Ascension is pleased to announce that we have been invited to speak and will be sponsoring a booth at HR West again this year from March 7^th to March 9^th.

Come see Ed Bray, SVP, Compliance, and Tuan Nguyen, AVP, present The 2016 ABC’s of Employee Benefits (annually published in Employee Benefit News) on Monday,  March 7^th from 1:50pm – 3:05pm where he will provide a checklist of employee benefit to-do’s for 2016!

Come see Ascension at our booth!  Stop by for a chance to win some fun prizes, including $100 gift cards, and learn how we can we meet your wants, needs and expectations in this new world of employee benefits.

In addition to our session, the conference will feature 88 sessions, and speakers from companies like Pandora, Salesforce and Twitter. Find out about best practices and proven strategies of leading companies in the West that are paving the way for HR innovation. With tracks for startups, small business and technology, plus evergreen topics like employment law, recruiting and leadership, there’s something for everyone at HR West!

Check Out the Complete Session Lineup

HR West Also Brings You:

• Four world-renowned keynote speakers
• Recertification credit toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP and PHR/SPHR for most sessions
• An Executive Learning Lab led by TEDx presenter, Haas/Princeton professor (senior practitioners only)
• Innovative ways to donate unused vacation hours to the American Heart Association or a charity of your choice
• Community reception, networking lunches, speed networking and dinner meet-ups

The Premier HR Conference on the West Coast

NCHRA Members: $979

Join NCHRA: $1,146

SHRM Affiliate Member: $1,085

SHRM Member: $1,134

Non-member: $1,174

We would love to see you and are offering a $100 special guest discount to join us at HR West!
Use PROMO CODE: Guestofspeaker

Register today

Rates expire on March 3^rd, 2016.

 

Date: Tuesday, February 23 2016
Time: 10am PST
Who Should Attend: Forward thinking Sr HR and Financial Professionals in the Technology Industry
Duration: 60 minutes
Captive Launch Date: January 1 2017

While projections vary, the indisputable facts are that your health care costs will continue to increase, the competition for talent will intensify and you will be tasked with offering a competitive, relevant benefits package that attracts and retains talent. Consider this:

• Almost 50% of CFOs rate the cost of benefits and attracting & retaining talent as top concerns in 2016. Click HERE for survey
• 78% of hiring managers said finding highly-skilled tech talent will be a top hiring priority in 2016. Click HERE for survey
• Median unemployment and starting salary for tech workers in the Bay Area is <3% and $176k, respectively compared to national averages of 7% and $107k

If you have a Total Rewards philosophy and an interest in innovative strategies, funding your benefits through the Technology Captive and sharing risk with like-minded technology leaders may be the solution for your 2017 calendar year.

Join us to learn more about the timeline, opportunities, risks and rewards of funding your benefits through a Captive.

REGISTER NOW.

Congratulations on making it through one of the most legally and administratively challenging years in employee benefits history. But, as you know, employee benefits never sleep. Ed Bray, senior vice president of compliance with Ascension, provides the 2016 ABC’s of employee benefits – what he calls the annual “just tell me what I need to do” list.

See the list.

Please join us for a seminar and panel discussion, led by Shiraz Saeed, Cyber Specialist at AIG, and John Simios, ARM, AAI, Vice President, Captive Resources LLC.

This seminar will focus on sharing ideas and expertise regarding creative risk transfer solutions and assessing new and growing exposures for middle- market companies.

Questions Answered/Topics Covered:

• Market Update: Property & Casualty and Employee Benefits
• How can I assess my Cyber Risk?
• Am I large enough for a Captive? Isn’t that only for large companies?
• What are rates doing? Should I expect an increase in next year’s renewal?
• Regulatory Environment Changes: OSHA, ACA Compliance
• Learn about current Trends and Best Practices

Date:
Thursday, October 29th, from 8:00am to 10:00am
Location:
Charlotte Country Club, 2465 Mecklenburg Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205

RSVP to Michael Betters

First, the good news: the rate of growth for health benefit costs has slowed over the past three years! However, health costs are still increasing at double the rate of inflation. In fact, a recent employee benefits survey shows that nearly 84% of mid and large size employers will need to make substantial changes to their benefit offerings over the next three years.

On June 10th, join Beth Ercolini, Vice President and Senior Advisor at Ascension for part one of this complimentary webinar series. She’ll share market trends and solutions to manage future health care costs, including Consumer Directed Health Plans, Value Based Networks and Accountable Care Organizations (ACO).

Register now. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Most of us love summer. But long, hot days, coupled with heavy summer storms, hurricanes and periodic heat waves, all tax the power grid and can lead to inevitable blackouts. Now that summer’s officially on its way, what can you as a homeowner do to protect what matters to you most?

As with any disaster, building an emergency kit and having a family communications plan in place are two vital items to consider. And following your local utility energy company conservation measures helps utility companies avoid imposing rolling brownouts in the first place.

In addition, here’s a checklist that can help you protect your family before, during and after a blackout.

1. Keep bottled water handy. You can also fill plastic containers with water and place in your freezer.
2. Keep your car gassed up.
3. Make sure you would know how to manually release your garage door if the garage door opener was not operating.
4. Check with your pharmacist regarding any medications you are currently taking, especially if they need to be refrigerated.
5. Use flashlights whenever possible; leave the candles for another time.
6. Disconnect appliances, computers and other electrical equipment. A power surge or spike may damage these items.
7. Run your generator outdoors, never inside the house as carbon monoxide will build in closed spaces.
8. Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed whenever possible. Keep the cold air in.
9. Keep a portable radio handy. Listen to local news whenever possible for updates.
10. Keep cool whenever possible, paying special attention to the elderly and younger children. Towels soaked in water may provide some relief, applying to the back of the neck.
11. Take the stairs, even if you think the power is back on.
12. Follow the advice of emergency personnel, whenever possible.
13. Unless forced to evacuate, try to keep traveling to a minimum. (Traffic lights may stop working during blackouts.)
14. Use 911 for emergency situations only.
15. After the blackout, throw away any food that has been exposed to temperatures over 40 degrees fahrenheit for a prolonged period of time. When in doubt, throw it out!

Learn more about family communications plans and disaster preparedness, in this article, from ready.gov.

Senior Vice President, Compliance, Ed Bray is interviewed in the June 2015 edition of WorldatWork’s Workspan magazine. The article, Face Your Fears and Be a Good Listener, begins on page 60 in “Profiles in Career Excellence” section, (scroll through the online PDF of the magazine to read the article.)

With health & welfare benefit compliance not only moving a mile a minute, but twisting in many different directions, it’s hard to keep track of what you need to do and when.

To help you stay on track with the “what, when, why, who, and how,” we invite you to join our monthly compliance update webinar. Ed Bray, SVP, Compliance, will review and analyze the top health & welfare benefit compliance stories and issues for the month.

Each webinar will start at 10am PST / 1pm EST and will generally run about 30 minutes.

The webinar dates for the remainder of 2015 are:

• May 21
• June 18
• July 16
• August 20
• September 17
• October 15
• November 19

Register now. Please note that if you have registered for a webinar and are unable to attend, we will email you a link of the recording.

By Michael Babore, Executive Vice President, Ascension Collegiate Solutions

I have worked in the student insurance marketplace for over 15 years. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the past three years have been the most challenging for our clients and the marketplace in general.

The first challenge was understanding how the ACA would affect student health insurance plans (SHIPS). SHIPs aren’t like employer plans, and also aren’t like other types of individual plans, so we worked hard with our underwriting partners to understand the new regulations and make the necessary policy adjustments.

But that was only the first step. Next came implementing plans with expanded benefits and higher premiums. For some colleges and universities that had historically offered low-cost, limited-benefit plans that suited a young and healthy population, the higher costs associated with ACA-compliant plans was shocking. At the same time, the state insurance Exchanges came online, offering an option previously unavailable to college-age students. There was also a strong push by the Exchanges to get younger people on these plans with targeted marketing campaigns.

However, now that we have a clearer view of the ACA in terms of the both its regulations as well as what kinds of plans are being offered through the Exchanges, we have a lot more information to help determine what is the best option for students at higher education institutions.

Let’s take a closer look at the Exchanges versus SHIPs.

Exchanges

1. Affordability

   – Plans are generally affordable and priced based on health history as well as income. This seems like an advantage for the “young and healthies” that typically make up college populations. However, students that access the Exchanges for an affordable option often just select the cheapest Bronze option, a High Deductible Health Plan. From the student’s perspective, they are covered and can forget about it. The reality is that the student will still have to satisfy a large deductible ($6,600 for most Bronze plans). Too many students do not understand this, and find themselves paying out-of-pocket for day-to-day accidents or illnesses. Many, if not most, students don’t have the money required to satisfy the first $6,600 of their medical expenses, which could result in students having to decide whether to pay for their education or pay for medical treatment. Since 98% of all medical claims are under $5,000[1], this puts the responsibility of paying for their healthcare squarely on the student’s shoulders.

2. Subsidies

   – The subsidies offered to people in certain income brackets may sound appealing to students, as they perceive that subsidized Exchange plans are more affordable than the student health plan offered by their school. However, a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation that focused on IRS penalties in 2014 found that over 50% of individuals who accepted a subsidy for health insurance were not eligible for the amount they received[2]. We hear frequently that students are going to the Exchanges and answering the income questions accurately from their perspective, only to find out that mom and dad are claiming the student as a dependent on their tax return. Since subsidies are based on the total household income, families will be required to pay back the subsidy a student received in error. In this instance, what originally seemed to be a great value to the student has turned into a tax burden for their family.

3. International Students

   – Not only can the Exchanges be confusing for international students, but this population is not eligible for subsidies or Medicaid, since those are for U.S. Citizens or permanent residents only. Without guidance from foreign student advisors or insurance professionals, these students are unassumingly accepting subsidies without fully understanding the ramifications for doing so. In the past year our firm has seen a large increase of international students being deported for violating the terms of their visa.

4. PPO Networks

   – While Exchange plans have access to national PPO networks, the networks affiliated with Exchange plans are often limited networks, especially in non-metro areas. What’s happening is that national PPO networks will offer a much smaller network carve-out to Exchange plans. We’ve heard reports (and seen first-hand) of signs in doctor’s waiting rooms saying they don’t participate in the Exchange PPO network. The result is that students are left with few choices of in-network providers near campus, and end up paying the higher out-of-network prices – including coinsurance, deductible, and out-of-pocket max – for services they need.

SHIPs

1. SHIPs help the school’s bottom line.

   Our consultants have reported that many colleges and universities no longer see the value of providing a comprehensive health insurance plan to their students. The simple truth is that requiring students to have a health insurance plan is in the best interest of the college or university; keeping students healthy and enrolled has a significant impact on the school’s bottom line.

2. SHIPs are usually the best deal for students.

   Many think the Exchanges are good enough for their students. However, as I pointed out earlier, Exchange plans often include really high deductibles which may be financially overwhelming to a student trying to pay for college. SHIPs, on the other hand, generally have low deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. That means a student enrolled in a SHIP can get the care they need right away, without the need to pay for all expenses out-of-pocket until they meet a (generally unattainable) deductible.

3. Health Center Tie-In (and Buy-In).

   A lot of students are going off-campus to seek medical care, rather than utilizing the on-campus health center. SHIPs can coordinate with student health centers, which can help bring more students in and increase revenue for the campus, as well as keeps insurance costs down for students. It’s a win-win.

4. SHIP premiums are competitive

   Sometimes we hear that SHIP premiums are high compared with Exchange premiums. However, a lot of the low-priced plans on the Exchanges have high deductibles and limited networks (therefore a lot of the charges are being paid at the out-of-network prices). The reality is that, if you are making an apples-to-apples comparison, SHIPs are often less expensive than Exchange plans or than students being insured as dependent on a parent’s plan. Since SHIPs now offer full coverage (rather than limited benefits with low benefit maximums that they did in the past), SHIPs are more expensive than they used to be; however, the value of SHIPs has increased as well.

The bottom line is that a quality insurance plan can cover the costs of high medical expenses that could otherwise prevent a student from continuing his or her education. It’s important to consider all the ramifications to students of sending them off to the Exchanges. For many students, the Exchange reality is very high out-of-pocket expenses, few in-network doctors, and not much coverage in the absence of extreme illness or injury. SHIPs might not be the answer for every campus, but I truly believe that in most cases, they can offer students and schools a much better option.

 

Michael Babore has worked with colleges and universities since 2000, developing roadmaps for successful student health insurance programs. His goal is to deliver the service each and every client requires. Prior to joining the Ascension team, he worked as the Head of Sales for HTH Worldwide in their international student insurance division. Michael is a member of NAFSA,ACHA, URMIA, NAICU and the FORUM. He is a regular presenter at many industry-related events and has traveled to 22 countries in his career. For more information, contact Michael at 310-255-2061 or [email protected].

[1] Claims data based on breakdown of claims for students insured through Ascension for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years.

[2] Cox, Cynthia, et al. “Repayments and Refunds: Estimating the Effects of 2014 Premium Tax Credit Reconciliation,” March 24, 2015. Kaiser Family Foundation. Web. <http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/repayments-and-refunds-estimating-the-effects-of-2014-premium-tax-credit-reconciliation/>

 

The economy simply can no longer be the excuse as to why safety is not a top-tier priority in the waste and recycling industry. During recent challenging times, companies of all shapes and sizes elected to adopt a cost-cutting focus simply to survive, causing many to rethink their investments (both time and money) in programs related to fleet management and safety.

In 2013 as a result, the number of industry fatalities spiked by more than 25 percent, which boosted the waste-and-recycling industry to the fifth most dangerous profession (up one spot from the prior year). All workers in this industry should be focused on how to increase the odds of getting drivers home safely to their families each day.

Traditional Approaches to Injuries

Mindsets around safety in our industry have frequently been based from “nature of the beast” to “the employee has to be held accountable… I can’t hold their hand.” Driving a compactor truck loaded with nearly 10 tons of waste is an extremely dangerous profession.

Any profession can be made dangerous while operating with a laissez faire attitude. Safety starts at the top of the organizational chart and must be constantly visible. If safety is driven home on a routine basis with a set of professionally crafted operating procedures, the waste industry can be thought of in the same light as our other trucking brethren. Insisting that a driver is 100 percent to blame and responsible is like saying a sales individual is in charge of the overall financial performance of the company. While they drive growth that directly impacts the bottom line, they are only part of the solution; not the end all/be all.

The most prevalent and damaging company environment is the all too familiar lip service to risk and injury mitigation efforts. In this scenario, some signs are put up in the break room, and a safety-first pizza lunch is provided every once in a while. These gestures are not entirely wrong, but they must be included in a much larger overall safety-imperative effort. One driver, making one bad decision, can completely change the entire direction of a company.

Damaging Consequences from Traditional Mindsets

There are significant, and often unrecognized, outcomes from injuries within our industry, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Increased out-of-pocket expenses
• The inability to bid on certain jobs
• Rising insurance premiums
• Declining customer satisfaction and retention rates
• Weakening driver attraction/retention and absenteeism

A company doing the bare minimum in regards to protecting its most essential assets (its people) is much more likely to experience downward spiraling financial performance. The next time a garbage truck passes, wonder whether or not the team carrying out that service is satisfied with what they are doing or if they’re just putting in their time. It might change how close you are willing to drive hugging the center line.

Due to being in the high-frequency/high-severity quadrant when it comes to employee injuries, waste and recycling companies are discovering it is increasingly difficult to find more than a handful of insurance carriers that provide coverage for our industry. Carriers are funny—fond of premiums. Excessive claims? Not so much. The rising litigation costs, followed by increasing fatality rates, are ugly to see. Barring companies embracing the safety imperative, as opposed to giving it lip service, these trends will only get worse.

The Good News

The waste industry does have a lot of things going for it as far as finding well qualified drivers. They are home at night. The hours worked often leave free time during the middle of the day for employees to take care of personal needs. Drivers are familiar with routes and work within a limited radius. Helpers are used in residential vehicles. And the weather does not affect their weekly number of hours; as is often the case in other trucking industries. The waste and recycling industry is generally thought of as stable in terms of hours worked and providing steady pay. This being said, employees have to know that they are regarded as valuable tools that need to be consistently sharpened.

So how do you know you have an effective program in place that will generate long-term success, stability, and reverse the trend of profit drain? It all starts with the Proactive Risk Approach (PRA). This PRA is based on a sequential and protected process.

• Assess your current situation and find the deficiencies. You’re only as good as your weakest link.
• After the gap identification, address the low-hanging-fruit improvement opportunities you’ve known about for a while and have put off.
• The most important aspect of a proficient PRA is to not stop here. Companies must invest in a multi-prong approach that addresses the true problems rather than simply masking the symptoms.

Core Elements of an Effective PRA

These additional steps are essential:

Select Drivers Carefully

This is an ongoing practice—not an event. What happens if you lose your best driver tomorrow? How do you replace them? Creating a list of qualified prospects and working it frequently allows for a much less severe situation than starting from scratch. In the hiring process, lowering your standards should never be an option. If you don’t find a worthy hire, don’t settle or force a hire.

Create a Safety-First CultureSuch an environment cannot be faked. The buy-in must come from the top and trickle down. Keep in mind your team members will listen to what you say far less than they’ll watch what you do.

Keep Safety Training Ongoing

Training is not reserved for new hires only; it must be an ongoing initiative, be regularly enhanced, and be designed to enhance and encourage everyone to be their best at all times Creating open communication with all employees strengthens any culture of safety.

Maintain Visibility

The PRA cannot be a flavor-of-the-month program. Employees must know who they can and should turn to and should be encouraged to identify hazards or best practices. Employees are the ones who truly establish and carry out company culture.

Monitor Your Results

Any effective PRA must quantify the program outcomes. This can be done in a number of ways (e.g., sick days taken, tardiness, increased retention, customer-service ratings, yards collected per hour, maintenance dollars versus fines, etc.). Share metrics with your employees to spark a friendly competition.

Recognize and Reward Improved Performance

Incentives must be provided for clean MVRs and roadside inspections, turning in all paperwork correctly and on time, improved customer-retention rates, customer surveys, etc.

Assess Your Insurance Program Regularly

This ensures the retention versus transfer balance of potential threats in focus and will gauge if your limits are optimal given current market conditions and risk appetite.

Continue to Fine-tune

There is no one program that will be perfect for every company, and even if there were, things change. The culture of the company is going to evolve, so be flexible in finding what works, as long as safety remains top of mind.

Most companies don’t have adequate resources to establish and maintain a PRA program alone. It’s essential to partner with the right team, so seek out firms with insurance-industry experience, in-house resources, knowledge and working capital to provide external resources, and a documented track record of success mitigating injuries and overall loss with waste/hauling and recycling clients. It’s never too early to improve your overall safety program, as the short- and long-term returns are excellent. Ramp up your safety culture driven by a PRA, and you’ll experience an exceptional ROI.

 

About the Authors

 

Steven Billings is a risk advisor in Relation’s waste-management practice focused in alternative risk solutions and value-added services. He can be reached on LinkedIn, via email at [email protected] or via phone (704) 688-1285.

 

 

George H. Lucas, Ph.D., is director of coaching and learning at Schul + Baker Partners of Dallas, TX. He can be reach via email at [email protected] or via phone at (469) 291-5493.

 

 

This article originally appeared on the Waste360 website.