When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) definition of a “small group” employer increased to 100 or fewer employees, it meant a lot more than a titular shift—especially for schools.
Based on ACA requirements effective January 1 of this year, schools formerly considered a “large group” employer, with more than 50 but less than 100 employees, are now defined as “small group” at renewal.
This update means that schools are being pushed into small group medical products, including community rating (also known as member level rating), narrow networks and specifically defined plans.
This isn’t good.
In fact, groups sized 1-100 are faced with significant rating restrictions, including:
- Community Rating (member level rating) for Groups of Under 100 Employees
- Mandated increases for employees with children of 21+ years of age
- Factors effecting premium increases and decreases
- Employers adopting high deductible health plans to mitigate premium increases
Historically, as a “large group” employer, things like industry, location and claims history had been taken into account when determining rates. Now, with these redefined small group employers, rates can only be based on family size, geographic location, tobacco use (for certain states) and age.
What’s a school to do?
This aforementioned situation can be frustrating, and we understand the challenges that former “large group” institutions are facing with the restrictions of being lumped into a small group arrangement.
If you’re an independent school in California caught in this situation, The California Independent Schools Benefit Trust (CISBT) has a solution.
Ultimately, CISBT empowers small employers with access to health coverage on terms similar to those available to large employers, and it will combine all of its schools—small and large—to be able to leverage a combined size and offer large group plans.
But how does it work?
Under a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement, CISBT has established four medical rating tiers, regardless of age:
- Employee Only
- Employee + Spouse
- Employee + Child(ren)
- Employee + Family
In addition, each school’s demographics and risk are reviewed by an underwriting team in order to determine which rating band your school will be assigned.
Why get involved?
CISBT is here to support those schools who might fall into this dreaded definition switch. And because we are banding together to leverage size, all of the available plan options have the full, traditional HMO or PPO network of providers. The trust also offers multiple plan options to give each school flexibility in choosing which plans to implement.
Interested in learning more about this solution? Let’s connect. We’re hosting a webinar on this very topic on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.