Who we help
Business owners
From a two-life group to a 200-life ALE: participation minimums, contribution strategy, funding models and the compliance line at 50 FTEs.
The question
“What should we offer, and what will it cost us?”
Most owners arrive with the same three questions: what does a plan cost, what are we required to do, and how do we stop the renewal going up 18% again. The answers are connected, and all three start with a census.
Below 50 full-time equivalents you have no coverage obligation under the employer mandate. You may still want a plan, because in central Ohio's labour market a benefits package is often the difference between filling a role and not filling it. Above 50, the obligation is real and the penalties are calculated per full-time employee, which makes an accurate FTE count the first thing we do.
Contribution strategy is the lever owners underuse. Moving from 50% to 75% of the employee-only premium costs real money, but it lifts participation, balances the enrolled pool and usually shows up as a gentler renewal. We model that trade with your own numbers rather than describing it in the abstract.
The path
What we do, in order
- Week 1
Census and FTE count
Ages, dependent tiers, ZIPs, plus the hours data that decides whether you are an applicable large employer.
- Week 1-2
Market shop
Every carrier on the panel, matched design plus two alternates, and level-funded where the group qualifies.
- Week 2
Model the split
Contribution tiers against participation and payroll impact, in a table you can take to your partners.
- Week 3
Compliance review
Affordability safe harbour, minimum value, plan documents and reporting obligations.
- Week 4
Enroll
Meetings, kits and a named advisor for the employee questions that follow.
Avoid these
Four mistakes we see every single season
Counting heads instead of FTEs
Part-time hours roll up. A 38-employee payroll with a large part-time bench can be well over 50 full-time equivalents.
Forgetting common ownership
Entities under common control aggregate for the ALE count. Three separate LLCs with one owner are one employer for this test.
Contributing the bare minimum
The 50% floor keeps you quotable and quietly damages your risk pool, because the healthiest and lowest-paid employees waive first.
Starting the renewal at 30 days
By then the incumbent knows you cannot move. A 150-day start is what makes a renewal negotiation real.
Before you decide
Business owners questions we hear most
If your question is not here, call the desk. Nobody will put you on a list for asking.
In Ohio a group can be as small as two enrolled employees, subject to each carrier's own minimum. Owner-only businesses with no W-2 employees are generally an individual or self-employed case.
There is no fee. We are compensated by the carrier you place with, on a schedule that does not vary between carriers on our panel. The census analysis, the compliance review and the enrollment meetings are all included.
Class carve-outs are possible, for example salaried versus hourly, within non-discrimination rules. The rules are stricter for self-funded plans. We design it with your counsel rather than guessing.
Your twelve-month average, your part-time hours, any common-ownership entities, and your hiring plan. Crossing the line is decided by last year's average, so you get a year's warning if you are counting properly.
Bring us the file. We will bring the market.
Send a census or ask one question. Either way it costs you nothing and nobody will chase you.
Independent and multi-carrier. $0 cost to work with us. No pressure scripts.