California Construction Company Enhances Health Benefits While Reducing Fixed Insurance Costs by 28%
When faced with an 8% health insurance rate increase for their September 1st renewal, a Northern California construction and landscape management company turned to their insurance consultant for a creative solution. The proposed increase would have raised their fixed health insurance costs to more than $1.3 million—well above budget.
At the same time, employees were asking for richer benefits that aligned with the union-level offerings of competitors in the construction industry. The company’s leadership needed a strategy that would control costs while enhancing the benefits package to attract and retain talent.
That’s when their broker partner, McGriff, stepped in. McGriff, through its parent company Marsh & McLennan Agency, is a proud “Purple Producer” firm with The Difference Card and immediately identified the Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP) strategy as the right fit. Together with Cassidy Lutosky Meyer, a Difference Card Sales Consultant, the team designed a customized solution.
The Solution
The company had been offering four plan design options through two carriers—Sutter Health Plans and Kaiser Permanente. By restructuring the plan design into a dual-option insurance structure, The Difference Card and McGriff teams were able to:
To ensure predictable costs, the employer leveraged the Difference Guarantee’s Monthly Budget feature. This allowed the company to maintain a consistent monthly payment while guaranteeing a 100% return of surplus funds at year-end.
The Results
During open enrollment, employees were thrilled to learn they could keep their preferred provider networks while gaining access to richer benefits—at no added cost. Meanwhile, the employer achieved meaningful cost savings without compromising their long-term budget strategy.
At The Difference Card, we’re proud to help construction companies build smarter, more sustainable health plans that control costs while improving employee satisfaction.
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Key Takeaways
- Empresa de construcción y gestión de paisajes del norte de California enfrentó un aumento del 8% en la tasa de seguro de salud para su renovación del 1 de septiembre, lo que habría elevado los costos fijos a más de $1.3 millones, por encima del presupuesto.
- Los empleados pedían beneficios más generosos que se alinearan con las ofertas a nivel sindical de competidores del sector, por lo que la dirección necesitaba controlar costos y mejorar el paquete de beneficios para atraer y retener talento.
- El bróker McGriff, junto con The Difference Card y la consultora Cassidy Lutosky Meyer, propuso una reestructuración a una estructura de seguro de doble opción y la implementación de un Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP) personalizado.
- La solución redujo las primas fijas en un 28% (ahorro de $370,000 anuales), ofreció cobertura de primer dólar mediante el MERP y aplicó la función Monthly Budget de la Difference Guarantee para pagos mensuales predecibles y devolución del 100% del excedente al final del año.
- Resultado: los empleados mantuvieron sus redes de proveedores preferidas y obtuvieron beneficios más ricos sin costo adicional, mientras el empleador logró ahorros significativos y preservó su estrategia presupuestaria a largo plazo.
