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Controlling Your Massachusetts Group Health Insurance Costs

Click Here to Listen as Jim Edholm discusses National Health Care and the Massachusetts Health Insurance Reform on Merrimack Valley Radio, WCAP, Morning Drive Show!

Here is a FAQ on the new IRS regulations about the mandated COBRA subsidy in the new Federal Stimulus Bill.

BBI designs group health insurance plans in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. That’s where we can help you — if you’re not from Massachusetts, then there's a problem -- we only work with businesses in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

Massachusetts group health insurance is expensive. Let's face it, if you're an owner, CEO, CFO or HR Manager of a company with fewer than 250 employees, group health insurance is your second-largest cost after salaries themselves, right?

And you'd like to at least tame them a bit, right?

Strategy To Lower Your Health Insurance Costs

Order your free, no obligation comparative guide to Mass Blue Cross
Blue Cross Plan Design Comparison Summary Form
and Harvard Pilgrim HMO options
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Plan Design Comparison Summary Form Find relative discounts for every current plan design. See what your broker’s not showing you.

Well, if you use our site (and our services) correctly, you've come to the right place.

Why?

Because you don't have time to research all the laws on or coming onto the books.

"In November 2007, we were introduced to Jim Edholm of Business Benefits Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Seven weeks later, on January 1, 2008, our employees

have a better plan than ever before, and
the company is saving nearly $130,000 in calendar 2008.."

John H. Lynch, III Vice President Operating Policy Eaton Apothecary

Neither do you have the staff to keep up with the changes, requirements and obligations.

Nor can you effectively evaluate the (literally) scores of plan options that Blue Cross, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts, Fallon, and the Neighborhood Health Plan (among others) continue to introduce. Which plan makes the most sense? What are the tradeoffs between money and benefit?

How much does the premium go down if I add $5 to my drug copays?
What about adding a deductible? ...unanswered questions can cost you money.

So you try to do it all yourself... or maybe you trust your broker (who may occasionally "take the easy route" and not show you all your options).

So What To Do?

What's On the BBI Site and Where's It Located? Here are some links to the useful stuff on our site:

That's why we created this site. It's your guide to the maze of healthcare options, carriers, plan designs, new laws and all the other confusing stuff you face every day.

Here's how to use it most profitably.

There are multiple sub-pages designed to answer your specific questions.

Self-Funding
HSA Plans
HRA Plans
Risk Sharing Arrangements (Coming soon.)

For example, we've created Plan Design Comparison Summaries for the major carriers, These are helpful (free, no-obligation) documents that show you:

Primary Care Visit Copay
Specialist Care Visit Copay
Emergency Room Copay
Drug Deductible (if any)
Drug Copay
Hospitalization Copay
Surgical Copay
Diagnostic Lab and X-Ray Copay
Plan Deductible (if any)
Plan Coinsurance (if any)
Relative Plan Cost

Did you know that companies as small as five employees can self-fund their health insurance. To learn more go here. Self-Funded Insurance

So by looking at the charts, you can get a feel for what happens when you move up or down the plan design ladder.

Looking at the Plan Design Comparison Summaries will give you a quick "back of the envelope" answer to your questions -- and you may find that there are plan options your broker never discussed with you.

Here's where to go on our site to request the plan comparisons. You can get the Blue Cross Plan Design Comparison Summary here.

And the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Plan Design Comparison Summary is here.

But that's just the beginning. The purpose of this site and our company is to help YOU do what you can to reduce the effect of medical cost increases, so we've loaded it with useful information.

For example:

To see what our clients say about us, go here.

If you want to find out how HSA, HRA and FSA plans can save you money, you'll want to go here.

Self-funding can make a huge difference in the cost of health insurance, and this is the spot where we launch into that subject.

For full BBI contact information click here.

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