When it comes to health benefits, most employers want to figure out a strategy and stick with it, year after year. But what should small employers do when their existing plan faces increasing costs, less flexible design choices and the possibility of federal penalties?
Small employers (those with fewer than 199 workers) have been slow to embrace self-funding, especially since it historically only made sense for large employers. However, as the January 1, 2014 implementation date for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act approaches, many small employers are beginning to recognize that their most viable option may be to abandon their fully insured approach and switch to self-insurance with a stop-loss policy backstop.
