Automotive News - September 23, 2019 - Best Practices Supplement - A12

12 | SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
G R E AT L A K E S A U T O N E T W O R K , A K R O N , O H I O

PAY LESS, GET MORE

Ohio group's self-funded
insurance cuts premiums
and improves coverage
Published in Automotive News Jan. 14, 2019

Nancy Dunham

autonews@crain.com

hen Joey Huang, co-owner of
Great Lakes Auto Network in
Ohio, looked at the cost of providing health care insurance to
his almost 300 employees, he figured there
must be a cheaper alternative.
What he found - self-funded insurance -
has cut employees' premiums by thousands of
dollars a year, saved the group more than $1.8
million over six years and helped Great Lakes
expand from three dealerships to six, doubling
its work force along the way.
"The savings for us has been incredible, but
I'm more interested in how this has impacted
our employees," Huang said. "They have saved
money and received better care. That's what
we find most rewarding."
Huang said he prides himself on analyzing
best practices of other businesses - from
luxury retailer Nordstrom to other dealerships - and seeing how innovations can be
shaped to work in his auto group. He had a
particular interest in researching insurance
options, given his training as a dentist and familial connections to physicians and other
health care professionals.
That research led him to IEN Risk Management in Ashtabula, Ohio, where Great Lakes
has a Buick-GMC store. IEN offers plans modeled on the Health Rosetta system, a cohort of
110 independent consultants across the U.S.

'That was too much'
Advisers work with business owners to devise
employee health insurance benefit packages on
a self-insured chassis in order to drive transparency among claims, vendors and data, said
Bryce Heinbaugh, a managing member of IEN
Risk Management. Then IEN Risk Management
negotiates with providers to accept substantially
lower fees than are paid via Blue Cross/Blue
Shield, Aetna and other major insurers.
"It was about seven years ago that I decided
to look for a better option," said Huang. "At
that time we had a plan that cost a family of
four $1,400 [a month]. I just believed that was
too much to spend."

Dealer Joey Huang, a trained dentist, says
self-funded health insurance has saved
Great Lakes Auto Network more than
$1.8 million over six years.

By switching from traditional health
insurance to a self-funded plan, Great
Lakes Auto Network has been able to
offer better coverage while reducing
premiums for employees and the
company.

When Great Lakes adopted a self-funded
plan in 2012, an employee's cost for family
coverage dropped to $800 per month. Today, it
costs $980. Coverage, deductibles and co-pays
have remained unchanged, Heinbaugh said.
The first year the plan was in place, there
was a $138,000 surplus in payments. Huang
returned the money to employees by letting
them skip paying their premium for a month.
Employees can choose from two medical
coverage options and add dental, vision,
short-term and long-term disability, voluntary life insurance, accident and catastrophic
coverage.

Workers wary, at first
"With this program, the employer pays their
own claims via the help of an independent
third party administrator and doesn't rely on a
Blue Cross/Blue Shield or Aetna to handle it,"
Heinbaugh said.

Great Lakes, which sells about 8,700 new and
used vehicles a year, works with an estimated
budget for health care claims, with a certain
amount set aside in case of a catastrophic claim.
The results are significant savings for the employer and employee.
Employees were wary of the change, but
Huang calmed fears with informational meetings and educational materials. And once employees tried the plan, they were believers, he
said, not just because of the lower cost but the
increase in benefits.
One example is the Concierge Nurse Navigator Program. Great Lakes employees have
access to a nurse who acts as a liaison and
advocate for them. The nurse's assistance includes help navigating the health care system, including accompanying employees to
medical appointments and working with
them to ensure they stay on their plan of
care.
The nurse will even help the patient devise
questions for practitioners, find and schedule
specialist appointments and relieve logjams
in patient care and services.
"We are always looking for the best ways to
serve both our customers and our employees,"
Huang said. "Health care costs are a major expense for any auto dealership, so it was one I was
interested in decreasing." a

Automotive News - September 23, 2019 - Best Practices Supplement

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