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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m O c t o b e r 2 0 15 • I NSIGH T | 35 [continued ] » "Employers are able to take a tax deduction by offering a health insurance plan. If they just do the stipend, that deduction is gone," he says. "Also, if the employer is large enough and mandated (under the ACA) to offer a plan, they face a financial penalty, so once it's all added up, it just makes more sense to offer insurance." ose insurance offerings are getting more expensive. Schultz, who works with large- and medium-sized organizations, says companies are seeing anywhere from 5 percent to 10 percent increases in their costs. "e rate increases are partially because of the loss insurers may be taking on plans sold in the federal marketplace as well as the extra costs they're incurring to keep everything compliant under the ACA," he says. With the higher costs, employers have several options to choose from including absorbing the higher costs themselves — not likely — sharing the cost increase with employees or becoming self-insured. "Employers are doing a lot of different things — a little bit of this, a little bit of that — to help keep costs down," Schultz says. "ey may work with the insurer to tighten up the network. For example, they may limit what doctors or systems employees can use or mandate that generic drugs must be used unless there's no other alternative." While going the self-insured route used to be only for large companies with hundreds or thousands of employees to spread out the risk, Network Health is debuting a new product that allows small- and mid- sized businesses to band together and self-fund their own plans. "ere's more consistency to the costs involved," Kambitsi says. Insurance policies are usually offered at four different levels, ranging from bronze to platinum, with bronze having the lowest premium and highest out-of-pocket costs Underwritten by Dean Health Plan, Inc. It's no fun being stuck in the middle. Choosing health insurance can put you in a bind. You need lower costs. Your employees want the best health care. Now, with Prevea360 Health Plan, you can give employees access to a network of more than 800 doctors and medical providers, 60 specialties, 36 health centers and 6 top-ranked hospitals. And we've streamlined coordination between health care and insurance, for a more affordable cost for you. Prevea360 can help you build a happier, healthier workforce — and see real bottom-line savings. Learn more about our group plans and LeadWell ® corporate wellness offerings at prevea360.com/employer, or call 877.230.7615. www.pro1janitorial.com 800-938-8488 CommerCial Cleaning Professionals JANITORIAL Ask about our franchise opportunities! Statewide Coverage Fond du Lac Fox Cities Green Bay Janesville Kenosha Madison Manitowoc Marinette Milwaukee Racine Sheboygan Wausau • Post construction cleanups • Daily, weekly, monthly or one time services • Floor maintenance services