When it comes to the public sector, healthcare costs are important. Healthcare is the second-largest expenditure, surpassed only by payroll. For government and education employers, this burden is often magnified due to the comprehensive nature of the benefits they provide.
Let’s break it down:
According to KFF Research, the average cost of health insurance in the United States is about $7,700 for one person and $22,200 for a family each year. For a group with 1,500 workers, that’s a lot of money. If half of them have single insurance and the other half have family plans, the total cost for health insurance each year is around $22,425,000.
Here’s how it adds up:
- Single Insurance: 750 people x $7,700 = $5,775,000
- Family Insurance: 750 people x $22,200 = $16,650,000
- Total Cost: $22,425,000
Within these figures lies a hidden challenge: invoice inaccuracies! A recent article from SHRM indicates that 15-25%* of invoices from benefit carriers contain significant errors. Applying this to our example, the potential cost “leakage” due to billing errors ranges from $3,363,750 to $5,606,259.
These discrepancies often go unnoticed until it’s too late, a consequence of outdated auditing and reconciliation processes.
With budgets getting tighter, state, local governments, and educational institutions need to do more with less money. This begs the question:
So how much potential savings are being missed?
What if these funds could be redirected into the entity’s fiscal plan and the impact this might have on their budget.
As plan sponsors, employers bear the fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the participants and manage plan assets with prudence. Imagine the impact of reclaiming and reallocating between $3.3 million and $5.6 million into the budget. The possibilities for program enhancement, service expansion, and community support are vast.
It’s time to stop the leakage. The Bentek solution is tailored to address the unique challenges faced by the public sector. Let’s work together to safeguard the financial health of your entity and, by extension, the community it serves. The question isn’t just about savings; it’s about stewardship and service.
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