MEC is health insurance that simply meets the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate of baseline level health coverage. The benefits focus on preventative and wellness services such as routine checkups, immunizations, screenings, and limited prescription benefits. Unlike comprehensive coverage, MEC does not necessarily cover full major medical expenses. MEC's are a tax protecting tool that protects the group from the affordable offering piece of the ACA penalty.

ICHRA is a unique way to offer employees individual health insurance plans. It allows flexibility for employees to choose the plan that is best for them, while employers can control costs by setting defined contribution amounts. Our agency is one of the few that has been doing this since 2020 and are able to self-administer this without using high-cost third party administrators.

This is a traditional group health insurance plan. The employer can contribute 100% to 50% of the premium cost for each employee. The insurance company assumes all the risk and handles all medical and pharmacy claims. These plans provide a predictable cost for budgeting purposes and can be shopped annually with open enrollment.

A level funded health plan is a hybrid of fully insured and self-funded coverage. These plans are an underwritten program that could have better rates than the Fully-Insured plans. The employer pays a fixed monthly amount to cover expected claims, administrative fees, and stop loss insurance. If actual claims end up lower than predicted, the employer may receive a credit or refund. If they exceed the funded amount, stop loss insurance will absorb the excess. These plans are most common and best for small and midsize employers and the contracts are in place for one year.

A self-funded health plan gives employers greater control over how their group health benefits are designed, funded, and managed. Rather than paying a traditional insurance carrier a fixed premium, the employer funds employees' covered medical claims directly, typically with the support of a third-party administrator and a provider network. Stop-loss coverage can help protect the business from unexpectedly high claims, while the plan structure can provide greater transparency and flexibility. At Woodard Insurance, we help employers evaluate whether self-funding makes sense for their organization and guide them through plan design, administration, carrier negotiations, and ongoing management.

A captive health plan brings together a group of employers to collectively share healthcare risk and take greater control of their employee benefits. Rather than each business managing its healthcare risk independently, participating employers pool resources within a captive structure, typically with stop-loss protection against significant claims. This approach can provide greater transparency into healthcare costs and the potential to benefit from strong overall claims performance. Woodard Insurance helps employers evaluate captive options, understand the financial considerations, and determine whether this approach aligns with their goals.