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Benefits Newsletter -- Back Issues of BBI Benefit BitsWe publish a monthly (snail mail) newsletter. Well, almost monthly... we miss now and then.If you want to jump right to the Newsletter Table of Contents and links to back issues, click here and skip my explanation of what we're trying to do in the newsletter.
First, we talk about employee benefits... new ideas, new products. Ways to cut costs (almost every month there's a cost-cutting tip). But we try real hard to avoid jargon. We go into depth on specific products that we feel either have significant potential to dynamically change your benefits picture or that we feel are misunderstood.
But, candidly, it's vastly underused -- particularly in Massachusetts. Why? While our paternalistic HMO-oriented history plays a part, at least part of the reason for its slow growth is lack of understanding. So we've focused on the HSA for the last three months of 2007, and we'll continue the focus in the first few months of 2008 as well.
So BBI Benefit Bits talks a lot about us -- the folks in our firm, our clients, our philosophy. We try very hard to give you a window into our minds so that you can know what to expect as a client. So while, as one client told me in an email, "sorry, I don't care what you did on your summer vacation," we still put that stuff in there. She might not care, but most of our clients do.
Case studies. What works for one of our clients might work for you, too. So we talk about what various clients were able to achieve and how they did it. We never give away specifics of anyone's business, but we tell you about actual outcomes, so you can judge for yourself. Last, anything that strikes my fancy goes in. Why not? I write it, I should be allowed to put in what I like and leave out what I don't. As President George H.W. Bush said about broccoli, "Heck. I'm the President. I don't have to eat broccoli if I don't want to." Therein lies the only explanation for some of the stuff I put in BBI Benefit Bits
Table of Contents By Issue -- In Reverse OrderVolume I, Number 12 -- Yes, we return to HSA plans. No, we're not beating a dead horse.About the time that I wrote this article, we successfully used an HSA/HMO combination to save a client up to 11% on his health plan while actually improving his benefit package. Employees had a choice of plans, one of which was the same as the current plan at the same cost, and the other of which was an HSA that left the employee even better off than under the current plan.
It's interesting, but this is becoming habit... and the result is a more guaranteed delivery. I'm still working toward getting it to the printer by the beginning of the second week of each month so that you can count on seeing it by mid-month. In this issue we covered a lot of ground:
We talked about:
If you read the next entry, you'll realize what an important moment in history this was... it was the first month that I'd published two months in a row, in the actual month indicated by the Number of the Volume. I haven't missed since, nor do I intend to... In September we talked about:
If you look at the number immediately below, you'll see it's Vol I, Number 4, and this is Number 8. But if you look at the month in which each was published, you'll see that #4 came out in June and #8 in August. I tell you this now so that, after my death, when my biographers are searching for the missing Volumes of my famous Newsletter, you'll be able to point them to this admission of error, wherein I admit that Numbers 5 - 7 don't exist. In this issue we covered:
So even though this was the fourth issue, it was late May by the time it went to press and June before it was mailed... I was beginning to feel embarrassed by my numbering system and by my lackadaisical publishing schedule. In this issue, we covered:
Every time we quote a case, we see the current rates and the renewal rates from the current carrier. This is the case whether it's our client or a new prospective case. This lets us track how Blue Cross, Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts renewals are doing at any particular time, and it allows us to meet with out clients mid-plan-year to alert them if their carrier seems to be slipping out of control. If they are, we can plan ahead to the upcoming renewal and prepare for the probable necessity of moving. The items this issue were:
So February became Number 2 but remained Volume I... despite a new year dawning. That was the first of my adjustments. In this issue I discussed the following:
Volume I, Number 1 -- In my first newsletter (way delayed... I didn't do it until more than 25 years in the business! Shame on me!) I introduced the letter and talked about the following subjects:
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We think it's pretty exciting, and lots of our friends and clients tell us they like it too. I'm not sure they quiver with excitement like this guy, but I get lots of feedback.
For example, right now we believe that the Health Savings Account (HSA) is potentially the single most powerful tool to radically change the way you do health insurance. A huge potential breakthrough in controlling medical costs.
Another thing we believe in is that business only occurs between people... personalities... individuals. We think it's important for you to know us so that you can trust us.
Restaurant reviews. Silly thing to put in a newsletter? Maybe, but my wife, Kathy, and I love finding good, cutting edge, newsworthy restaurants. And when we do, I share that with my readers.
