NPMA health insurance exchange program options

Nearly half of the respondents to PMP’s 2018 State of the Industry Survey report that they either don’t offer healthcare coverage to employees at all or are stymied about whether their current offerings are the best option.

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With the healthcare debate raging in Washington D.C., and no clear end in sight, it’s reassuring to know at least one industry entity has the backs of pest management professionals (PMPs). The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) recently unveiled a health insurance exchange program for its members.

“Survey data has shown us more than 60 percent of employees make decisions on where to work based upon the benefits offered by the employer, with healthcare being the most desired benefit,” says NPMA CEO Dominique Stumpf, CAE, CMP, referring to a study that appeared in the February 2017 edition of Harvard Business Review. “To help our members recruit and retain skilled and professional staff, we created our health insurance exchange.”

Stumpf notes that the exchange “provides small and mid-sized companies the ability to compete with large companies on offering healthcare insurance, and we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for them to do.”

Healthcare Coverage
How will your company primarily try to better control health care coverage costs in 2018?
■ Increase participating employees’ share of total costs
■ Offer less-comprehensive coverage options
■ Both of the above
■ Other

The program’s à la carte options include:

• Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) allow employees to use tax-advantaged account dollars to pay for individual healthcare premiums and any out-of-pocket cost they or their dependents may incur. There is no setup fee or monthly minimum charge.
• Health savings accounts (HSAs) are tax-advantaged personal savings accounts that can be used to pay for medical, dental, vision and other qualified expenses now or later in the employee’s life. The funds can be invested, making it a great addition to employees’ retirement portfolios. HSAs provided through the exchange include a centralized employer portal for establishment, funding and administrations of employee HSAs.
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are an employer-sponsored benefit account that allows employees the opportunity to set aside pre-tax funds to help pay for eligible healthcare expenses. The NPMA’s program offers healthcare FSAs, dependent care FSAs and limited-purpose FSAs.
• Voluntary Insurance Products (VIPs) are offered to NPMA members by the Transamerica Life Insurance Co.

“We rolled out the NPMA Health Insurance Exchange program this fall in time for the 2018 open enrollment, and already have received numerous inquiries and have generated policy quotes,” Stumpf reports. “The interest generated confirms that providing healthcare insurance is a huge concern for PMPs.”

You can reach Editor Heather Gooch at hgooch@northcoastmedia.net or 330-321-9754.