Brief Overview                                                                                                                                Blog

Jacksonville health insurance premiums continue to rise and now is a great time to evaluate your options. We are one of the largest employee benefits and health insurance agencies in North Central Florida. We are a group health and employee benefits service corporation that provides unique insurance and human resource management programs that will attract and retain quality employees to support your specific business goals. We are a closed agency, partnering with other financial professionals in the area. We represent quality carriers who have committed to provide Jacksonville subscribers the best health insurance plans available in the market. Through our proven market evaluation and plan design concepts we can find or develop a plan that will manage your premium, while maintaining or increasing your current benefits. Let Health Insurance Jacksonville design a plan for you.

"60% of our new customers In 2006, didn't have to change insurance companies to get the right plan, they only needed to know all of their options."

For our Jacksonville office please call 904-332-9084. Our office hours are 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday - Friday. We can also be reached by email at riiistrickland@benefit-advisors.com. Please be specific regarding your request. Let us know if you are looking for individual & family health insurance in Jacksonville or if you are looking for group health or employee benefits.

Quick Links

• History of Health Insurance

• Individual Health Insurance

• Group Health Insurance

• Online Instant Quoting

• Consumer Driven Health Plans

• Little About HSAs

• Generic Medications

• Individual and Group Health Maternity Coverage

• Cure for the Common PBM

• HMO vs. PPO

• Health Insurance Jacksonville Plans

• Consumer Web Sites

• Before You Go to the Dentist

History of Health Insurance

      and of Jacksonville Health Insurance

The evolution of managed care is interesting to explore. The following is a very brief timeline of significant events.

1917 First HMO - Western Clinic Tacoma, Washington

1929 Baylor Hospital - Texas provides prepaid hospital care (origins of Blue Cross)

1938 First Group-model HMO - Origins of Kaiser Permanente

1939 Great Depression - AMA opposed prepaid group practice until 1949

1941-1945 During and after WW II- Employer-paid benefits proliferate

1973 HMO Act

1977 United Healthcare - formed as Charter Medical

1980s & 90s - HMO enrollments increase 25-30%

2000s - Consumer Drive Health Plans roll out

According to Shands the first hospital in Jacksonville was Shands Jacksonville in 1870. Shands Jacksonville was also known for being the first non-military hospital in Florida.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is the oldest health insurance provider in Florida. Their headquarters is in Jacksonville, Florida and they were founded in 1944. The Florida Hospital Service Corporation, the forerunner of Blue Cross of Florida, began operations in Jacksonville with a staff of four. In 1946, the Florida Medical Services Corporation was formed, eventually becoming Blue Shield of Florida. • The two companies consolidated in 1980 to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

Since the formation of Blue Cross & Blue Shield other companies came into the marketplace like Cigna, Principal, Aetna, United Healthcare and many local HMOs.

Individual Health Insurance

        Learn More about Individual Health Insurance Jacksonville

Most visitors who enter our health insurance Jacksonville web site are looking for individual & family health insurance. Obtaining quotes from our office is simple. You have three options:

1. Go to our online instant quote engine by clicking here.

2. Go to our online agent submission form by clicking here.

3. Call Stase' Fink at 888-479-0490 and speak with her directly.

Expert advice is difficult to find. If you are looking for an honest evaluation of your options you have come to the right agency. You will have access to a health insurance specialist, Stase' and not a call center with new agents every time you call. If she is on the phone or seeing a client please be patient! She will get back to you in a timely manner. If you do have patience we are confident you will receive the best service available. If you are an email fan go ahead and send your request to smfink@benefit-advisors.com, however we recommend the phone or an online form.

If you need to leave a message please provide your name and contact information. Take your time and speak slowly so that we can understand.

Group Health Insurance

      Learn More about Group Health Insurance Jacksonville

Our process for group health insurance and other employee benefits in Jacksonville is different than purchasing individual health insurance for you or your family. This is a process that requires an initial 20 minute appointment to review your current program and to understand your business goals. We work with quality insurance companies in Jacksonville like, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida, United Healthcare, Aetna, AvMed and other large group carriers like, Cigna, Principal and Humana. We are ranked in the top 1% and 4% with United Healthcare and Blue Cross. This ranking gives our clients a huge advantage in all areas of product, service, price & relationship.

We breakdown business sizes in the following categories:

1. 2-9 Employees (Fully-Insured)

2. 10-50 Employees (Fully-Insured)

3. 51-99 Employees (Fully-Insured)

4. 100-499 Employees (Fully-Insured & Partially Self-Funded)

5. 500+ (Self-Funded & Partially Self-Funded)

Whenever a category is created there will always be an exception. That's why Benefit Advisors takes a individualized approach when designing a benefits program. To learn more about our process and the documents needed for a market analysis please click here.

Online Instant Quoting is Available

For those of you searching for an instant individual & family health insurance quote in Jacksonville, just click on the following link and you will receive instant quotes comparing major health insurance companies. Keep in mind this is not a substitute for a licensed professional. It is critical to obtain health insurance from a licensed agent who can guide you through the process and be there when you have a claim or billing issue. Finding health insurance Jacksonville just got a whole lot easier.

> Individual & Family Health Insurance in Jacksonville

Consumer Driven Health Plans

       A Part of Health Insurance in Jacksonville

Look for more information in the coming weeks regarding consumer driven health plans.

Health Savings Accounts

Health Reimbursement Accounts

Flexible Spending Accounts

Section 125 Plans

Comparing MSAs, HSAs, HRAs, and FSAs: Which Approach Is Best?

Employers are increasingly looking to consumer-driven health plans to help soften the blow of continually rising healthcare costs. Depending on the model, these plans typically include Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), and most recently, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Some plans allow employees to use these accounts to pay for medical expenses that are not covered by insurance, while employers use others to provide employees with a fixed dollar amount with which they can purchase healthcare services or a health insurance policy on the open market.

The explosion of these types of plans — or at least the explosion of discussion about these types of plans as a potential cure for rising healthcare costs — has left many consumers and employers confused about the right approach. This edition of Perspectives provides some basic information about the similarities and differences between MSAs, HSAs, HRAs, and FSAs.

Medical Savings Accounts

Perhaps the original consumer-driven health plan, the Archer MSA is an account that allows year-to-year rollovers and is designed to be combined with a high-deductible health insurance policy. The high deductible policy protects the insured from catastrophic loss, such as a prolonged illness or hospitalization, or simply an unexpected period of poor health. The savings account is controlled by the individual, and is intended to pay for routine healthcare services. MSAs were authorized under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Congress simultaneously imposed on Archer MSAs several restrictions that reduce their practicality and appeal to employers and employees. For example, tax-free MSAs are only available to the self-employed and the employees of small businesses (under 50 employees). Larger and medium-sized employers and employees of companies that do not provide health insurance are not eligible for an Archer MSA. These individuals may be eligible for a nonqualified MSA plan, but the nonqualified plans provide no federal tax break.

Another downside to the Archer MSA: the employer and employee may not both contribute to the employee’s MSA in the same year. The MSA pilot program will expire on December 31, 2005.  While MSA accounts established prior to this date may continue to be used and receive contributions, no new accounts may be established after December 2005.

Health Savings Accounts

In December 2003, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 established a new type of tax-favored health savings account (HSA). HSAs are much like MSAs, but the rules applicable to HSAs are less restrictive. An individual that is (a) covered by a high deductible health plan, (b) does not have other health insurance coverage (with some exceptions), and (c) is not claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return may establish an HSA. An HSA may be established by an individual, including the self-employed, or may be employer sponsored. Unlike MSAs, the employer and employee can contribute to the HSA in the same year, subject to annual limits.

Like the MSA, the high deductible health plan is designed to protect the individual against catastrophic loss, but allows the individual to rollover unspent funds in the HSA from year to year. Since the HSA is a tax-exempt trust owned by the individual, the employee takes the account with them upon termination or retirement. While an HSA could be established as early as January 2004, many insurance carriers are still in the process of creating products that will qualify as a high deductible health plan. IRS guidance has now clarified many of the questions benefit experts were raising related to the use of HSAs.

Flexible Spending Accounts

In 1986, the Internal Revenue Code Section 125 introduced the Flexible Spending Account. FSAs provide a means for employees to considerably reduce their income tax liability through salary reduction. Employees can contribute a portion of their own salary to an account designated to pay for healthcare expenses. These pre-tax contributions are exempt from income and payroll taxes.

Several inherent design flaws have resulted in modest participation in FSAs. Tax code requires that only employers set up these accounts for their employees, leaving self-employed individuals and millions of other employees unable to set up their own accounts. In addition, the use-it-or-lose-it provision within the FSA is its biggest downside. Employees are required to elect a specific amount of salary deduction at the beginning of the year, and then must use every dollar in the account by the end of that year. Because annual medical expenses are hard to predict, employees often overfund the accounts and then spend unnecessarily at the end of the year to avoid forfeiting the money in their accounts.

Legislation that proposed to allow participants to carry over $500 from the prior year did not pass in 2003 as expected. This change would have built more consumerism into the use of FSAs. Critics of FSAs also note that they are difficult and confusing to set up and administer, causing many small and midsize employers without adequate resources to forego their use. In addition, filing claims for reimbursement can sometimes be difficult and time consuming for the employee.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements

In June 2002, the IRS confirmed that funds within a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) may be rolled over from year to year. HRAs allow employees to use employer contributions only for medical expenses or to pay health insurance premiums. Unlike FSAs, unused HRA balances may accumulate from year to year, thus providing a personal stake for the consumer in the financial outcome of his or her healthcare spending decisions. Because HRAs are group health plans, they are subject to laws such as HIPAA and COBRA. If an employee leaves an employer, he may continue to access unused funds within the HRA by electing COBRA. Under COBRA, the employer may also be required to continue its contributions during the COBRA coverage period. The requirement to continue contributions and comply with HIPAA is a deterrent for employers to implement an HRA.

Deciding on the Right Approach

Introducing consumerism into your health plan requires an evaluation of the benefits and disadvantages of MSAs, HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs.  No one solution is right for every employer. In light of the complexities of choosing the right consumer-driven health plan, many employers continue to take a wait-and-see approach.  If your organization is considering implementing a consumer-driven health plan, your Benefit Advisor representative can help you decide which plan is best for you.

Click Here for an Easy Print Out and Comparison Chart.

A Little About HSAs

        What are Health Savings Accounts?

As some employers in Jacksonville and Florida continue to incur huge rate increases again this year on their group health insurance, many businesses are looking to HSAs to control the increased costs. Health Savings Accounts were created by the Medicare bill signed by President Bush on December 8, 2003 and are designed to help individuals save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax free basis. Now employers can purchase HSAs for their employees. Many suggest that these plans represent the future of health care. Employers now have an affordable option for healthcare. Health Savings Accounts are not for everyone and we can help assess if it is right for you. Health insurance Jacksonville has never had so many options. Keep your eye out for the new Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) as many businesses will find these programs attractive and possibly more attractive than HSAs.

About Generic Medications

  Pricing is approximate average wholesale prices for 30 pills.

 This quick sheet is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of insurance professional.

Maternity Coverage

Pharmacy Coverage

 A cure for the common PBM

You know that health care costs are rising, fast. You know there’s no slowdown in sight. But, do you know that pharmacy benefits are one of the biggest contributors to those rising health care costs?

In fact, drug benefit costs are rising 15 – 20% per year, and account for 10 – 15% of total health care expenditures. Clearly, keeping drug benefits costs in line can go a long way toward improving your overall health benefits costs. But, drug benefits are popular, highly utilized benefits; simply slashing or eliminating them isn’t the right answer.

Larger companies in Jacksonville can find different ways to purchase pharmacy benefits through our national affiliate.

Temporary Health Insurance (Short-term) *Instant

If you are looking for temporary health insurance in Jacksonville we have a quick and easy health insurance policy for you. If you are looking for a short-term policy in between jobs it is absolutely critical that you speak with us directly. COBRA and Mini-COBRA will protect you from pre-existing conditions. Make sure you understand your the risks of switching from a group plan to an individual plan.

> Short Term Health Insurance

Student Health Insurance *Instant

Whether you are moving into Jacksonville or moving away to another campus you can purchase student health insurance from our preferred vendor Assurant/Fortis Health Insurance Company.

> Student Health Insurance

Everyone Wants Cheap Insurance, but why?

Buying cheap insurance never makes good sense. Buying quality Jacksonville health insurance that will protect you from financial loss due to a sickness or injury does make good sense. The question to ask is not, "Do you have cheap health insurance?, but do you represent financially stable companies with competitive premiums?" Every honest and reputable agent wants to find you the best coverage and price for your specific needs. Part of finding a good plan is working with a good agency.

Saving money on employee benefits is imperative in today’s economy. The cost of providing benefits is rising significantly, while employees consistently seek more and more from their benefits packages. Many employers struggle to balance employee needs with their own capabilities and bottom lines. Helping you meet these divergent needs is our specialty.

For over 25 years, Benefit Advisors has been providing insurance and employee benefits consulting services to the business community. Built upon a tradition of integrity, industry leadership, and excellence, we are committed to delivering tailored benefit solutions with thoughtful strategic planning, valuable professional services, and technology-based solutions.

With that in mind, we understand that retaining a broker to advise you about your insurance and benefits programs is an important process. You need to understand exactly how the broker-client-carrier relationship works, and why choosing Benefit Advisors as your broker is right for your organization.

What should you expect from your group health insurance broker?

Obtaining competitive quotes for coverage and handling claims problems is only a small part of what you should expect from your insurance and employee benefits advisors. Benefit Advisors goes farther, providing quality service throughout the year, including custom employee communication materials, human resources tools, claims data analysis services, and much more. We use these tools to help you meet your benefits objectives, and will raise the bar for what you expect from your insurance broker.

How can you officially retain Benefit Advisors' services?

There is no “typical” contract used to retain an insurance broker on your behalf. Benefit Advisors is an independent agency that works with a wide range of carriers in order to provide the best products for your insurance and employee benefits programs. Providing your current carriers with a simple letter that names Benefit Advisors as your “Broker of Record” will allow us to do an in-depth market analysis. By naming us as Broker of Record, Benefit Advisors can get quotes from more markets, better leverage our relationships with carriers, and enjoy a better negotiating position with carriers by truly serving as your representative. We can provide a sample Broker of Record letter at your convenience.

How is Benefit Advisors compensated for our services?

The resources that Benefit Advisors has invested in and provides to you are supported by commission paid to us by our clients’ carriers. Typically, clients select carriers at renewal, and pay a premium to these carriers each month. With those premium dollars in-hand, the carrier provides coverage to our clients and pays their claims, as well as pays commission to Benefit Advisors. Because brokers typically receive commission dollars on a monthly basis, your plan renewal dates do not affect your ability to retain broker services. You can easily change your broker at any time during your plan year. Is your current broker well compensated, but providing little more than an annual visit at renewal? Consider the added value that Benefit Advisors' services bring to the table.

Are your employees getting the best value for their money?

Your employees are paying for a portion of your benefit plans, and consequently are paying a portion of our fees. You’ll want to ensure that you are providing the best value and service for your company and its employees by working with a quality organization. Our clear and professional enrollment materials, wellness communication materials, and other resources can help keep your employees satisfied, healthy, and safe.

HMOs and the Changing Marketplace

HMO vs. PPO -

   South Atlantic Comparison

Health Insurance Jacksonville Plans

The biggest news in Jacksonville health insurance plans are the new products from Blue Cross, United Healthcare and Aetna.

• United Healthcare- UHC has unveiled their new EDGE plans with their Premium Designation Specialist at a lower copay. These plans also have preventive benefits covered 100% with the copay waived.

• Blue Cross & Blue Shield- BCBS has released their generation II BlueOptions plans with better ambulatoy surgical, wellness, hospice and ambulance coverage.

• Aetna- Aetna's new 800 series plans over the perfect balance of affordable and traditional plans. They are offering Gatekeeper plans at a 5% reduction in premiums and their new Value Pick series.

Florida Health Insurance & Health Insurance Jacksonville - The Skinny

Health Insurance Jacksonville! You have requested more information and we are here to help further investigate your options. Benefit Advisors specializes in employee benefits like health insurance and workers compensation. Since 1979 we have been an agency of abundant and intelligent product offerings, advanced services and competitive prices. Health Insurance, much like Jacksonville is in a constant state of change. Policyholders and employers have new options and we are here to help provide the options that best fit your specific needs.

Florida health insurance, health insurance in Jacksonville and Florida Group Health Insurance are changing and so should you.

Florida group health insurance, Florida small business health insurance and Florida small group health insurance are in a period of transition and redevelopment. Many changes are ahead for Florida and Jacksonville and even though business owners do not list health insurance as one of their top political issues, everyone is concerned about getting the best group health insurance and employee benefits programs for their insurance dollar.

Florida Health Insurance and Health Insurance Jacksonville, much to do with Governor Bush, state and federal legislation, is moving towards a more consumer driven marketplace. "Consumerism" is fast becoming the buzz word throughout the state. A consumer driven market is providing employees of small business, small group and other group health sizes more options and more control over when and where their money is spent. The introduction of the HSA has seen wide-spread appeal and interest. HSAs are soon to become the fastest Florida group health insurance policy-type conversion in years.

One group and individual health insurance agency that is leading the way through Ocala, Citrus, Gainesville, Central Florida and Jacksonville is Benefit Advisors and Health Insurance Ocala. With over 25 years of health insurance experience let Benefit Advisors review your current employee benefits programs and help your organization attract and retain quality employees to support your specific business goals. Current Florida Health Insurance and Health Insurance Jacksonville Products:

• Florida Group Health Insurance

• Small Business Health Insurance Florida

• Florida Small Group Health Insurance

• Individual & Family Health Insurance

• Group Life Insurance

• Group Dental Insurance

• Group Disability Insurance

More On Florida and Jacksonville Health Insurance