jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.


"Smith Smithers" wrote in message news:...
jps,

Today, many companies can and do self insure their medical insurance. You
probably are too small to meet the guidelines, but you may want to check
into it. Many companies who use high deductibles also allow a MSA account
which allows employees to set aside a certain portion of their income for
annual medical expenses, and this income is not taxed.

I think as a small business you can understand the need to keep all of
your costs competitive, if you are to remain competitive in the
marketplace. You have found it reasonable to insure your employees against
major expenses, and have them pay for everyday expenses through large
deductibles. This results in your employees using the services prudently,
hence keeping future costs as low as possible. If you compare your
insurance to the one Harry says he has, your insurance policy sucks. The
problem with Harry's supposed policy is it does nothing to control medical
expenses. The insured will not help to control expenses, because their is
not "incentive" for him to use medical care prudently.

If Wal-Mart does not treat their employees with dignity and understand
human resources are a valuable asset to the future of their company, they
will continue to have higher turnover, higher training expenses, lower
productivity and poor moral. They will go the way of A&P, Woolworths and
other retailers who did not change to new conditions in the marketplace.



"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

jps,
I thought you owned your own company, why don't you take care of your
employers with decent Health Care Coverage?

I do and I do. It's expensive.

If I ever have the opportunity to do something other than work, I'm
going to fund a lobbying effort to allow company's to self-fund medical
insurance.

It'd allow us to set up our own program (using an escrow account and a
third-party administrator for claims) for normal visits to the doctor,
dentist, etc. and supplement it with catastrophic insurance.

It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper than what we pay right now and the
coverage would be just as good.

With current insurance policy (obtained through a trade org) if the
deductibles were any lower, I wouldn't be able to afford to offer it as
a benefit.

Bad situation.

The difference between me and Walmart is that the CEO in our company
knows all the employees personally. The *******s at Walmart don't ever
have to look the normal employee in the face and tell them "we'd rather
add to the bottom line than make sure you're safe.

jps

"Smith Smithers" wrote in message
...
jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see
your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to
offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.

Part of the problem might be the very thing that NYOB has complained
about......purchasing insurance across state lines. States mandate what
things must be covered.......abortions, birth control, viagra or
whatever...........which may be driving up the cost of insurance.



"Smith Smithers" wrote in message news:...
jps,

Today, many companies can and do self insure their medical insurance.
You
probably are too small to meet the guidelines, but you may want to check
into it. Many companies who use high deductibles also allow a MSA
account
which allows employees to set aside a certain portion of their income
for
annual medical expenses, and this income is not taxed.

I think as a small business you can understand the need to keep all of
your costs competitive, if you are to remain competitive in the
marketplace. You have found it reasonable to insure your employees
against
major expenses, and have them pay for everyday expenses through large
deductibles. This results in your employees using the services
prudently,
hence keeping future costs as low as possible. If you compare your
insurance to the one Harry says he has, your insurance policy sucks.
The
problem with Harry's supposed policy is it does nothing to control
medical
expenses. The insured will not help to control expenses, because their
is
not "incentive" for him to use medical care prudently.

If Wal-Mart does not treat their employees with dignity and understand
human resources are a valuable asset to the future of their company,
they
will continue to have higher turnover, higher training expenses, lower
productivity and poor moral. They will go the way of A&P, Woolworths
and
other retailers who did not change to new conditions in the
marketplace.



"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

jps,
I thought you owned your own company, why don't you take care of your
employers with decent Health Care Coverage?

I do and I do. It's expensive.

If I ever have the opportunity to do something other than work, I'm
going to fund a lobbying effort to allow company's to self-fund medical
insurance.

It'd allow us to set up our own program (using an escrow account and a
third-party administrator for claims) for normal visits to the doctor,
dentist, etc. and supplement it with catastrophic insurance.

It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper than what we pay right now and the
coverage would be just as good.

With current insurance policy (obtained through a trade org) if the
deductibles were any lower, I wouldn't be able to afford to offer it as
a benefit.

Bad situation.

The difference between me and Walmart is that the CEO in our company
knows all the employees personally. The *******s at Walmart don't ever
have to look the normal employee in the face and tell them "we'd rather
add to the bottom line than make sure you're safe.

jps

"P Fritz" wrote in message
...

"Smith Smithers" wrote in message
...
jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think
if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see
your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to
offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.

Part of the problem might be the very thing that NYOB has complained
about......purchasing insurance across state lines. States mandate what
things must be covered.......abortions, birth control, viagra or
whatever...........which may be driving up the cost of insurance.



"Smith Smithers" wrote in message news:...
jps,

Today, many companies can and do self insure their medical insurance.
You
probably are too small to meet the guidelines, but you may want to
check
into it. Many companies who use high deductibles also allow a MSA
account
which allows employees to set aside a certain portion of their income
for
annual medical expenses, and this income is not taxed.

I think as a small business you can understand the need to keep all of
your costs competitive, if you are to remain competitive in the
marketplace. You have found it reasonable to insure your employees
against
major expenses, and have them pay for everyday expenses through large
deductibles. This results in your employees using the services
prudently,
hence keeping future costs as low as possible. If you compare your
insurance to the one Harry says he has, your insurance policy sucks.
The
problem with Harry's supposed policy is it does nothing to control
medical
expenses. The insured will not help to control expenses, because their
is
not "incentive" for him to use medical care prudently.

If Wal-Mart does not treat their employees with dignity and understand
human resources are a valuable asset to the future of their company,
they
will continue to have higher turnover, higher training expenses, lower
productivity and poor moral. They will go the way of A&P, Woolworths
and
other retailers who did not change to new conditions in the
marketplace.



"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

jps,
I thought you owned your own company, why don't you take care of your
employers with decent Health Care Coverage?

I do and I do. It's expensive.

If I ever have the opportunity to do something other than work, I'm
going to fund a lobbying effort to allow company's to self-fund
medical
insurance.

It'd allow us to set up our own program (using an escrow account and a
third-party administrator for claims) for normal visits to the doctor,
dentist, etc. and supplement it with catastrophic insurance.

It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper than what we pay right now and the
coverage would be just as good.

With current insurance policy (obtained through a trade org) if the
deductibles were any lower, I wouldn't be able to afford to offer it
as
a benefit.

Bad situation.

The difference between me and Walmart is that the CEO in our company
knows all the employees personally. The *******s at Walmart don't
ever
have to look the normal employee in the face and tell them "we'd
rather
add to the bottom line than make sure you're safe.

jps







Stop the frivolous lawsuits and outrageous punitive damage awards. Then
tighten down prescription drug costs.

Those 2 things will go a long way in reducing health care costs.

BTW: We pay $160/month with a $3k family deductible, after which all in
network medical costs and prescriptions are covered 100%. We also save
$1,000 of that cost by joining in a health savings plan, bringing our
*total* health plan costs to just under $4k.

jps needs to do some better shopping around for his health care coverage.

" *JimH*" wrote in message
...

"P Fritz" wrote in message
...

"Smith Smithers" wrote in message
...
jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think
if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see
your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to
offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.

Part of the problem might be the very thing that NYOB has complained
about......purchasing insurance across state lines. States mandate what
things must be covered.......abortions, birth control, viagra or
whatever...........which may be driving up the cost of insurance.



"Smith Smithers" wrote in message news:...
jps,

Today, many companies can and do self insure their medical insurance.
You
probably are too small to meet the guidelines, but you may want to
check
into it. Many companies who use high deductibles also allow a MSA
account
which allows employees to set aside a certain portion of their income
for
annual medical expenses, and this income is not taxed.

I think as a small business you can understand the need to keep all
of
your costs competitive, if you are to remain competitive in the
marketplace. You have found it reasonable to insure your employees
against
major expenses, and have them pay for everyday expenses through large
deductibles. This results in your employees using the services
prudently,
hence keeping future costs as low as possible. If you compare your
insurance to the one Harry says he has, your insurance policy sucks.
The
problem with Harry's supposed policy is it does nothing to control
medical
expenses. The insured will not help to control expenses, because
their
is
not "incentive" for him to use medical care prudently.

If Wal-Mart does not treat their employees with dignity and
understand
human resources are a valuable asset to the future of their company,
they
will continue to have higher turnover, higher training expenses,
lower
productivity and poor moral. They will go the way of A&P,
Woolworths
and
other retailers who did not change to new conditions in the
marketplace.



"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

jps,
I thought you owned your own company, why don't you take care of
your
employers with decent Health Care Coverage?

I do and I do. It's expensive.

If I ever have the opportunity to do something other than work, I'm
going to fund a lobbying effort to allow company's to self-fund
medical
insurance.

It'd allow us to set up our own program (using an escrow account and
a
third-party administrator for claims) for normal visits to the
doctor,
dentist, etc. and supplement it with catastrophic insurance.

It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper than what we pay right now and the
coverage would be just as good.

With current insurance policy (obtained through a trade org) if the
deductibles were any lower, I wouldn't be able to afford to offer it
as
a benefit.

Bad situation.

The difference between me and Walmart is that the CEO in our company
knows all the employees personally. The *******s at Walmart don't
ever
have to look the normal employee in the face and tell them "we'd
rather
add to the bottom line than make sure you're safe.

jps







Stop the frivolous lawsuits and outrageous punitive damage awards. Then
tighten down prescription drug costs.

Those 2 things will go a long way in reducing health care costs.

BTW: We pay $160/month with a $3k family deductible, after which all in
network medical costs and prescriptions are covered 100%. We also save
$1,000 of that cost by joining in a health savings plan, bringing our
*total* health plan costs to just under $4k.

jps needs to do some better shopping around for his health care coverage.

The high deductible / medical savings account are the future of health
insurance. With a 2k deductible, I can put the same amount every year in
the savings account pre tax.......what I don't use rolls over. The money
can be used for dental, optical, prescriptions, and even some OTC drugs.

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 10:20:25 -0400, *JimH* wrote:


Stop the frivolous lawsuits and outrageous punitive damage awards. Then
tighten down prescription drug costs.

Those 2 things will go a long way in reducing health care costs.

Maybe, maybe not:

http://www.factcheck.org/article133.html

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8551575/

http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4968&sequence=0

In article ,
says...
jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.

With as much as it costs, believe you me I've tried. We review the
market each year and renew with the best value.

My policy covers me, my SO and two kids, w/.5 mil in supplemental life.

Washington State is more liberal (pun intended) with what you can claim,
including chiropractic and acupuncture. I think it's pushed our
premiums to to top of the charts.

jps

"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think
if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see
your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to
offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.

With as much as it costs, believe you me I've tried. We review the
market each year and renew with the best value.

My policy covers me, my SO and two kids, w/.5 mil in supplemental life.

Washington State is more liberal (pun intended) with what you can claim,
including chiropractic and acupuncture. I think it's pushed our
premiums to to top of the charts.

Your premiums are cheaper than ours in Florida. Must be a higher risk group
because of the old people down here.

NOYB,
Have you ever checked into ADP's programs, they are geared to give the small
businesses the benefits of the larger companies?

"NOYB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"jps" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
jps,
By the way, the $1000 per month is outrageous for a family's health
insurance, especially one with high deductibles. Why so high? I think
if
you check around with other small businesses in your area, you will see
your
costs for health insurance is not competitive. You need to look into a
company similar to ADP , http://www.adp.com/ , they will allow you to
offer
cost competitive benefits to your employers.

With as much as it costs, believe you me I've tried. We review the
market each year and renew with the best value.

My policy covers me, my SO and two kids, w/.5 mil in supplemental life.

Washington State is more liberal (pun intended) with what you can claim,
including chiropractic and acupuncture. I think it's pushed our
premiums to to top of the charts.

Your premiums are cheaper than ours in Florida. Must be a higher risk
group because of the old people down here.

"Smith Smithers" wrote in message
...
NOYB,
Have you ever checked into ADP's programs, they are geared to give the
small businesses the benefits of the larger companies?

I use ADP for my payroll. Are you referring to employee leasing?

NOYB,

I think that is what they call it, where your employees "work" for ADP, and
thus get all of the cost savings offered large corporation. My wife's law
office uses this program, and it has resulted in substantial costs savings
and an increase in their benefit package.



"NOYB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Smith Smithers" wrote in message
...
NOYB,
Have you ever checked into ADP's programs, they are geared to give the
small businesses the benefits of the larger companies?

I use ADP for my payroll. Are you referring to employee leasing?