44 billion due to low productivity related to employee depression. Companies also lost $100 billion annually, or $3,000 per employee, because of substance abuse and mental illness. If you can help your employees manage their stress, you can help avoid this decrease in productivity.

blue arrow going downward with a blue background. — *Employee Assistance Programs will help decrease turnover rate of your employees, as well as absenteeism due to stress.*

Employee Assistance Programs provide emotional support and help employees maintain a healthier lifestyle. Employees can meet with EAP consultants by telephone or in person for assistance with problems that keep them from doing their best. Offering an EAP can increase employee satisfaction and productivity, while decreasing:

The cost to your business of employee stress
The risk of workplace violence
Turnover
The risk of litigation
Absenteeism

Determine What To Offer

Your employees have different needs, so it can be difficult to determine which benefits to provide. In order to determine which services to offer, you should conduct a healthcare survey. Ask your employees what matters most to them, but remember to keep it confidential.

The well-being of your employees matters. There are a variety of Employee Assistance Programs to choose from, and even some comprehensive group health insurance plans that offer some of these services. EZ can help sort through all of your options. Our highly-trained agents can assess your business and what your employees need. We will provide you with guidance to find a great plan that works for everyone and will save you money. To compare quotes instantly, simply enter your zip code in the bar above, or to speak directly with an agent, call 888-998-2027.

Common Group Health Insurance Documents & Forms

When you decide to offer group health insurance to your employees, you will need to fill out multiple forms, and provide others to your employees. This can be a tedious process, but if you have an HR department, then they will most likely deal with most of the forms and paperwork. But that does not mean that there aren’t some forms that you, as the employer, will need to stay on top of, provide to and discuss with your employees. There are some forms required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and your specific state that you should be familiar with.

First, Know How to Classify Your Business

Before you apply for health insurance, you will need to identify what type of business you have. To figure this out, you can use your tax form:

Schedule C Form 1040= Sole Proprietorship
Schedule K-1 Form 1065= Partnerships/LLP
Schedule K-1 Form 1120S= S-Corporation/LLC
Tax Form 1120 W/Schedule 1125E= C-Corporations

Application For Group Health Insurance

After you have spoken to an insurance agent, and have found the best plan for your business, the next step is to sign up. You will need to fill out:

Employer Application– This is the first document that your EZ agent will have you fill out. You will need to provide the following information:
- Your name
- Address
- Business Type
- Premium contribution- In most states, employers are required to contribute or pay for at least 50% of each employee’s health insurance premiums
- Statement of compliance
- Metal Tier you will be enrolling in

Along with this document, you will need to submit proof of your business location, proof of business type and payroll documentation.

Documents To Provide to Your Employees

After you have completed the application for group insurance and have been approved for coverage, you will need to present the plan to them, explain it, and and provide them with:

IRS Form 1095-C: You will supply this form to your employees each year. It notifies them of their eligibility for health benefits.
Change Request Form– Your employees will need this form in case they have to add or remove someone from their plan.
Employee Enrollment Guide– This informs your employees about their available health plan options, how much they cost and how to enroll in a plan.
Explanation of Coverage (EOC)– This is provided by the insurance company, and explains all the details of the health plan’s benefits. It outlines what is covered and what is not.
Explanation of Benefits (EOB)– This is provided by the insurance company and will be sent to you and your employees after each visit to a doctor or medical professional. It reviews the total amount charged, what the insurance policy covered and how much is owed by the policyholder. What is owed is generally the copayment or coinsurance.

Need Help?

Trying to figure out which group plan is best for you and your employees is a lot of work. There are so many insurance companies, and each has multiple plans to compare. Because EZ.Insure works with a variety of insurance companies around the country, we have easy access to all available plans. We can compare plans in minutes for free, answer any questions about business requirements for group insurance, and guide you through the process. We work hard to save you as much money as possible, because we know that group insurance can be costly.

To get free instant quotes, simply enter your zip code in the bar above, or to speak directly with an agent, call 888-998-2027.

What Is Defined Contribution?

Being a business owner has its perks, but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is keeping your employees happy and healthy by offering them some kind of health benefits. Group health insurance can be quite costly, but there are other alternatives you can offer that will help your employees get the care they need. For example, offering a defined contribution plan would help keep your employees covered, while keeping costs down for you.

What Is Defined Contribution?

If you choose to offer traditional group health insurance, you will have to pay a large portion of your employees’ premiums. While your premium contributions are tax deductible, they can still be expensive, and these contributions are just not possible for some businesses. But defined contribution plans are not traditional health insurance plans. With this type of plan, you provide a fixed dollar amount towards your employees’ healthcare costs, and they are responsible for purchasing their own health insurance policy. This can also include offering pre-funded accounts or arrangements like HSAs or HRAs to your employees. By going the defined contribution route, you will be able to better control your monthly costs.

person sitting on a chair with a suit on handing another hand a check — *Defined contribution plans allow you to give your employees a set allowance every month that they can use towards their health insurance.*

How It Works

If you choose to offer a defined contribution plan, each of your employees will get a fixed monthly dollar amount to spend on qualified medical expenses. Employees then select and purchase a plan for their family and you reimburse them up to the amount of their defined contribution allowance. The amount you select is locked in for a year, but you can adjust your contribution at the renewal period, and choose to provide more or less money for the following year.

The advantage of these plans is that they allow your employees to take control of their own healthcare costs. Employees can use their defined contribution allowance toward any qualified out-of-pocket health expenses, including insurance premiums and medical procedures. If they choose a plan with a premium that costs more than your defined contribution, then your employee will have to pay the difference.

Benefits

Defined contribution plans can be beneficial to both employers and employees. For employers, they provide:

Tax advantages– Your contribution to your employees’ healthcare costs will mean less for you to pay in payroll taxes.
Flexibility- A defined contribution plan is a self-funded plan, so you can choose how much or how little you want to contribute. You can also customize benefits for an unlimited number of employee classes, meaning you can choose to set contribution amounts based on date of hire, full-time status and more.
Employees will have the ability to choose their own health insurance plan.

For your employees, they provide:

Tax advantages- Employees will not pay payroll taxes on the money you contribute. In addition, as long as they use the contribution, it is also income tax-free.
Lower monthly premiums- Individual health insurance costs less than half the amount of group coverage.
Choices- Employees have the ability to choose the insurance company and plan that is best for their specific needs.

Need Help?

You’re running a small business, and we know that it is important for you to save as much money as possible. But we also know that employees will be more willing to stay with your company if you provide health benefits; if you don’t, you could end up losing some good workers. You need to keep your employees healthy without breaking the bank, and that means researching the different healthcare benefits you can offer your employees. EZ can help with that, and we’ll do it for free! We will compare all plans in your area and help guide you in the right direction. One of our licensed agents will work with you to ensure you get the most benefits while saving the most money. To get free instant quotes, simply enter your zip code in the bar above, or to speak directly with an agent, call 888-998-2027.

Most Common Employee Benefits

One of the best ways to attract and retain the best employees is to offer competitive benefits. These benefits can come in many forms and are an important part of any employee’s compensation package. One of the most important benefits to most employees is health insurance; in fact, 56% of employees would prefer a healthcare plan to a raise! When you offer employees benefits such as health insurance, they are not only healthier, but happier. And what comes of happy employees? Higher productivity that helps boost your bottom line! So take a look at your budget, and see if you can consider offering one (or more) of these common employee benefits.

How to Structure Your Benefits Plan

a man standing at a crossroad with one green sign pointing right to daylight and a red sign pointing left to a dark night — *You have 2 choices when it comes to offering health benefits to your employees.*

Generally businesses utilize two different structures when it comes to offering employee benefits:

Organizational-oriented benefits: Employers offer employees specific or defined benefits, such as traditional health insurance, a pension or other retirement plan, or wellness program. These benefits are employer-owned and employer-selected.
Consumer-oriented benefits: Employers offer employees employer-funded dollars to purchase their own benefits. When it comes to healthcare, this can be something like a QSEHRA or ICHRA, both of which would allow you to reimburse your employees for wellness and medical expenses.

Health Insurance

Health insurance is a must for many people when they’re looking for a job, and also the reason that many employees choose to stay in a job. In fact, research shows that 78% of employees are more likely to stay with an employer if they are offered health insurance. Many employees are interested in traditional healthcare plans, because they provide the most comprehensive benefits for them and their families.

If you choose not to offer a traditional health insurance policy, you do have other options, but not offering any kind of healthcare plan can end up costing you. Losing even one employee can cost you 50-400% of their annual salary. If you are unsure whether you can afford a group health plan, remember that there are a variety of group health insurance plans to choose from, and many are more affordable than you might think. This is especially true when you consider how important this benefit is to employee retention! To find out what plan is right for you, speak with an EZ agent.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) or Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

In addition to offering a healthcare plan to your employees, you can also choose to offer a FSA or HSA. Both of these types of accounts allow employees to put tax-free money aside for qualified medical expenses, but they have a few differences. FSAs work with nearly any health insurance plan, but if your employee does not use the money by the end of the year, then they will lose it. With a HSA, the money employees put aside will continue to roll over for as long as they have the account. Unlike FSAs, though, HSAs must be paired with a High Deductible Health Plan.

Dental & Vision

You can also choose to offer your employees dental and vision care. Dental and vision coverage is cheaper than health insurance and so is much more affordable to offer. Employees with families or those who have issues with their vision will find these benefits especially important.

Retirement Savings Plan

A retirement savings plan, or 401(k) plan, is a great way to help your employees save towards their retirement. You can offer a certain amount to match their contributions. For example, many companies offer up to a 4% match to what their employees contribute to the plan.

Paid Time Off

This is a great benefit to offer your employees. Being able to go on vacation and get paid for it is great for your employees’ morale. In addition, being able to call in sick and not have to worry about losing a day of pay is essential for many, especially employees with families.

Short-Term Disability

Offering short-term disability means that employees will continue to get paid if they cannot work after experiencing an injury or illness. Employers continue to pay a percentage of employee’s income until they are able to come back to work.

Wellness Programs

These programs have grown in popularity over the years. Wellness programs help employees get healthier by providing benefits such as gym membership stipends. These programs don’t need to focus solely on physical health: according to one study, 73% of employers have mental wellness programs for their employees.

When it comes to choosing which benefits to offer your employees, you can’t go wrong with health insurance. If you are looking for a group health plan, there are some things to consider, such as making sure you are following state regulations, and that you are getting the most benefits for the best price. EZ.Insure agents can check all these boxes and more, because we work with the top-rated health insurance companies in the nation. We will compare plans in your area and find a plan that fits your budget, and makes your employees happy. To get free instant quotes, simply enter your zip code in the bar above, or to speak to an agent, call 888-998-2027.

How To Cancel Your Group Insurance

Despite the fact that health insurance is an important and very popular employee benefit, many small business owners have been canceling their group insurance policies. For some business owners, even the tax credits that are meant to help provide coverage to employees do not offset the price of group insurance enough. For other business owners, the problem might be not enough participation in their group insurance plan, because employees are choosing to purchase individual coverage. We know that this can present a dilemma to many small business owners; after all, you want to make sure that your employees are healthy and happy. Remember you have other options to provide healthcare to your employees. So if you do decide to cancel your group insurance plan, you should first understand what other health benefits you can offer employees, as well as how to cancel your group plan.

Canceling Your Group Health Insurance Plan

The good news is that you can cancel your group health insurance plan if you really need to. Most group health insurance plans are a unilateral contract, meaning that you can cancel your plan at any time during the year. Some carriers require you to provide 30 days notice, but this is not always necessary. Be aware that some insurance carriers have penalties if you do decide to cancel early.

To get a better understanding of your carrier’s cancellation process, take a look at your contract; in fact, it is always a good idea to be fully aware of this information before you sign up for any plan. To get the cancellation process started, you will need to call a customer representative at your insurance company. Once you’ve spoken with a representative, you will usually need to confirm your cancellation in writing, either by letter or fax; some companies will even accept an email. Be sure to confirm exactly what you need to do to cancel your coverage so you will not be billed for the following month.

While you have every right to cancel your group insurance benefits, you should be aware that, under the Affordable Care Act, you are required to give employees at least 60 days advance notice prior to the cancellation date. This will allow them to take advantage of their 60-day Special Enrollment Period and choose a new insurance plan.

Signing Up For A HRA

HRA written on a paper with a stethoscope and black highlighter next to it — *You can offer your employees other benefits, such as a HRA, and choose from different kinds that would benefit you and them more.*

Even if you choose to cancel your traditional group health plan, you still have other options for helping your employees pay for healthcare. For example, you can choose to offer them a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). HRAs have been growing in popularity among employers because of their flexibility and lower costs when compared with traditional group healthcare. With these arrangements, you give employees a set monthly amount to spend on their own health insurance policy. Your employees have the option to use this allowance to buy their own individual health insurance plan and get reimbursed for qualified health insurance premiums up to the amount of their reimbursement allowance. The are a few different types of HRAs to choose from, including:

QSEHRAs (Qualified Small Employer HRAs) are for businesses that have fewer than 50 employees. In order for employees to receive the tax-free reimbursement, they must have an individual health plan and submit a claim. With a QSEHRA, you can choose the monthly reimbursement amount, but you must offer the same amount to all employees, and there are set limits on how much you can reimburse them each month.

ICHRAs (Individual Coverage HRAs) are for businesses of any size. With these arrangements, you can create “classes” of employees, such as part-time or full-time, and offer them different monthly reimbursement amounts. With an ICHRA you can offer as much money as you would like; there is no limit on monthly reimbursement amounts.

ICHRAs are especially popular because you can customize them to meet your company’s needs. You can choose any monthly reimbursement amount, as well as whether to reimburse your employees for premiums only or premiums and qualified medical expenses. You can also choose whether to structure reimbursement the same for all employees or to vary the amount by family size.

Keeping Your Employees Notified

As mentioned above, you will have to notify your employees once you decide you are going to cancel your group insurance policy. If you choose to offer your employees a HRA instead, make sure to keep your employees in the loop about this as well. This is especially important if you decide to offer a QSEHRA, as they will need to have their own individual health plan to participate. Your employees might feel like they are “losing” healthcare if you switch from a traditional group plan to a HRA, so make sure to thoroughly explain the HRA that you chose and its benefits. There will also be new rules for them to get used to.

If you choose to switch to a HRA, explain to your employees:

How the HRA works
The benefits of a HRA, such as more flexibility
How to request reimbursement

Need Help?

If you’re looking to save some money and are ready to ditch your group health insurance plan, the first thing you should do is come to EZ.Insure. We will provide you with your own agent who will assess your business’ needs, and suggest ways to offer your employees the best health benefits possible without breaking the bank. When you use EZ.Insure, you will save time, money, and the headaches that come from trying to research and compare all the different plans out there. EZ understands how important it is to save money, which is why we will instantly compare all available plans in your area for free. To start saving, simply enter your zip code in the bar above, or to speak directly to an agent, call 888-998-2027.

Can Employees Have Both A HRA & HSA?

Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are both great options for employees and employers who want to save money on group health insurance costs. Many employers and employees wonder if they can have both at the same time, and the answer is: yes! If you are willing to offer your employees both, a HRA and HSA, you need to have an understanding of how the two benefits interact with each other in order to get the most out of each.

The Difference Between HSAs & HRAs

HSAs are savings accounts that work alongside your employees’ health insurance plan. Employees are only eligible for a HSA if they are enrolled in a qualified high-deductible health plan. Your employees can contribute money to the account, which then acts like a bank account for medical expenses; you can also contribute to their HSAs, and receive some of the tax benefits. The money that you both contribute is pre-tax, earns tax-free interest, and will not be taxed when employees withdraw it to use for qualified medical expenses.

HRAs are not savings accounts like HSAs, they are arrangements that allow employers to reimburse employees for medical expenses. They are intended to help employees pay for out-of-pocket health-related expenses, and are often used in place of a traditional group health insurance plan. Depending on the type of HRA you offer, there may or may not be a limit on the amount that you can reimburse your employees in a given year.

The Different Types of HRAs

First, let’s take a look at the different types of HRAs you can offer your employees. There are integrated HRAs, which are offered alongside traditional group health insurance, including:

5 different colored signs on a pole pointing in different directions. — *There are 5 different HRA types to choose from to offer your employees.*

ICHRAs (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements), which allow tax-free reimbursement of benefits for any size business, and for any amount.
EBHRAs (Excepted Benefit HRAs), which are limited to paying for excepted benefits, such as premiums for vision and/or dental coverage and premiums for plans that are exempt from ACA rules (short-term plans).

Standalone HRAs do not have to be tied to a group plan. These include:

QSEHRAs (Qualified Small Employer HRAs) – These are meant for businesses with less than 50 employees that do not offer a group insurance plan. Business owners can set up a QSEHRA for their employees to help pay for benefits tax-free.
Spousal HRAs– These are for employees who are covered by a spouse’s group plan. They cannot be used to reimburse employees for their premium payments.

Retiree HRA– These are for former employees. They allow you, the employer, to help pay for any retired members’ insurance premiums and medical expenses.

When Offering Both HSAs & HRAs

In order for your employees to be eligible for a HSA, they must have a high-deductible health insurance plan (HDHP) that is HSA-qualified. If you choose to offer a HRA and a HSA, then the HRA has to follow the same rules as a HDHP, and cannot begin paying out until your employee’s minimum “deductible” amount is met.

male caucasian dentist looking in the mouth of a patient — *Limited-purpose HRAs will reimburse employees for expenses exempt from HSA deductible, such as dental work.*

Another way to offer a HRA that is HSA-qualified is by offering a limited-purpose HRA that only reimburses employees for expenses that are exempt from the HSA deductible requirement. Expenses exempt from the HSA deductible are:

Health insurance premiums
Dental
Vision
Long-term care premiums
Wellness and preventive care such as check-ups and quitting smoking or weight loss programs

You want to help your employees with their healthcare costs, but there is nothing wrong with also wanting to offset the costs of group health insurance. One way to do this is by offering both a HRA and a HSA. It can be done! As long as you follow the guidelines, then everyone can benefit from these arrangements. If you are unsure or need some help, then we can assist you. To compare plans, and to find a plan with the most coverage and savings, enter your zip code in the bar above. Or to speak directly to one of our licensed agents, call 888-998-2027.