May Case Study: The Difference Card Helps the Borough of Dunellen to Save -15% worth $131,020 annually!
The Borough of Dunellen is a municipality in the state of New Jersey. The public entity has seen their health insurance costs rise by over 30% in the past few years and were spending close to $900,000 annually in healthcare costs. While other municipalities were raising taxes to cover the increases, Dunellen chose to work with the innovative teams at Capital Benefits and the Difference Card to find ways to save money for the Borough, as well as the membership.
Joseph Ablahani, CEO of Capital Benefits, and Eric Murtha, Senior Benefits Manager of Capital Benefits, worked with Meghan Presutti from the Difference Card team to find a solution that would reduce the Borough of Dunellen’s health insurance spend by -15% annually. The Borough purchases their health insurance coverage through the New Jersey State Health Benefits Plan under the local government division. Most of the Dunellen employees were enrolled in the NJ Direct 10 plan which includes a $10 copayment for most office visit services.
Joseph, Eric, and Meghan worked with the Borough and union leaders to develop an offering where employees would migrate to the NJ Direct 2035 which would deliver the same network access through Horizon BCBS of NJ. When packaged with the Difference Card HRA the members experienced improved out of pocket expenses on both benefits and payroll contributions. This move saved the Borough -25% off their fixed insurance costs. Taking advantage of this offering reduced the premium contributions for the employees by -25%. This put dollars back in the paychecks of the Borough employees. Some of the staff saved as much as $3,000 annually. Next, for those that took advantage of this offering, the parties agreed that the Difference Card would provide an HRA (Health Reimbursement Arrangement) to maintain equal to or better than benefits for the members within the Borough of Dunellen’s health plan. The net effect is that the employees continued to receive the same great benefits at a cost of -25% less. The Borough reduced taxpayer liabilities by -15% worth $131,020 annually and over $700,000 over a five-year compounded period. To learn more about this case study, read the recent article about the Borough of Dunellen in the New Jersey Cops Magazine.
“I have always had a fondness for public employers in New Jersey since I have family in law enforcement. It was a pleasure assisting the Borough of Dunellen and their employees by listening to their concerns and frustrations while helping to create a plan option that is beneficial to everyone. Offering the Difference Card with the SHBP is an overall win for the employer, employees and the residents of Dunellen by providing a real solution to help maintain affordable living in New Jersey.”
Meghan Presutti, Senior Consultant
The Difference Card helps employers in all industries, to save an average of over 18% on their health insurance costs, while often improving benefits and the experience for employees.
To learn how much The Difference Card can save you, find a consultant in your region or request a proposal today.