Fringe Benefit Group Announces Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) Plans for Hourly Employees
Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 07, 2014 -- Fringe Benefit Group today announced the availability of Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) plans for its Framework platform, a variety of insurance plans designed specifically for hourly and part-time workers.
“We have provided payroll cycle billing benefits for more than 30 years and we excel at helping employers who have a large number of hourly employees working in multiple locations. Our broker partners came to us and asked us to offer an MEC plan because they know how well we handle large, complicated cases. Assessing a client’s needs and objectives can be tough when you know you have enrollment challenges, billing intricacies, missed premium issues and high turnover. Many employers are now searching for an MEC plan to meet those needs – and we are ready to deliver the plan they are looking for,” said Brian Robertson, executive vice president of Fringe Benefit Group. “Our goal is to support brokers to educate employers and employees about making the best decisions when providing and utilizing benefits.”
Designed for hourly and part-time employees, Framework benefits include MEC, fixed indemnity, dental, vision, critical illness, short-term disability, life insurance, and accident plans. The Framework benefits team works closely with brokers to customize plan design, pricing, communication, implementation, and enrollment to meet their customers’ individual needs.
Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC)-Preventative Only plans allow employers to offer qualifying coverage to their employees to satisfy the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) 2014 individual mandate on a self-funded basis. The Framework offering covers 100 percent of the 63 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) listed preventative services. Employees can avoid the individual mandate penalty ($95 or one percent of Adjusted Gross Income) by purchasing an MEC plan. By enrolling in this level of qualifying coverage, employers will meet the requirement of offering “qualifying” coverage but not the requirement of “affordable” or minimum value coverage.
“Offered alongside Framework’s fixed indemnity and ancillary benefits, the MEC plan allows employers to offer affordable benefit options to all employees. Utilizing the same administrative platform as our fixed indemnity benefits, we can provide communication, enrollment, payroll cycle billing and online missed premium administration. We know that offering benefits can assist employers in recruiting and employee retention," said Robertson.
Framework makes providing insurance for hourly and part-time employees easy on the employer. A live call center and online tools handle enrollment and member questions. Billing, eligibility, fulfillment, and identification cards are all customized to serve this particular market. Framework also serves as the IT interface for its clients’ HRIS and payroll systems and provides daily account management. Framework benefits are underwritten by multiple "A" rated carriers, providing employers with numerous plan options, flexibility, and strength.
Framework designed its voluntary benefits platform specifically for hourly and part-time workers, and while healthcare reform has changed the benefits landscape greatly, Framework is providing the solution for benefit needs now. Framework provides employers with a best-in-class benefits package, communication and enrollment services, and unique billing and premium payment options. Framework benefits are specifically designed for employers looking for a plan for their part-time employees that is affordable, flexible, and easily administered.
About Fringe Benefit Group
Austin, Texas-based Fringe Benefit Group and its affiliate companies have helped employers design and administer a wide variety of benefit programs since 1983. Through its nationwide network of independent brokers and agents, Fringe Benefit Group has established itself as the leader in government contractor health and welfare and retirement plans. Drawing on its expertise in the prevailing wage segment, the company has also emerged as a leader in group benefit plans designed specifically for hourly and part-time workers. For more information, visit http://www.frameworkbenefits.com.
Melinda Hart, Melinda Hart PR, +1 (210) 824-3433, [email protected]
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