Health insurance brokers can help you navigate the evolving healthcare landscape so that you can maximize your time and resources. Health insurance agents can serve as third-party sounding boards when you want to incorporate new plans for your staff. You can take advantage of the expertise developed by medical insurance brokers in a number of ways. Medical insurance brokers can expose you to new business practices that can prove to be more profitable for your company.

Health care brokers can provide information about opportunities in areas, such as preventive care and healthcare savings plans, that you may not have considered as well as help you reduce costs. Many group health insurance brokers are breaking ground with fresh ideas and new forms of dong business that includes outsourcing, lower rates and new insurance products. Find a number of ways to begin working with working with health insurance agents and brokers.

1. Work with health benefit brokers to set up a new employee benefit plan

2. Let an online health insurance agent handle your benefits

3. Bring in a health insurance agent to integrate the latest technology

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use full-service health benefit brokers

Instead of going through a lot of trial and error and spending time and valuable resources finding different brokers for various insurance plans, bring in a health insurance broker to get you started off on the right foot. Health insurance agents can do everything from helping you find new plans and alternative benefit options.

I recommend: Find benefits calculators and informative videos that explain the various ways in which you can work with health insurance agencies at Life Happens. The Insurance Information Institute offers answers to many questions posed by small business owners. Before you go out and hire an agent, know your way around the issues.

Choose an online health insurance broker

Work with niche agencies to monitor your benefits packages and assist your HR department make the best choices. Consider hiring a healthcare broker for a focused approach to your business to bring in and retain line employees, managers and executives.

I recommend: Familiarize yourself with industry issues and the current information in the health insurance industry through America’s Health Insurance Plans. Find a broker and keep up with the latest news affecting the industry at the National Association of Health Underwriters, one of the largest trade groups for health insurance professionals.

Upgrade your benefits with medical insurance brokers

You should consider working with medical insurance agents that bring a vast knowledge of technology and current benefit options and regulations to remain competitive. There are so many advancements in insurance products and benefit programs that you need to investigate all the alternatives to remain competitive.

I recommend: Find answers to commonly asked questions and get quotes from independent agents at eHealthinsurance. Get Health Insurance is an independent agency that can answer your questions and find various rates for your employees.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Find a medical insurance broker that can offer your employees choices from a variety of plans at various price points.

Medical insurance brokers offer a great selection of health insurance coverage options for businesses. They can help you select the right type of health insurance policy for your company’s size and type. If you are floundering with health insurance options and want help finding the most cost effective option possible for your company, then you need the help of health insurance brokers.

When looking for health insurance brokers consider the following:

1. Determine if the healthcare brokers are licensed to work in your state.
2. Look at the types of health insurance offered by health insurance agents.
3. Get a quote from an online health insurance agent before you make a decision.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find medical insurance agents that offer group health insurance

Medical insurance agents can specialize in a number of different health care products. As a business owner, you need to find health insurance agents that offer group health insurance.

I recommend: Aetna is a great health insurance company to work with. They offer a wide variety of group health insurance programs to business owners including small group, labor groups and middle market groups. Barricks Insurance Services is another great option for small business owners. This company has a long history of great service.

Request quotes from group health insurance agents

Shopping around for the best insurance rates is simply good business, and requesting group health insurance quotes is free. This information is critical for pricing various products offered by medical insurance brokers.

I recommend: Access Health Insurance Finders and Buyer Zone for free group health insurance quotes. You get multiple quotes from different medical insurance agents with a single request. Simply enter data about what you are looking for and quotes will then be delivered to your email account based on your selection criteria.

Find health care brokers that offer the type of health insurance you want to offer your employees

There are a lot of different types of health insurance products that health care brokers can offer. You can select from PPOs, HMOs, long-term health care insurance and supplemental health care insurance.

I recommend: John Hancock Insurance and Financial Services is a great company to work with if you would like to offer your employees long-term health care insurance. If you can't afford to offer your employees major medical insurance, then look for a medical insurance broker that can provide you with access to supplemental health insurance companies like State Farm.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The quoted price isn't necessarily the lowest price possible for the health insurance plan you are interested in for your company. Therefore, it is important to talk with your online health insurance broker in order to gage if you can talk them into lowering the base price for your group policy.

Find training for job opportunities in health insurance agencies for the state in which you plan to work. Medical insurance agents with a license and additional credentials increase their marketability.

Look for health benefits broker training programs through online training sites and through contacts and connections you can make in the industry. Find continuing education resources that are required to maintain your health insurance license. There are a number of avenues you should pursue as you continually upgrade your training for health insurance agents and brokers.

1. Peruse online training for health insurance agents to get your health insurance license.

2. Acquire additional certificates for health insurance agents to diversify your offerings.

3. Find continuing education and training in health insurance broker trade groups.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Watch for training for medical insurance brokers online

Find online training programs that point you to the training requirements of your state to get your health insurance license. Different states require various pre-licensing courses with a set number of hours before issuing a license in either health, life or accident insurance.

I recommend: The AgentBrokerTrainingCenter offers a number of courses to help you get the pre-licensing hours of training you need to apply for a license in your state. Choose your state and find the pre-licensing courses and programs that you need for your insurance license at the eLicense School.

Enroll with a specialty school for health insurance brokers for additional designations

Look for options to advance with a variety of special certificates and training, such as the Registered Health Underwriter license or an insurance adjusters license. Try different areas in which to diversify, such as with a Certified Financial Planning (CFP) designation or life insurance license.

I recommend: IRMI offers training through a variety of seminars and programs for professional insurance brokers to receive continuing education (CE). Go to Insurance License Training for online training programs that you can take at your own pace.

Look for medical insurance broker professional development through associations

While you are pursuing a career in the insurance industry, you should also be accruing a list of connections that will help you throughout your career. Trade associations offer members opportunities to receive their necessary continuing education requirements while making those important contacts. At the same time, most associations offer a wide variety of professional development courses for health care brokers that will improve your overall business.

I recommend: The Association of Health Insurance Advisors offers professional development and certification courses for members. Find a number of training opportunities through the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  While taking your health insurance agent training for your license, include some courses in prospecting and sales since those are skills that are vital to success in the health insurance industry.

When your business shops for new health insurance coverage, it may feel as though you and your health insurance agent or broker speak two different languages. You probably know the difference between a PPO and an HMO, but what's that clause in the contract about aggregate stop-loss coverage?

Most business owners know less about health insurance coverage than their health insurance agents and brokers. But learning some key terms about your company's health insurance coverage will help your business get the best health insurance coverage possible. Sure, hearing phrases like "Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act" and "group purchasing agreement" may make you feel stupid, but rest assured, you're not. No one knows these words unless they work in the health insurance industry, so your business will be ahead of the game by brushing up on terms like these.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Aggregate stop-loss coverage

Most insurance policies have limits on how much the insurer will pay. Once your benefits hit that limit your insurance won't cover any additional charges. Aggregate stop-loss coverage, if your business chooses to purchase such a policy, will kick in when your claims exceed the limit of your regular policy.

I recommend: Viehdorfer & Associates has a thorough explanation of aggregate stop-loss coverage and when it may be the best choice for your business.

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, also called COBRA, makes it possible for employees leaving a job to continue their healthcare coverage. While COBRA is a law, not a type of insurance, many health insurance agents and brokers refer to COBRA as a sort of insurance because of what the act represents in terms of continuing insurance coverage.

I recommend: The United States Department of Labor goes into great detail explaining how COBRA works; encourage any employees leaving your company to check this website out as well.

Multiple employer trust (MET)

Many smaller businesses find the cost of providing group health insurance to their employees financially exhausting. One solution, a multiple employer trust, allows businesses to come together and negotiate a better rate on health insurance plans. These are also sometimes called group purchasing agreements.

I recommend: HealthInsurance.org explains how METs work.

Health reimbursement arrangement (HRA)

A health reimbursement arrangement, or HRA, is a fund set up by your business for employees to use for their own health care. At the end of the year, any money your employees don't use for health care goes back to your business.

I recommend: HSA for America explains how sole proprietors and corporations can use HRAs to their advantage.

High-deductible health plan (HDHP)

A high-deductible health plan (HDHP) usually costs significantly less but requires the insured to meet a much higher deductible (generally $1,000 or more) before the insurance company will pay a claim.

I recommend: Health Alliance Plan explains how HDHPs work.

Open enrollment

Once your employees select what sort of health insurance coverage they want, they have limited time to change that coverage, called open enrollment.

I recommend: MedPlan Access has a glossary of health insurance terms and explains how open enrollment works.