November 5, 2024 • 26 mins
Unlock the power of Individual Contribution Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICRA) and revolutionize your approach to employee benefits! Join us as Ashley McQuade from Venture shares her expertise on how ICRA can transform the way small businesses manage health benefits, offering flexibility and personalization like never before.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Small Business Big World, our weekly
podcast prepared by the team atPaper Trails.
Owning and running a smallbusiness is hard.
Each week, we'll dive into thechallenges, headaches, trends,
fun and excitement of running asmall business.
After all, small businesses arethe heartbeat of America and
our team is here to keep thembeating.
Welcome to Small Business BigWorld, our weekly podcast where
(00:23):
we talk about all things smallbusiness.
Today, my guest is AshleyMcQuaid with Venture Icarus.
Right, just Venture.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Venture, adventure and entrepreneur.
All right, thank you.
Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
We're going to talk about Icarus, which we'll get
into that in just a second.
But before we get into that,don't forget, please like follow
share rate review on all thepodcast platforms.
We are there, trust me.
If you want to find us, youcertainly can.
Those ratings and views reallyhelp us grow and continue to
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So if you have any questionsabout any of the episodes that
we have, you can always email uspodcast at papertrailscom and
(00:57):
we will get back to you or getyou in touch with one of our
guests if we need to.
So all right, ashley, so you?
know we small business owners.
We spend a lot of money onbenefits and thinking about
benefits and how that all works.
You know health insurance,everyone wants it.
A lot of people can't afford it.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
You know a lot of people don't have access to it.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Talk to us about an ICRA.
What does that mean?
What does it do?
What does that look like interms of you know, an alternate
way of providing benefits toyour employees?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, so ICRA stands for Individual Contribution,
health Reimbursement Arrangement, that's that fun little acronym
.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
So ICRA is legislation passed in early 2020
.
We were actually founded later2020.
But so it's been around for abit, but really just exploded
within the last probably year.
So it's been around for a bit,but really just exploded within
the last probably year.
And so what ICRA allows is,instead of a traditional group
plan you think of your normalhealth insurance that we've all
had you have your employerpicking one carrier, maybe two
(01:55):
plans, maybe three, and tryingto fit everybody into those.
So it's defining a benefit.
With ICRA, your employer isgoing to define a contribution
and it's pre-tax dollars thatemployees can then go out to the
individual market and pick theplan that actually makes the
most sense for them.
So it's a lot more flexibility,a lot more affordable, and so
(02:17):
that's.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So the ICRA is a little bit of the second
generation to a QSEHRA.
Is that correct?
Because a QSEHRA is for smallbusinesses only.
Qsera is less flexible, I wouldsay Okay, so the ICRA is the
second generation, right of that, and basically we're improving
upon what has kind of worked forthose really small groups,
right, exactly, are there anylimits on the size of a business
(02:39):
or type of business that canuse this tool, this ICRA?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Nope, that's what's kind of a selling point is that
there is no participationrequirements.
We have clients, you know, oneto two person, startups, your
tech companies, all the way upto large hospital systems,
thousands of employees.
So there is no restrictionthere.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So I'm an employer.
I can say, hey, I can afford toprovide $500 a month to you for
your health insurance, but I'mnot going to choose it for you.
Instead, what we're going to dois say we're going to pay you
the $500.
You go to the marketplace, youfind a plan.
What happens if you find a planthat's $425 a month?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So I can speak to Ventor.
What we can do is actually rollthat into an HRA for employees,
which they absolutely love.
So if a company is alreadygiving that contribution, those
extra dollars can go into theHRA.
And they do have those IRSguidelines so it has to be a
qualified medical expense.
But that's where employees canput their health care dollars
(03:36):
towards.
Maybe a high prescriptionthey're on If they want to go
get a pair of glasses, peoplethat are family planning putting
it towards IVF.
So it gives them just way moresay in their healthcare dollars
and employees will be a lot morestrategic about how they shop,
knowing they have that, becausethey may pick a lower
utilization plan and not go forthe gold plan but maximize their
(04:00):
HRA dollars.
So we really do see that thatchanges the way that employees
shop.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, so it's kind of nice.
You can use it for premiums orfor healthcare expenses, whether
I'm assuming that includesco-pays for your doctors and
glasses and those kinds ofthings, right?
What about you know?
Is this really designed forjust medical care?
Can people do?
We mentioned glasses, so visiondental I assume you could use
kind of for the same idea right,they can put that towards that
as well.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
So Vision Dental I assume you could use kind of for
the same idea, right, they canput that towards that as well.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
What's the and, as with all things program-wise,
are there limits on this everyyear that the employer can
contribute pre-tax Like?
Is there it's only $5,600 ayear the employer can contribute
towards this, or is itunlimited right?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So it's unlimited in that the employer has the option
at the end of the year to ifthe employees don't spend all
that money, they can actuallyget the money back as savings to
the company.
The employer can decide toallow a portion to roll over or
let all of it roll over.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So it's kind of like a it's a HSA, fsa, hra all
rolled into one.
It's kind of a universal tool.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
The HRA dollars always stay with the employer.
If the employee terminates, itstays with the company.
But that is the point, is justthe flexibility for the employee
.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
So you know we've.
I can speak to my team, right,it's been very traditional for
the 20 years we've been inbusiness.
I go out, I shop it with ouragent every year, right, I get
really shitty quotes every year.
It goes up 12% every year,right, and my employees expect
that, right, they I as anemployer.
I like to say I'm going to giveyou the best coverage that we
(05:30):
can.
Right, we always choose silveror gold plans.
You know, we give a coupleoptions and I want people on
crappy plans.
Um, so I think it's alwaysworked for us.
But how do you get employees inthe mindset of gosh?
Now I have to go shop for myown insurance, right, because
insurance is really complicated,especially, I was talking to a
friend.
I was helping a friend who'snever had health insurance
(05:52):
before go through their benefit.
I just started a new job, gottheir benefit election, going
through online open enrollmentwith them trying to explain to
him this is what this means.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And this is what this means, and this is what this
means.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You know, I've got deductibles and coays and
coinsurance and all that kind ofstuff, right?
How are you getting employeesto think that way?
Right, so that they understandwhat they're buying?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
I've been that friend too.
I've been the fourth quartercall-in of the who do?
I know that works in insurance.
Oh, ashley, what's an EPO?
So with this it is.
It's the knee-jerk change.
Like you know, hesitance tochange but seeing the
flexibility and the savings, wehave the tools built in to
assist employees.
So there's on the platform andthat is really, I would say, our
(06:36):
differentiator in the market isour technology.
So the platform that they'reshopping on very intuitive.
It's built to help them picktheir plan.
Like they can put in theirdoctor, they can put in
prescriptions that they're on toidentify the networks where
those are, or I should say thosedoctors and prescriptions are a
network.
We also have live licensedadvisors.
(06:58):
They're all part of our teamUS-based Ventura employees,
licensed advisors to help thempick their plan.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
So that's really good .
I mean, I again I just thinkabout my employee participation,
who we're in payroll and HR.
So they were.
We're a little more versed inthis than, say, my father owns a
restaurant across the streetwhere his line cooks have no
idea.
Right, like gosh, I want to goto the doctor, pay my 50 bucks
and go home, right?
So I think you know teachingthe employees those kinds of
(07:25):
things is really important.
Going through these and I'massuming when you know you're
seeing your clients go throughthis there's a big education
push, couple of launches, coupleof you know demos and trainings
and things like that to reallyhelp figure out you know what
that is working on.
What are you seeing employerscontribute?
Is it you know?
(07:45):
Does it range?
Or how are you helpingemployers determine how much
they should be paying?
I guess is the question that Iwould ask, Because if I said,
well gosh, I'm paying $1,000 amonth for my employees today
sounds great, I'll just givethem $500 and they can go on
their way.
Well, can they expect to getgood coverage for that $500?
Or do I need to be putting morein?
(08:07):
Or how does that conversationgo?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So with ICRA there's two ways to fund it.
There is the flat dollar amount, where you give everyone the
same amount and that's it.
But we encourage a percentageof a plan, like, say, 75% of a
silver plan, because that wayyou're giving everybody the same
purchasing power but they stillhave the flexibility to say,
okay, I want silver, I'm goingto pay that 25% my employer
(08:31):
doesn't cover.
I want gold, I'm going to pay alittle bit more out of pocket,
maybe I pick a bronze.
I never go to the doctor andI'm going to maximize that HRA
dollars that we talked about ourhealth wallet.
But coming up with that is allpart of the proposal process,
which is, I mean, we runeverybody's kind of average and
show the employer hey, this iswhat your monthly spend would be
(08:52):
if you provide everybody that75% silver, so they're able to
fix their monthly spend knowing,no matter what, that's what
they're budgeting for everybody.
And then anything other thanthat is either going to be
health wallet or payrolldeduction.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
So I'm just thinking of the scenarios that I think
through when I'm buyinginsurance or when I'm selecting
insurance for our team.
What if you know we talkedabout so say, you quote 75% of a
silver average right?
Well, we know that healthinsurance generally is more
expensive for an olderpopulation right.
So someone may.
Is it going to come down to apoint where, gosh, you're 60
(09:31):
years old, I gave you X amountper month, but you can't find a
plan that's affordable, right?
Does that ever happen?
Because, again, we know, for a25-year-old it's a lot less than
it is for a 60-year-old, and Iknow my employee population
tends to be a little bit olderand that's why I spend so much
on insurance every year which isfine, but just thinking through
that scenario.
So, which is fine, but justthinking through that scenario.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
So that's why we would encourage the percentage,
because a flat dollar amountobviously, like a 27-year-old
$500 is going to cover way moreof their premium than someone 57
, because the rates on theindividual market are age-banded
and based on where you live.
So for that reason the 75% ismore equitable, because it's 75%
of a silver plan, whether thatperson's 27 or 57.
(10:15):
So no matter what coming out oftheir paycheck, it's still only
that 25%.
So it levels the playing fielda bit.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Okay, all right, I guess that's a good idea, so it
doesn't have to be consistentamong everybody, right?
Speaker 2 (10:31):
You could say- you could kind of age band it right,
so you could say gosh, ifyou're 60, I'm going to give you
a little more.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
If you're 25, I'm going to give you a little more.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I was going to say that kind of goes into the
classes that are allowed withICRA.
So there are 11 classes set bythe IRS and so they're
non-discriminatory, they'retotally compliant.
But there are ways that you canvary the contribution or even
vary like who you're offeringthe ICRA to.
So the most popular, I wouldsay, are full-time, part-time,
hourly salary and where theemployee based on the employee
(11:01):
where they live.
So if you had employees inMaine, maybe the rates aren't as
competitive as New Hampshire,so you give your employees in
Maine a little bit more.
Same thing with, maybe,part-timers, who are usually
left out of the conversation.
Maybe you're giving them a flat$100 as like a recruiting and
retaining strategy.
Same thing with seasonal ortemp Like I was thinking about
(11:24):
up here.
You've got a large populationof seasonal workers that come up
here Like this could be reallymeaningful for that restaurant
you know that you were talkingabout, to be able to offer them
benefits and attract people.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So so do you?
Does the employee have to provecoverage to you?
Or I mean, if you give them, ifyou say, hey, I'm going to give
you 500 bucks, they have toprove that they did something
with that.
Is that what the administratordoes?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yes, so that is um, employees are only eligible for
that those dollars if they'repurchasing an ICRA.
So it's not like, hey, if I'mwaiving, I don't still get the
500 bucks which would be cool.
But that is part of the benefitof working with the ICRA
administrator is that we'remaking the direct payments on
behalf of the employees.
So as an owner, we would billyou once a month for everybody's
(12:09):
premium, anything you'rewithholding anything, or you're
rather anything they'rewithholding from paychecks and
then we actually make thepayments directly to Carrier.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
So that was going to be my next question, right?
So if they're, if employee, yousay we're going to give you
$750 a month.
The employee goes and chooses agold plan you could and it's
$1,000 a month you could deductpre-tax that $250 from the
employee and to contribute.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Is that fair Okay?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Sounds like a bookkeeping mess.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And I'm an accountant .
That's all our engineers andproduct Some of our Slack
channels.
I'm like I don't even know whatthey're saying, but they're all
brilliant, they all handle that.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
No, I can see how it works for sure, and that was
going to be.
My question is you know, canemployees contribute pre-tax to
additional premiums or costs,which it sounds like it can,
which is really cool, so that'sawesome.
So what you know?
We talked a little bit aboutthe culture of this product and
you know, when we were talkingearlier you mentioned some
(13:11):
states are a little moreadvantageous than others for
this.
Or, you know, we're in NewEngland, right?
You said New Hampshire mightmake more sense than someone in
Maine.
What's that all about?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, and I have said that and I'm up front, that
there's certain states that aremore hospitable to ICRA than
others, like Vermont forinstance.
The rates just aren't ascompetitive, I would say overall
.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Like on the individual marketplace rates, on
the individual market rightversus like a group.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
There's also more narrow networks, which I think,
as this continues to be reallypopular, we'll see carriers
release plans for the individualmarket, so those will widen.
But for instance, like in NewHampshire, there's no PPOs
available on the individualmarket.
So you're an HMO, which a kneejerk for an employee might be.
(13:57):
Well, what if I want to go toBoston for treatment?
Right, right, right, if it's anemergency, you still can, but
you don't have that option onthe individual market.
You'd be on an HMO.
So that's all part of thediscussion with the employer,
like looking at your employeesand being up front and having
the conversation about theirneeds.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Yeah, and certainly I mean for me again that HMO is
always like that's the scarythree-letter you know, acronym
for me.
I never want to make.
I never want my employees to bein that kind of program, right
you know, hack a name for me.
I never want my employees to bein that kind of program, right
you know?
Our benefits person gives meoptions every year.
I'm like I don't even want tosee the year, just save it off,
right?
Because, again, I've always hada PPO.
It's always the most friendly.
It's always the most flexibleand again I want to provide good
(14:42):
coverage to my team.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So that's certainly something to think about.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
And in Maine they are .
The PPO is available.
You guys have, I think, over200 plans available up here,
which is sounds pretty great,yeah.
So what about those season?
What are you seeing theseasonal businesses do?
So say you're, you know, gosh,I'm a restaurant that's open
seasonally, you know, may toOctober, whatever that's the
main season right?
Are you seeing employers offerICHRAS for that time period, Say
, hey, go out, buy, at least youhave coverage for the summer.
Or do they work that out sothat they get the reimbursement
all year?
How are people working on that?
Speaker 2 (15:12):
So that would be if the employee is keeping the
coverage, all the individualplans they stay the same price.
So if an employee leaves, theydon't lose their coverage, they
would just take over thepayments and pay for it directly
.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Okay, so they could keep their insurance year-round,
they just so you're justoffering the subsidy, so to
speak.
Sorry, I keep hoping that'sokay.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
That might just be so .
When I was thinking about it, Iwas like you might have
employees that live in-state andkeep the coverage because
they're here anyway, Sure.
But I was thinking if you havea population that comes here to
work, they could have thecoverage while they're here, so
they have health insurance whilethey're here and then when they
leave they cancel it.
So that's another way.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
It's so flexible.
I'm sure the insurancecompanies don't like that.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
No, of course not.
But the flexibility is there todo that.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Right, and again, it's this whole
consumer-directed health caretrend that we're seeing.
We're seeing a lot more of theHSAs seeing, right, we're seeing
a lot more of the HSAs, we'reseeing a lot more of the FSAs,
and the ICRA is kind of a mergeof all of those kind of thoughts
.
Right, it's interesting to methat you can kind of use it like
that FSA kind of you know oryou know the HSA kind of thing.
(16:16):
Where, gosh, I'm going to givemy employees $1,000 a month or
whatever and they can go spend$500 on their, and $500 they get
to go spend on whatever theywant, as long as it's qualifying
, of course, right.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
And I will say, not every ICRA administrator does
that, but Ventura does.
Not everyone has that HRAelement, so I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Okay, which is nice, I mean, I think that's a really
cool way of doing that.
So obviously you need to findan administrator for this, it
sounds like, because there's alot of moving parts.
What does that administrator do?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So that's going to be , I mean, a full service ICRA
administrator.
What we'll do is from proposallike working to figure out the
contribution for the company,figuring out their budget,
pre-enrollment communicationsLike you said, the education
definitely starts far before theemployee's ever shopping.
Like that all comes ahead oftime with you know, group
meetings and materials we canshare, and then through the
(17:09):
actual open enrollment, shopping, getting through on the
platform and thenpost-enrollment it's all that
stuff on the back end.
So there's making payments tocarriers, helping the group get
their payroll set up, a lot ofcompliance pieces with ICRA,
things like PCORI fees and plansummary documents.
So we manage all of that.
And then probably the biggestpiece that all ties it together
(17:31):
is the customer supportthroughout the year.
So this is really where a groupcan see kind of taking that
administrative lift off of acompany, because these are all
individual plans you could haveemployees on six different
carriers across 40 plans.
They're coming to our team toassist them.
So if they have a claim thatgoes sideways or they need help
(17:53):
with a pre authorization, we'resupporting them throughout the
year as well, not just duringopen enrollment.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
What about ACA and ACA reporting?
Is this ACA compliant right?
We know employers with 50 ormore FTEs have to be providing
insurance.
Does this qualify for that?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
It does.
That's nice.
I know we're talking aboutsmall businesses, so I was going
to leave them out of it.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
No, that's a real concern.
Small businesses are of allsize.
We see that particularly withour client population.
We're very seasonal, heavywe're very hospitality heavy.
We've tried to help employersget coverage because they're an
applicable large employer,because they own two restaurants
or whatever, and they can'tfind plans that are one
(18:35):
affordable or two are, you know,are compliant and that they can
or that they can reach, theycan get enough employees to
enroll, to even meet thethresholds to get a plan.
So there there's all thesehurdles, and again I talk about
that hospitality workforcebecause that's where we've seen
it the most.
So you can offer this.
So I'm just going to again saythe offer of coverage.
(18:58):
That's what ACA is all about,right?
So if you say, hey, I'm arestaurant, I'm going to offer
you an ICRA, you take it great,you don't take it Great, but
I've offered it to you.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Right.
So it's counting as thecompliant.
You're meeting the minimumsessential coverage.
So with ACA there's a two-partfine, there's A and B, so you've
got your minimal essentialcoverage, minimum essential
coverage and then it has to beaffordable.
So that is part of what we doin the proposal process with an
ALE is benchmarkingaffordability.
(19:29):
So we say, if you offer, thisis your minimum basically to be
ACA compliant.
There's also other compliancethat comes along with ACA, like
1095 filings, those things thatwe'll also manage.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
So you guys do all that, we do all that.
Yeah, oh God, love you from thepayroll company.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Right, we do COBRA notices too we do all that.
But that's actually where we'reseeing the most growth.
So in the last year ICHRA grewabout 30% year over year.
84% of that, 30 were actuallyALEs, so that's where we're
seeing the most growth inbusiness size.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, I mean again, I see the hospitality piece being
the big piece for us andactually we have a couple of
hospitality clients who aredoing it, Chris, so it makes
perfect sense, Because you can'tget a plan for those kind of
groups.
So being able to have somethingflexible like this and be
compliant is really cool, andyou touched on the participation
(20:24):
too, which obviously is a hugedeal.
Yeah, and we see that problemwith clients and the
participation requirements right, All these carriers say you
have to have at least 50% ofyour population on board for us
to write this policy.
Are there participationrequirements for an ICRA?
Right, If you have 50 employeesand only three participate, is
that okay?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, that's.
Another huge draw of ICRA isthat there is no participation
requirements, and thenpersonally Ventura.
We have no minimums or anythinglike that.
So, like I said, we've got oneto two person startups all the
way to thousand life groups,multi-thousand life groups.
But that is again, yeah, a hugedraw of it because even
especially with remote workforcenow, where they're spread out,
(21:05):
trying to fit into a group planis can be a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So right and trying to find plans that are that work
in different states right, Imean, that's again we.
I have employees in threestates, and even for us that
becomes a challenge and you know, because we want to make sure
we're in network in certainareas and all that kind of stuff
, so that definitely createssome opportunity there for that
as well.
So what are you know if you'retalking to the employees, what
(21:30):
are the employees saying aboutthis?
What are they?
Are they coming back and saying, gosh, we really like this.
Or are they saying, gosh, no, Ireally want my employer to do
this work for me and select aplan.
What are they saying?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I mean the employees are.
It's positive because they'rethat savings too.
So ultimately I mean for themto come back and be like I kind
of feel like I got a bit of araise here.
I'm seeing more in my paycheckand the flexibility too.
I think like just seeing it nowtrying to fit a demographic of
people into like two plans justseems kind of crazy.
Like even the people that youknow you want to offer good
(22:03):
coverage, like you're talking,but there's still going to be
that don't want to spendanything out of pocket.
So it's like give them thatoption rather than forcing them
to get a gold plan they're nevergoing to use.
Like give them the flexibilityto pick up bronze and do
something else with thosedollars that they'd actually
find value in Right.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, I mean again my friend that I was talking to.
He said you don't need.
He wanted the gold PPO plan.
I'm like you don't need that.
You're 30 years old, you'rehealthy.
Yes, you want to go to thedoctors every year.
Go for a little bit higherdeductible.
You can afford to pay thatdeductible if you need it.
But don't pay that out of yourcheck every week because you're
never going to use it.
Likely Now, if your healthsituation changes, maybe that's
(22:39):
a different conversation.
But don't go pay $150 a weekfor a plan that you don't need.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Because, because that's the mentality, it's the
like, just in case, right.
And then it's like you look atthe max out of pockets and it's
like it's the same, almost the.
I won't say it's the same, butit's very similar between, like,
the silver and gold, but it'slike you're paying that much
more for the gold, right, right,that mentality and again, I, as
an employer, I have that hardconversation with myself every
year.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Saying conversation with myself every year, saying I
want to make sure I'm providinggood plans to my employees, I
want to make sure that ifsomething happens to them God
forbid they need to be in thehospital for a week, that
they're not going to come outwith a hundred thousand dollar
bill and all these issues andwhatever, right.
So I think that's certainly onmy you know again I want to be a
good employer, I want to beproviding that and I think
culturally as a society, for along, long time right 75 years
(23:31):
or more we've been saying theemployer is the one that needs
to provide this.
So it's definitely changing tothat kind of consumer directed
product is a real mindset changefor society and business
culture.
So what else?
If you had to tell a smallbusiness one thing about a ICHRA
or one huge benefit about anICHRA, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I mean, it's the whole package, it's the savings,
it's the flexibility and whenyou were talking about being an
employer and wanting those goodplans, that's been something
that's really been nice to see.
That's not everybody.
That's like what's the cheapest.
You know what I mean.
Employers really the majoritythat I've saved significant
money are reinvesting, likethey're increasing their
(24:14):
contributions, say from 50 to70%, so that's been really
positive.
But yeah, I truly believe it'sthe health care of the future.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
All right, health care of the future.
You're heard here.
If people want to get in touchwith you, what's the best way?
Either you or the companyVentor or whatever social email.
What's the best way to get intouch with you?
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yeah, our website, ventorcom V-E-N-T-E-U-Rcom.
We just released, underresources, a statewide it should
say state view, and you can goon.
You can actually see how manyplans are available in each
state, the carriers, samplerates.
Um, we've had a lot of added, alot of enhancements to our
website.
(24:57):
Um, I'm on linkedinashleymcquade at venturacom
there you go awesome.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Well, you heard here the health care of the future.
No, icarus, we're seeing a lotmore clients doing this, so it's
it's definitely something thatis really intriguing, and I
think we're going to have aconversation after this about
that.
So, well, good, all right.
Well, thank you for joining us.
Don't forget like, follow,share, rate review.
We are everywhere you get yourpodcasts.
We're on all the social medianetworks.
Remember, if you have questionsfor us or can't remember
(25:24):
Ashley's email podcast atpapertrailscom, we're happy to
get you in touch with any of ourguests, especially Ashley as
well.
So thanks so much for listeningand we'll see you next week.
Thanks for listening to thisweek's episode of Small Business
Big World.
This podcast is a production ofPaper Trails.
We are a payroll and HR companybased in Kennebunk, maine, and
we serve small and mid-sizedbusinesses across New England
and the country.
If you found atPaperTrailsPayroll across all
(25:54):
social media platforms and checkus out at PaperTrailscom for
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thoughts expressed by the hostsand guests alone.
The material presented in thispodcast is for general
information purposes only andshould not be considered legal
or financial advice.
By inviting this guest to ourpodcast, papertrails does not
imply endorsement of oropposition to any specific
individual organization, productor service.
This is Small Business Big World, our weekly
podcast prepared by the team atPaper Trails.
Owning and running a smallbusiness is hard.
Each week, we'll dive into thechallenges, headaches, trends,
fun and excitement of running asmall business.
After all, small businesses arethe heartbeat of America and
our team is here to keep thembeating.
Welcome to Small Business BigWorld, our weekly podcast where
(00:23):
we talk about all things smallbusiness.
Today, my guest is AshleyMcQuaid with Venture Icarus.
Right, just Venture.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Venture, adventure and entrepreneur.
All right, thank you.
Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
We're going to talk about Icarus, which we'll get
into that in just a second.
But before we get into that,don't forget, please like follow
share rate review on all thepodcast platforms.
We are there, trust me.
If you want to find us, youcertainly can.
Those ratings and views reallyhelp us grow and continue to
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So if you have any questionsabout any of the episodes that
we have, you can always email uspodcast at papertrailscom and
(00:57):
we will get back to you or getyou in touch with one of our
guests if we need to.
So all right, ashley, so you?
know we small business owners.
We spend a lot of money onbenefits and thinking about
benefits and how that all works.
You know health insurance,everyone wants it.
A lot of people can't afford it.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
You know a lot of people don't have access to it.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Talk to us about an ICRA.
What does that mean?
What does it do?
What does that look like interms of you know, an alternate
way of providing benefits toyour employees?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, so ICRA stands for Individual Contribution,
health Reimbursement Arrangement, that's that fun little acronym
.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
So ICRA is legislation passed in early 2020
.
We were actually founded later2020.
But so it's been around for abit, but really just exploded
within the last probably year.
So it's been around for a bit,but really just exploded within
the last probably year.
And so what ICRA allows is,instead of a traditional group
plan you think of your normalhealth insurance that we've all
had you have your employerpicking one carrier, maybe two
(01:55):
plans, maybe three, and tryingto fit everybody into those.
So it's defining a benefit.
With ICRA, your employer isgoing to define a contribution
and it's pre-tax dollars thatemployees can then go out to the
individual market and pick theplan that actually makes the
most sense for them.
So it's a lot more flexibility,a lot more affordable, and so
(02:17):
that's.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So the ICRA is a little bit of the second
generation to a QSEHRA.
Is that correct?
Because a QSEHRA is for smallbusinesses only.
Qsera is less flexible, I wouldsay Okay, so the ICRA is the
second generation, right of that, and basically we're improving
upon what has kind of worked forthose really small groups,
right, exactly, are there anylimits on the size of a business
(02:39):
or type of business that canuse this tool, this ICRA?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Nope, that's what's kind of a selling point is that
there is no participationrequirements.
We have clients, you know, oneto two person, startups, your
tech companies, all the way upto large hospital systems,
thousands of employees.
So there is no restrictionthere.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
So I'm an employer.
I can say, hey, I can afford toprovide $500 a month to you for
your health insurance, but I'mnot going to choose it for you.
Instead, what we're going to dois say we're going to pay you
the $500.
You go to the marketplace, youfind a plan.
What happens if you find a planthat's $425 a month?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So I can speak to Ventor.
What we can do is actually rollthat into an HRA for employees,
which they absolutely love.
So if a company is alreadygiving that contribution, those
extra dollars can go into theHRA.
And they do have those IRSguidelines so it has to be a
qualified medical expense.
But that's where employees canput their health care dollars
(03:36):
towards.
Maybe a high prescriptionthey're on If they want to go
get a pair of glasses, peoplethat are family planning putting
it towards IVF.
So it gives them just way moresay in their healthcare dollars
and employees will be a lot morestrategic about how they shop,
knowing they have that, becausethey may pick a lower
utilization plan and not go forthe gold plan but maximize their
(04:00):
HRA dollars.
So we really do see that thatchanges the way that employees
shop.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, so it's kind of nice.
You can use it for premiums orfor healthcare expenses, whether
I'm assuming that includesco-pays for your doctors and
glasses and those kinds ofthings, right?
What about you know?
Is this really designed forjust medical care?
Can people do?
We mentioned glasses, so visiondental I assume you could use
kind of for the same idea right,they can put that towards that
as well.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
So Vision Dental I assume you could use kind of for
the same idea, right, they canput that towards that as well.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
What's the and, as with all things program-wise,
are there limits on this everyyear that the employer can
contribute pre-tax Like?
Is there it's only $5,600 ayear the employer can contribute
towards this, or is itunlimited right?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So it's unlimited in that the employer has the option
at the end of the year to ifthe employees don't spend all
that money, they can actuallyget the money back as savings to
the company.
The employer can decide toallow a portion to roll over or
let all of it roll over.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So it's kind of like a it's a HSA, fsa, hra all
rolled into one.
It's kind of a universal tool.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
The HRA dollars always stay with the employer.
If the employee terminates, itstays with the company.
But that is the point, is justthe flexibility for the employee
.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
So you know we've.
I can speak to my team, right,it's been very traditional for
the 20 years we've been inbusiness.
I go out, I shop it with ouragent every year, right, I get
really shitty quotes every year.
It goes up 12% every year,right, and my employees expect
that, right, they I as anemployer.
I like to say I'm going to giveyou the best coverage that we
(05:30):
can.
Right, we always choose silveror gold plans.
You know, we give a coupleoptions and I want people on
crappy plans.
Um, so I think it's alwaysworked for us.
But how do you get employees inthe mindset of gosh?
Now I have to go shop for myown insurance, right, because
insurance is really complicated,especially, I was talking to a
friend.
I was helping a friend who'snever had health insurance
(05:52):
before go through their benefit.
I just started a new job, gottheir benefit election, going
through online open enrollmentwith them trying to explain to
him this is what this means.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And this is what this means, and this is what this
means.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You know, I've got deductibles and coays and
coinsurance and all that kind ofstuff, right?
How are you getting employeesto think that way?
Right, so that they understandwhat they're buying?
Speaker 2 (06:14):
I've been that friend too.
I've been the fourth quartercall-in of the who do?
I know that works in insurance.
Oh, ashley, what's an EPO?
So with this it is.
It's the knee-jerk change.
Like you know, hesitance tochange but seeing the
flexibility and the savings, wehave the tools built in to
assist employees.
So there's on the platform andthat is really, I would say, our
(06:36):
differentiator in the market isour technology.
So the platform that they'reshopping on very intuitive.
It's built to help them picktheir plan.
Like they can put in theirdoctor, they can put in
prescriptions that they're on toidentify the networks where
those are, or I should say thosedoctors and prescriptions are a
network.
We also have live licensedadvisors.
(06:58):
They're all part of our teamUS-based Ventura employees,
licensed advisors to help thempick their plan.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
So that's really good .
I mean, I again I just thinkabout my employee participation,
who we're in payroll and HR.
So they were.
We're a little more versed inthis than, say, my father owns a
restaurant across the streetwhere his line cooks have no
idea.
Right, like gosh, I want to goto the doctor, pay my 50 bucks
and go home, right?
So I think you know teachingthe employees those kinds of
(07:25):
things is really important.
Going through these and I'massuming when you know you're
seeing your clients go throughthis there's a big education
push, couple of launches, coupleof you know demos and trainings
and things like that to reallyhelp figure out you know what
that is working on.
What are you seeing employerscontribute?
Is it you know?
(07:45):
Does it range?
Or how are you helpingemployers determine how much
they should be paying?
I guess is the question that Iwould ask, Because if I said,
well gosh, I'm paying $1,000 amonth for my employees today
sounds great, I'll just givethem $500 and they can go on
their way.
Well, can they expect to getgood coverage for that $500?
Or do I need to be putting morein?
(08:07):
Or how does that conversationgo?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So with ICRA there's two ways to fund it.
There is the flat dollar amount, where you give everyone the
same amount and that's it.
But we encourage a percentageof a plan, like, say, 75% of a
silver plan, because that wayyou're giving everybody the same
purchasing power but they stillhave the flexibility to say,
okay, I want silver, I'm goingto pay that 25% my employer
(08:31):
doesn't cover.
I want gold, I'm going to pay alittle bit more out of pocket,
maybe I pick a bronze.
I never go to the doctor andI'm going to maximize that HRA
dollars that we talked about ourhealth wallet.
But coming up with that is allpart of the proposal process,
which is, I mean, we runeverybody's kind of average and
show the employer hey, this iswhat your monthly spend would be
(08:52):
if you provide everybody that75% silver, so they're able to
fix their monthly spend knowing,no matter what, that's what
they're budgeting for everybody.
And then anything other thanthat is either going to be
health wallet or payrolldeduction.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
So I'm just thinking of the scenarios that I think
through when I'm buyinginsurance or when I'm selecting
insurance for our team.
What if you know we talkedabout so say, you quote 75% of a
silver average right?
Well, we know that healthinsurance generally is more
expensive for an olderpopulation right.
So someone may.
Is it going to come down to apoint where, gosh, you're 60
(09:31):
years old, I gave you X amountper month, but you can't find a
plan that's affordable, right?
Does that ever happen?
Because, again, we know, for a25-year-old it's a lot less than
it is for a 60-year-old, and Iknow my employee population
tends to be a little bit olderand that's why I spend so much
on insurance every year which isfine, but just thinking through
that scenario.
So, which is fine, but justthinking through that scenario.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
So that's why we would encourage the percentage,
because a flat dollar amountobviously, like a 27-year-old
$500 is going to cover way moreof their premium than someone 57
, because the rates on theindividual market are age-banded
and based on where you live.
So for that reason the 75% ismore equitable, because it's 75%
of a silver plan, whether thatperson's 27 or 57.
(10:15):
So no matter what coming out oftheir paycheck, it's still only
that 25%.
So it levels the playing fielda bit.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Okay, all right, I guess that's a good idea, so it
doesn't have to be consistentamong everybody, right?
Speaker 2 (10:31):
You could say- you could kind of age band it right,
so you could say gosh, ifyou're 60, I'm going to give you
a little more.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
If you're 25, I'm going to give you a little more.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I was going to say that kind of goes into the
classes that are allowed withICRA.
So there are 11 classes set bythe IRS and so they're
non-discriminatory, they'retotally compliant.
But there are ways that you canvary the contribution or even
vary like who you're offeringthe ICRA to.
So the most popular, I wouldsay, are full-time, part-time,
hourly salary and where theemployee based on the employee
(11:01):
where they live.
So if you had employees inMaine, maybe the rates aren't as
competitive as New Hampshire,so you give your employees in
Maine a little bit more.
Same thing with, maybe,part-timers, who are usually
left out of the conversation.
Maybe you're giving them a flat$100 as like a recruiting and
retaining strategy.
Same thing with seasonal ortemp Like I was thinking about
(11:24):
up here.
You've got a large populationof seasonal workers that come up
here Like this could be reallymeaningful for that restaurant
you know that you were talkingabout, to be able to offer them
benefits and attract people.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So so do you?
Does the employee have to provecoverage to you?
Or I mean, if you give them, ifyou say, hey, I'm going to give
you 500 bucks, they have toprove that they did something
with that.
Is that what the administratordoes?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yes, so that is um, employees are only eligible for
that those dollars if they'repurchasing an ICRA.
So it's not like, hey, if I'mwaiving, I don't still get the
500 bucks which would be cool.
But that is part of the benefitof working with the ICRA
administrator is that we'remaking the direct payments on
behalf of the employees.
So as an owner, we would billyou once a month for everybody's
(12:09):
premium, anything you'rewithholding anything, or you're
rather anything they'rewithholding from paychecks and
then we actually make thepayments directly to Carrier.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
So that was going to be my next question, right?
So if they're, if employee, yousay we're going to give you
$750 a month.
The employee goes and chooses agold plan you could and it's
$1,000 a month you could deductpre-tax that $250 from the
employee and to contribute.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Is that fair Okay?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Sounds like a bookkeeping mess.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And I'm an accountant .
That's all our engineers andproduct Some of our Slack
channels.
I'm like I don't even know whatthey're saying, but they're all
brilliant, they all handle that.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
No, I can see how it works for sure, and that was
going to be.
My question is you know, canemployees contribute pre-tax to
additional premiums or costs,which it sounds like it can,
which is really cool, so that'sawesome.
So what you know?
We talked a little bit aboutthe culture of this product and
you know, when we were talkingearlier you mentioned some
(13:11):
states are a little moreadvantageous than others for
this.
Or, you know, we're in NewEngland, right?
You said New Hampshire mightmake more sense than someone in
Maine.
What's that all about?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, and I have said that and I'm up front, that
there's certain states that aremore hospitable to ICRA than
others, like Vermont forinstance.
The rates just aren't ascompetitive, I would say overall
.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Like on the individual marketplace rates, on
the individual market rightversus like a group.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
There's also more narrow networks, which I think,
as this continues to be reallypopular, we'll see carriers
release plans for the individualmarket, so those will widen.
But for instance, like in NewHampshire, there's no PPOs
available on the individualmarket.
So you're an HMO, which a kneejerk for an employee might be.
(13:57):
Well, what if I want to go toBoston for treatment?
Right, right, right, if it's anemergency, you still can, but
you don't have that option onthe individual market.
You'd be on an HMO.
So that's all part of thediscussion with the employer,
like looking at your employeesand being up front and having
the conversation about theirneeds.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Yeah, and certainly I mean for me again that HMO is
always like that's the scarythree-letter you know, acronym
for me.
I never want to make.
I never want my employees to bein that kind of program, right
you know, hack a name for me.
I never want my employees to bein that kind of program, right
you know?
Our benefits person gives meoptions every year.
I'm like I don't even want tosee the year, just save it off,
right?
Because, again, I've always hada PPO.
It's always the most friendly.
It's always the most flexibleand again I want to provide good
(14:42):
coverage to my team.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So that's certainly something to think about.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
And in Maine they are .
The PPO is available.
You guys have, I think, over200 plans available up here,
which is sounds pretty great,yeah.
So what about those season?
What are you seeing theseasonal businesses do?
So say you're, you know, gosh,I'm a restaurant that's open
seasonally, you know, may toOctober, whatever that's the
main season right?
Are you seeing employers offerICHRAS for that time period, Say
, hey, go out, buy, at least youhave coverage for the summer.
Or do they work that out sothat they get the reimbursement
all year?
How are people working on that?
Speaker 2 (15:12):
So that would be if the employee is keeping the
coverage, all the individualplans they stay the same price.
So if an employee leaves, theydon't lose their coverage, they
would just take over thepayments and pay for it directly
.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Okay, so they could keep their insurance year-round,
they just so you're justoffering the subsidy, so to
speak.
Sorry, I keep hoping that'sokay.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
That might just be so .
When I was thinking about it, Iwas like you might have
employees that live in-state andkeep the coverage because
they're here anyway, Sure.
But I was thinking if you havea population that comes here to
work, they could have thecoverage while they're here, so
they have health insurance whilethey're here and then when they
leave they cancel it.
So that's another way.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
It's so flexible.
I'm sure the insurancecompanies don't like that.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
No, of course not.
But the flexibility is there todo that.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Right, and again, it's this whole
consumer-directed health caretrend that we're seeing.
We're seeing a lot more of theHSAs seeing, right, we're seeing
a lot more of the HSAs, we'reseeing a lot more of the FSAs,
and the ICRA is kind of a mergeof all of those kind of thoughts
.
Right, it's interesting to methat you can kind of use it like
that FSA kind of you know oryou know the HSA kind of thing.
(16:16):
Where, gosh, I'm going to givemy employees $1,000 a month or
whatever and they can go spend$500 on their, and $500 they get
to go spend on whatever theywant, as long as it's qualifying
, of course, right.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
And I will say, not every ICRA administrator does
that, but Ventura does.
Not everyone has that HRAelement, so I don't.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Okay, which is nice, I mean, I think that's a really
cool way of doing that.
So obviously you need to findan administrator for this, it
sounds like, because there's alot of moving parts.
What does that administrator do?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So that's going to be , I mean, a full service ICRA
administrator.
What we'll do is from proposallike working to figure out the
contribution for the company,figuring out their budget,
pre-enrollment communicationsLike you said, the education
definitely starts far before theemployee's ever shopping.
Like that all comes ahead oftime with you know, group
meetings and materials we canshare, and then through the
(17:09):
actual open enrollment, shopping, getting through on the
platform and thenpost-enrollment it's all that
stuff on the back end.
So there's making payments tocarriers, helping the group get
their payroll set up, a lot ofcompliance pieces with ICRA,
things like PCORI fees and plansummary documents.
So we manage all of that.
And then probably the biggestpiece that all ties it together
(17:31):
is the customer supportthroughout the year.
So this is really where a groupcan see kind of taking that
administrative lift off of acompany, because these are all
individual plans you could haveemployees on six different
carriers across 40 plans.
They're coming to our team toassist them.
So if they have a claim thatgoes sideways or they need help
(17:53):
with a pre authorization, we'resupporting them throughout the
year as well, not just duringopen enrollment.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
What about ACA and ACA reporting?
Is this ACA compliant right?
We know employers with 50 ormore FTEs have to be providing
insurance.
Does this qualify for that?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
It does.
That's nice.
I know we're talking aboutsmall businesses, so I was going
to leave them out of it.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
No, that's a real concern.
Small businesses are of allsize.
We see that particularly withour client population.
We're very seasonal, heavywe're very hospitality heavy.
We've tried to help employersget coverage because they're an
applicable large employer,because they own two restaurants
or whatever, and they can'tfind plans that are one
(18:35):
affordable or two are, you know,are compliant and that they can
or that they can reach, theycan get enough employees to
enroll, to even meet thethresholds to get a plan.
So there there's all thesehurdles, and again I talk about
that hospitality workforcebecause that's where we've seen
it the most.
So you can offer this.
So I'm just going to again saythe offer of coverage.
(18:58):
That's what ACA is all about,right?
So if you say, hey, I'm arestaurant, I'm going to offer
you an ICRA, you take it great,you don't take it Great, but
I've offered it to you.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Right.
So it's counting as thecompliant.
You're meeting the minimumsessential coverage.
So with ACA there's a two-partfine, there's A and B, so you've
got your minimal essentialcoverage, minimum essential
coverage and then it has to beaffordable.
So that is part of what we doin the proposal process with an
ALE is benchmarkingaffordability.
(19:29):
So we say, if you offer, thisis your minimum basically to be
ACA compliant.
There's also other compliancethat comes along with ACA, like
1095 filings, those things thatwe'll also manage.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
So you guys do all that, we do all that.
Yeah, oh God, love you from thepayroll company.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Right, we do COBRA notices too we do all that.
But that's actually where we'reseeing the most growth.
So in the last year ICHRA grewabout 30% year over year.
84% of that, 30 were actuallyALEs, so that's where we're
seeing the most growth inbusiness size.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, I mean again, I see the hospitality piece being
the big piece for us andactually we have a couple of
hospitality clients who aredoing it, Chris, so it makes
perfect sense, Because you can'tget a plan for those kind of
groups.
So being able to have somethingflexible like this and be
compliant is really cool, andyou touched on the participation
(20:24):
too, which obviously is a hugedeal.
Yeah, and we see that problemwith clients and the
participation requirements right, All these carriers say you
have to have at least 50% ofyour population on board for us
to write this policy.
Are there participationrequirements for an ICRA?
Right, If you have 50 employeesand only three participate, is
that okay?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah, that's.
Another huge draw of ICRA isthat there is no participation
requirements, and thenpersonally Ventura.
We have no minimums or anythinglike that.
So, like I said, we've got oneto two person startups all the
way to thousand life groups,multi-thousand life groups.
But that is again, yeah, a hugedraw of it because even
especially with remote workforcenow, where they're spread out,
(21:05):
trying to fit into a group planis can be a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So right and trying to find plans that are that work
in different states right, Imean, that's again we.
I have employees in threestates, and even for us that
becomes a challenge and you know, because we want to make sure
we're in network in certainareas and all that kind of stuff
, so that definitely createssome opportunity there for that
as well.
So what are you know if you'retalking to the employees, what
(21:30):
are the employees saying aboutthis?
What are they?
Are they coming back and saying, gosh, we really like this.
Or are they saying, gosh, no, Ireally want my employer to do
this work for me and select aplan.
What are they saying?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I mean the employees are.
It's positive because they'rethat savings too.
So ultimately I mean for themto come back and be like I kind
of feel like I got a bit of araise here.
I'm seeing more in my paycheckand the flexibility too.
I think like just seeing it nowtrying to fit a demographic of
people into like two plans justseems kind of crazy.
Like even the people that youknow you want to offer good
(22:03):
coverage, like you're talking,but there's still going to be
that don't want to spendanything out of pocket.
So it's like give them thatoption rather than forcing them
to get a gold plan they're nevergoing to use.
Like give them the flexibilityto pick up bronze and do
something else with thosedollars that they'd actually
find value in Right.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, I mean again my friend that I was talking to.
He said you don't need.
He wanted the gold PPO plan.
I'm like you don't need that.
You're 30 years old, you'rehealthy.
Yes, you want to go to thedoctors every year.
Go for a little bit higherdeductible.
You can afford to pay thatdeductible if you need it.
But don't pay that out of yourcheck every week because you're
never going to use it.
Likely Now, if your healthsituation changes, maybe that's
(22:39):
a different conversation.
But don't go pay $150 a weekfor a plan that you don't need.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Because, because that's the mentality, it's the
like, just in case, right.
And then it's like you look atthe max out of pockets and it's
like it's the same, almost the.
I won't say it's the same, butit's very similar between, like,
the silver and gold, but it'slike you're paying that much
more for the gold, right, right,that mentality and again, I, as
an employer, I have that hardconversation with myself every
year.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Saying conversation with myself every year, saying I
want to make sure I'm providinggood plans to my employees, I
want to make sure that ifsomething happens to them God
forbid they need to be in thehospital for a week, that
they're not going to come outwith a hundred thousand dollar
bill and all these issues andwhatever, right.
So I think that's certainly onmy you know again I want to be a
good employer, I want to beproviding that and I think
culturally as a society, for along, long time right 75 years
(23:31):
or more we've been saying theemployer is the one that needs
to provide this.
So it's definitely changing tothat kind of consumer directed
product is a real mindset changefor society and business
culture.
So what else?
If you had to tell a smallbusiness one thing about a ICHRA
or one huge benefit about anICHRA, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I mean, it's the whole package, it's the savings,
it's the flexibility and whenyou were talking about being an
employer and wanting those goodplans, that's been something
that's really been nice to see.
That's not everybody.
That's like what's the cheapest.
You know what I mean.
Employers really the majoritythat I've saved significant
money are reinvesting, likethey're increasing their
(24:14):
contributions, say from 50 to70%, so that's been really
positive.
But yeah, I truly believe it'sthe health care of the future.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
All right, health care of the future.
You're heard here.
If people want to get in touchwith you, what's the best way?
Either you or the companyVentor or whatever social email.
What's the best way to get intouch with you?
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yeah, our website, ventorcom V-E-N-T-E-U-Rcom.
We just released, underresources, a statewide it should
say state view, and you can goon.
You can actually see how manyplans are available in each
state, the carriers, samplerates.
Um, we've had a lot of added, alot of enhancements to our
website.
(24:57):
Um, I'm on linkedinashleymcquade at venturacom
there you go awesome.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Well, you heard here the health care of the future.
No, icarus, we're seeing a lotmore clients doing this, so it's
it's definitely something thatis really intriguing, and I
think we're going to have aconversation after this about
that.
So, well, good, all right.
Well, thank you for joining us.
Don't forget like, follow,share, rate review.
We are everywhere you get yourpodcasts.
We're on all the social medianetworks.
Remember, if you have questionsfor us or can't remember
(25:24):
Ashley's email podcast atpapertrailscom, we're happy to
get you in touch with any of ourguests, especially Ashley as
well.
So thanks so much for listeningand we'll see you next week.
Thanks for listening to thisweek's episode of Small Business
Big World.
This podcast is a production ofPaper Trails.
We are a payroll and HR companybased in Kennebunk, maine, and
we serve small and mid-sizedbusinesses across New England
and the country.
If you found atPaperTrailsPayroll across all
(25:54):
social media platforms and checkus out at PaperTrailscom for
more information, as a reminder,the views, opinions and
thoughts expressed by the hostsand guests alone.
The material presented in thispodcast is for general
information purposes only andshould not be considered legal
or financial advice.
By inviting this guest to ourpodcast, papertrails does not
imply endorsement of oropposition to any specific
individual organization, productor service.
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