Over the past decade, the American workforce has been aging with the Baby Boom generation coming into retirement years. Over 10,000 Americans per day are turning 65 and many continue to work. This aging workforce contributes to the rise in today’s employer group health plan costs. This results in an additional burden for Human Resource teams as they try to deal with the complexity of Medicare for aging employees.
As an organization with Medicare-eligible employees, you must consider the advantages and cost savings of transitioning these employees to a Medicare plan. However, you are prohibited from providing incentives and moving people to Medicare. But you are permitted, if not encouraged, to provide education to these individuals regarding the benefits of Medicare.
Recent studies show that on average, health-care costs for a group health plan run approximately $1,200/month for individuals ages 65 and over. This is roughly two times higher than the health-care costs for individuals aged 18–64. By getting your Medicare-eligible employees to move to Medicare you could be saving approximately $14,400/year in health-care costs. This does not include the other costs such as stop-loss premiums, and taxes associated with these various types of funding methodologies.
Over the past five years, the MBA has offered a unique, value-added program, in conjunction with its partner, MPC Insurance Group (MPC). This partnership provides an education program to employers for their employees who are approaching or are already at Medicare age (generally 65 years old). MPC provides education, private one-on-one consultation with Medicare-eligible employees, and health plan selection and enrollment services. For members of the MBA, these services are provided at no cost to the employer or their respective employees. Many employers have taken advantage of this service and have been able to provide an excellent resource for older employees, reduce HR burden and lower group health plan costs.
As noted above, Medicare has numerous rules and regulations that are confusing at best and often misunderstood. Having trained professionals assist your organization not only reduces the burden on HR teams but also provides a valuable service to employees who often have given many years to the organization.
To learn how the MBA-MPC Medicare Education Program can benefit your business and employees, contact the MBA at 814/833-3200 or MPC Insurance Group at 717/980-3201.
Stewart R. Brouse
is the executive vice president and principal for MPC Insurance Group, LLC, an insurance and advisory service company headquartered in Harrisburg. To learn more, visit mpcins.com.
