Employee Benefits Strategy: Is Your Health Plan Working Hard Enough for Your Business?
By Jennifer Schaefer, Founder & CEO, JS Benefits Group If your company’s health insurance costs keep going up every year, I want to ask you a simple question: Is your health plan really working as hard as it could for your business? For many employers, the answer is no. Not because anyone did anything wrong, […]
Employer health insurance costs are projected to rise 8.2% in 2027
By: Rob Capone, Senior Employee Benefits Consultant If you’re preparing for your 2027 health insurance renewal, there’s one number you need to know: 8.2%. That’s the average increase U.S. employers project in health benefit cost per employee for 2027, according to Marsh’s 2026 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. It’s the highest increase since 2003. […]
The #1 Health Insurance Renewal Mistake Employers Make
By Jennifer Schaefer, MBA, ChFC, CLU, RHU, REBC, SHRM-SCP Founder & CEO, JS Benefits Group When a health insurance renewal arrives, many employers immediately focus on one number: How much is the premium increasing? That is understandable. Health insurance is one of the largest expenses many businesses face, and a significant renewal increase can have […]
What Is a Self-Insured Health Plan? A Guide for Employers
By Bill Capece, Director of Business Development, JS Benefits Group For employers facing rising health insurance costs, self-insured health plans can provide another way to approach healthcare financing. But self-funding is more than simply changing insurance plans. It changes how an employer assumes risk, pays claims, analyzes healthcare spending and manages its overall benefits strategy. […]
What Is Stop-Loss Insurance? Self-Funded Health Plans Explained
Author: Bill Capece, Director of Business Development For employers considering a self-funded health plan, one of the most important concepts to understand is stop-loss insurance. Self-funding can give employers greater control over healthcare costs, access to claims data, and flexibility in plan design. But it also means the employer takes on responsibility for paying covered […]
How Pennsylvania Employers Can Reduce Health Insurance Costs Without Cutting Benefits
By Rob Capone, Senior Employee Benefits Consultant, JS Benefits Group Pennsylvania employers continue to face pressure from rising health insurance costs. When a renewal comes in higher than expected, the conversation often turns immediately to higher deductibles, increased employee contributions, or reducing coverage. Those are not the only options. There are several strategies Pennsylvania employers […]
Hospital Consolidation Is Raising Healthcare Costs: What Employers Need to Know
By Jennifer Schaefer, MBA, ChFC, CLU, RHU, REBC, SHRM-SCP Founder & CEO, JS Benefits Group | Forbes Business Council Contributor | Co-Host, Executive Leaders Radio Hospital consolidation is becoming an increasingly important issue for employers trying to manage the rising cost of employee healthcare. I recently discussed this issue as an expert source in a […]
Employee Benefits Are a Business Strategy — Not Just an HR Expense
For most of the employers I work with, health benefits are the second-largest expense on the books after payroll. Yet the decision about that expense often gets made in one meeting, once a year, in response to a number someone else calculated. That’s the part worth changing. BusinessABC made a version of this argument recently […]
Mid-Market Employers Are Rethinking Health Plan Funding: Why the Conversation Can’t Wait Until Renewal
By Jennifer Schaefer, MBA, ChFC, CLU, RHU, REBC, SHRM-SCP Founder & CEO, JS Benefits Group | Forbes Business Council Contributor | Co-Host, Executive Leaders Radio For years, many mid-market employers have approached healthcare benefits the same way: wait for the renewal, review the premium increase, negotiate where possible, and decide whether to absorb the additional […]
2027 ACA Affordability Threshold Increases to 10.22% | JS Benefits Group
2027 ACA Affordability Threshold Increases to 10.22% By Dawn Carlisle, JS Benefits Group Reviewed by Jennifer Schaefer, MBA, ChFC, CLU, RHU, REBC, SHRM-SCP The IRS has released the 2027 Affordable Care Act affordability percentage, and for the first time it has crossed 10%. For plan years beginning in 2027, applicable large employers must keep employee […]
