Small Business Group Benefits

Traditional group insurance plans, like any business, expect to make a certain profit each year.  They offer first year rates based on an estimate of how much they expect to pay out in claims plus an additional amount for profit.

• They include coverage for things most people don’t need.
• Employees are resentful because they have to pay for something they never use.
• They have limitations to coverage amounts.
  
• Employees don’t get the benefits they need the most.
• They require employee participation with after-tax dollars.
  
• The amount paid by the employer is a taxable benefit to the employee.
• Employees pay deductible amounts for each claim.
• Employees pay hundreds per year in after-tax dollars and pay more income tax.
• Incentive to use benefits before they “expire” at year end.
• Use it or lose it mentality drives claims up unnecessarily, resulting in higher premiums.
• Some employees are heavy users of benefits.
  
• Insurer raises rates for everyone the following year because of high claims.

The employer determines the amount of money to put in each employee’s health spending account (HSA) for the year. The amount is tax deductible for the employer, and is NOT a taxable benefit to the employee.  It doesn’t have to be the same amount for every employee. The employee can spend as much of their health spending account as they need on ANY medical expense (as recognized by the CRA). There is no deductible.  Any unused amount is carried forward to the next year.  This allows an employee to “save up” for an upcoming large medical expense (orthodontics for example).

Blendable only charges 10% of total deposits for their services. Employee’s pay the expense and submit a claim online for quick reimbursement.  A $3.00 service fee per claim is deducted from the HSA. Multiple claims may be submitted at once to reduce fees. Each employee has access to their own micro-site to view and manage their own health spending account.