Dashboard: Welcome to Health Insurance Season!

[Music] welcome to another 21 hats dashboard I'm Lauren Feldman I'm here with Gene marks to talk about the stories and issues we think business owners should be following this week welcome Jean hey Lauren how are you I'm great how are you I am doing just fine been on the road uh as usual uh anywhere interesting uh I spoke to a bunch of people that sell Toyota Material Handling equipment like forklift businesses you know wow uh in Indianapolis spoke to an association of HVAC contractors in Sacramento and I spoke to a bunch of people that uh sell and install fire safety equipment uh which was supposed to be in Tampa last week but um turned out not to be in Tampa we did that somewhere else did did they did they tell you they moved it yeah oh yeah yeah I was wared in advance um but lots of different businesses in different Industries all experiencing different things interesting all right as usual you've been writing and talking about issues that matter to business owners I I want to start with a piece you wrote uh very recently about how business owners can try to save on health insurance topic that comes up this time of year uh no surprise rates uh are expected to be going up uh they always go up um but is it looking worse this year given the inflationary environment no I mean worse than in years past but not catastrophic we're looking anywhere from a 6 to 8% increase in health insurance and um you know Le I got a couple I learned I did this for a piece for the affili inquire I learned two interesting things that I think I'd like to I'd love to share with you that's what we're here for absolutely yeah um so first of all um from speaking to the the benefits advisers and and my clients as well there's been this big big increase in level funded plans that's the first thing a level funded plan is yeah do tell yeah it's a form of self- insurance so you say to your employees listen um for the first $1,000 in your medical expenses you come to us first and we'll write you a check or administrator will write you a check and then after that $1,000 a group insurance plan will kick in to cover any of the big potential issues right so in a in a sense as a business owner you're self-insuring at the lowest level right if you have a if you have a healthy Workforce and a young Workforce um particularly if you're like a startup or a younger company if you're just paying straight out Group insurance for people a lot of your employees aren't even using it which means you're overpaying so you might as well self-insure at the lower level and then you know your group insurance rates themselves are lower as well because the insurance companies you're you're you're you're taking some risk at the lowest level so you really do wind up saving you know fairly significant amount like anywhere from 8 to 12% on your health insurance if you take a step into this level funded type of arrangement you should talk to your benefits administrator companies have been self-insuring for a long time uh I've had the impression that the it was primarily big companies that did that has something changed yeah that's that's the impression and you're you're correct with that impression and it's always it has always been there but what's changed over the past few years is history um the level funded Arrangements you know have been around for about a decade or so it's taken that long for it to have acceptance among the small business market and you know because back when it was originally you know started up people are like I don't know and you know I'm not sure if it's a new thing now it's becoming more and more common and it's turned out to be like a good way that you can use to cut your health insurance costs so so there's that right the second piece of advice and I had a few others in this inquire article but the second big one that I really loved uh is about raises you know like we know with inflation like ADP just came out with information late last week that said their record show and this is actual data not a survey um a 7.8% increase in compensation 7.8% for this year yeah yeah so you know people are giving raises my advice and this is what I've learned is instead of giving a raise to your employees consider paying down their health insurance more in other words paying more for their health insurance um if you do that first of all if you first of all if you give them a raise um you have to pay employer taxes on that right F in Medicare and your employees get taxed on that but if you instead say listen I'm not going to give you a raise I'm just going to contribute more to your health insurance the employee does not get taxed on that you don't pay any employer taxes and you get a deduction for it so it's a really good way to give an employee a raise and a really you know and save money on taxes and in the end their net paycheck is going to be bigger because you're paying more for your their health insurance but you're saving money your business is on taxes and you're saving them money as well so I I came away saying wow that's a pretty good strategy for trying to help control these health insurance costs that's a really interesting idea in part I think because I think a lot of employees and perhaps I was one of them at one time kind of take the health insurance part of compensation for granted and I I know one business owner in particular who just brings it up in every compens in every conversation about compensation just to make sure he reminds employees that it's not just the salary you're getting I'm also paying this this and this and I want you to know that that's part of your package I wonder if this might be a good way to remind people as well great great point that is a great point and and it is listen I mean health insurance Remains the number one benefit that's requested by employees I mean it's certainly you know certainly important to people I think it's more of just an education thing you know you have an employee saying what I'm not going to get more you know higher salary and you have to be like well no you're going to you're going to get more it's just we're saving you money by doing this you know what I mean so it's really a communication and education type of thing that um if you can get the point across um you know I think it could really be helpful you you talked to tons of business owners at this point especially given the the labor market that we've been through how feasible is it for smaller businesses to say to their employees look we're we're not going to give you health insurance go into the markets and get it that go into the you know the Affordable Care Market get it there um can that be done these days yeah so it's it's here's the thing um the reason why Health reimbursement accounts which is another thing I talked about in that article has become so popular um is because it it helps businesses provide for health insurance without breaking their bank so there are a lot of small businesses out there that don't provide health insurance at all uh because they don't qualify or the group plans are too expenses or whatever and they're not they don't it's not required by law if you have fewer than 50 employees right correct correct so you're trying to attract those employees you can say to your employees listen I know we don't have a health insurance plan however um we will put some money into an H for you we have that set up a health reimbursement account that way you can take that money and either go in the you know the the healthcare exchanges or go to one of these Brokers that we recommend and it can offset the cost that you would have to get health insurance on your own hras are becoming just more and more popular among very small businesses who who don't have health insurance plans but want to be able to provide some kind of a health benefit if that makes sense that does great tips all right next topic you recently wrote uh about whether businesses should revisit their workplace drug policies uh even after you wrote it this became even more timely when President Biden announced his pardons for federal marijuana convictions what prompted you to write about this I did a podcast for a company um who where where I interviewed Seth Rogan not the answer I was expecting yeah I'm telling you right now and we we had this interview because and you know it was a great interview and um it was all about his company which happens to be a cannabis company and um because of that the um I was unable to get that podcast published because really yeah because the company that you know that that I did this for um they're they're conservative they're a very good company um but marijuana is still sort of like this you know issue and you know I mean right now it's it's a cat it's a class one narcotic schedule one right uh like like heroin or yeah so like you can't even you know you can't even um Banks won't support I mean you have all these these Cannabis stores they're still dealing in cash because they it's difficult for them to have banking relationships because the banks are afraid that if right now the the the federal government could come down on on on a bank very hard um you know if they do business with a company that's selling a c you know what do we say it was a category one a class one n you know what I mean schedule one you know what I mean so and then big brands that you they don't want to tarnish their brands they're very nervous about that stuff anyway you ask that's why I wanted to write about I was like you know this cannabis thing is you know I mean there's I know so many people I mean come on you know what I mean and it's it's legal in New Jersey it's legal in 26 States recreational let alone you know medical so I thought like geez it has does have a big impact on employers um and that's why I went out and I interviewed you know some some businesses and some some experts that are in that field about cannabis for employers or what do you do and really um the answer is this most employers that I'm seeing right now are pulling back on testing for cannabis um they're not it's like testing for alcohol uh plus the fact that cannabis stays in your system a lot longer than alcohol that in such tight labor times to have to turn somebody away because they were smoking weed last weekend is you know a lot of employers are like this is not that's just not worth it we still want this employee now some employers if they are handling hazardous materials or doing something that's really equipment heavy equ whatever okay they have like a zero tolerance policy I get that okay that's fine but other employers they're basically like listen you know we're not going to test for it before however we do reserve the right to test if we feel that you are under the influence just as if we felt you were drunk at work you know what I mean um and if that's the case then we do have the right to suspend or terminate you which is fair enough but I'm seeing a lot of employers just pull back on the whole testing for cannabis and even if they do the drug tests and cannabis does show up and it they're ignoring it because it's just not their you know it's not something that they want to deal with so that's what you know the point of that article was to say Hey listen if you're you know trying to reevaluate your drug testing you know rules for your company and what do you do about cannabis this is what I'm seeing in Pennsylvania and Jersey and Delaware employers are saying they're basically giving it a pass unless it's really a special situation did you find any employers who are continuing to do it even though their employees are not engaged in and know heavy equipment activities or anything like that no um not really not really most of the employers that I'm talking to that that I talk to are they're just sort of looking away from it um it is amazing um Lauren that you know today again it's it's just it's really weird the the attitud the attitudes towards uh cannabis have changed so much you know and you know I it reminded me like I I interview Tommy Chong for from chichin Chong wow Tommy Chong and Seth Rogan yeah right like like eight or nine years ago uh for like I think I did a piece for ink magazine and and they um and like boy that guy went through he was arrested he spent time in prison he went you know and you know I was thinking like geez what what it must be like for a guy like that that went through all of that in the 60s and 70s and now it's pretty much you know fine he was right all along you know although there are people who have convictions that make it hard for them to get jobs hopefully that's changing too yeah but cannabis again is is more and more I'm seeing among among business owners treating it like alcohol so that's what it is well it's just so weird that you have people entrepreneurs opening businesses doing well making money in a lot of States while the federal laws still branded as schedule weird and I I applaud the president for doing that and I went back to that company about the podcast and said like can we release this podcast now I mean like yeah the president of United States basically saying this needs to be changed you know what I mean like and did they are they no no they're still thinking about it they're still thinking about it stup all right but anyway Seth Rogan very nice guy good to know last topic uh this is a little tricky one you recently wrote a piece kind of attacking Elizabeth Warren for being anti- business uh I have no interest in defending Elizabeth Warren and I have no interest in talking politics um what I do uh find interesting are the issues that you cited um with Elizabeth Warren and her allegedly being anti- business and I think I think there's some good conversations to be had about those issues especially as they affect smaller businesses uh kind of getting at the point of you know it's not all the same for big corporate businesses and and smaller businesses so uh for example uh you criticize her for uh bashing the fed and its uh attempts to combat inflation um by raising rates um and I guess my question to you is isn't that a legitimate conversation to be had uh you know choosing between recession or inflation I think people can disagree as to where the FED should be placing its emphasis and doing its work what do you think oh I I completely agree and and I you know and she um she has her point of view and I have my point of view and I'm not saying that either of us are right her point of view is that the FED is pushing much too hard on inflation and and it's going to cause a recession and it's going hurt a lot of people including potentially business owners and my point of view is um you know I mean based on history and and what I studied in economics in college I was an economics major in college I mean you know I I I know that the biggest tool that the FED has to rein in the supply of money and therefore um you know help lower the rate of inflation is um by raising interest rates making it more costly for to circulate money in the system and you know that's been proven time and time again that that does work it's painful though um and I don't like it I don't like raising interest rates and um I can see it right now it's going to limit financing for small businesses make financing that much harder look at the impact that's having right already in the technology industry where capital is drying off you drying up and she's right housing market yeah in the housing market and those Industries right now they are both in recessions and they are both laying off tens of thousands of workers as we speak that is happening so she's not wrong she she she is you know you doing that is going to cause recession is going to cause pain for people and they're going to have to be you know they're going to have to be laid off however um I I I feel that she is incorrect in that not doing something about this not taking the steps that the FED is doing right now um is going to prolong and create even bigger problems in the future for the economy and I think that her you her rhetoric is hurting businesses CU if we take the medicine now um it's been proven that ultimately we can get confidence back in our system and bring inflation back under control which is a huge issue for my clients um we have to take that medicine and do what we got to do so that was that was my first you know my first issue with her is I just don't agree with her economics I did some research on this um not on the economics of it but on who else might hold the same position that she does and you know who I found agrees with her Steve Forbes uh of all people uh talk about strange bed fellows Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Warren um but you wouldn't say that Steve Forbes is anti- business I suspect no I mean I can't really speak towards Steve Forbes and like you said it's definitely a debatable topic I mean having said that I can also you know I can name a number of economists that agree with the move that the fed's taking as well you know um so I don't know I mean I just you know I I can't you know and it's funny because here I'm saying like well you know a bunch of notable economists Like Larry Summers and you know others that are don't think it's enough you know uh but then again what do these economists know if they they they were so smart would we be in the situation that we're in right now well there's the old line about economists predicting nine of the last five recessions exactly right um but you know it's just funny with with with Senator Warren and and I do like her and I do think she is a smart woman um and she knows her base and she knows what she's she's out you know she she's a very populist politician like like Bernie Sanders she's you know all about the workers and all you know and and but to such an extent though Lauren the point that I I wrote about is that it really it comes across to my clients to myself to the business Community it's just very anti-business and we see what happens to markets and to an economy when you have leaders that are are vilifying um businesses in this country or the you know the you know and it and it trickles down to small business no political leader is going to attack small business unless they defrauded the government but you know small businesses themselves are you know they're they're excluded but by attacking big businesses you you are in effect attacking small businesses who rely on these big businesses for a lot of their revenues as well as their employees to spend money at their you know at their stores and their restaurants and when you you know when you keep going on and on about you know making it easier to unionize making higher wages for workers but it's again I I get it I get that there's there's good things in all of that but the rhetoric itself after a while it creates an environment an antagonistic environment and you know I was at a client like two weeks ago this is what prompted me to write this piece by the way he um he has about like 80 employees and he's like you know just in the past couple years it's like I I come into my company and I feel like my employees like hate me you know what I mean because I'm not I don't offer a 4-day work week you know or I don't Champion um you know you know the formation of a union in my business you know what I mean like it's and that that that has an impact on the psychology of business owners when they feel like they're fighting with their they're the bad guys um and I think that politicians like Senator Warren exacerbate that that's my issue that's interesting I I think I understand your point of view better now I I do think a lot of that vitri all though is that you're describing coming from Senator Warren and others like her and again I'm not here to defend her I'm just interested in the issues I I think a lot of that is aimed at you know big businesses and I and I understand your your trickle down Theory with that but um you know part her signature issue I think is anti trust and you could make an argument that she's really making supporting smaller businesses by making the antitrust argument but you know going after big tech for example example does does that make sense to you it does yeah um you I I'm definitely will concede that point that you know there isn't there isn't any trust also she's against big Tech as well um with all the benefits that some of these companies have provideed I think the role of there there is a role of government to make sure that they they stay in check you know I you know having said you know you know all of that I really do feel that there is there's a place in this world for the Elizabeth Warren the Bernie Sanders the the aoc's of the world I think we need to hear them um and I think that we then need to decide whether or not we agree or not but I think that you know they raise issues that are worthwhile debating uh the only thing that I have an issue with is that when depending on how they raise their issues it's if you go on like on Senator Warren's Twitter feed it is just attack after attack after attack on Corporate America and we should be raising taxes more and we should go after the the wealthy and we should go after uh you more money for the IRS you know so we can have more Audits and uh you know there's we need more workplace protections is that an anti-s position no with the IRS one yeah no I wrote about that separately as well telling people they shouldn't Panic about the money that's going after you know towards the IRS that's another topic altogether I don't is it an anti- business position in my personal view I don't think it should be it doesn't need to be if you've got your taxes if you're paying your taxes you shouldn't have a problem with the IRS but comes off as it you know what I mean that plus all the other things Lauren they they Al together it just comes off as an anti-business rhetoric and I think you see that right now in the economy and the markets you ask anybody that's running a company like these heating and air conditioning people that I spoke with or the material handling people in Indianapolis there you ask anyone and they say like no it's not it's not a great environment to run a business right now we feel you know like you know the government is kind of after us a little bit and that holds back on businesses from taking risks and hiring and investing and spending money um and then you you when there's an more of a pro business environment in Washington or even locally it encourages business to take more risks and that's how the country grows I just think that you know Senator Warren's positions on a lot of things and her continuous continuous things that she says doesn't help the economy it really doesn't I I I got to tell you when I was doing that research I found an article uh about a healthc care plan that Elizabeth Warren proposed when she was running for president uh the article stated that you wouldn't be able to find a better health care plan than hers and that it's that's especially true if you're a small business owner do you know who wrote that article me you are absolutely right yeah because the um I am a huge supporter of National Health and I can have that debate with other people that are on the other side again I'm a I'm a you know moderate right Republican Lauren you know um but I I liked Senator Warren's healthcare plan it was a you know a form of National Health Care not too dissimilar from what is in Canada and what's in the UK um those plans are flawed they have their issues like any other plan but I believe that you know a National Health Plan similar to what Senator Warren was proposing would be a good thing for small businesses because it would take the Whole Health Care thing out of our hands we just pay a tax and it levels the playing field so I I like that with her all that you know listen she can come back and propose stuff like that that's great but see if you see her talking about that anywhere in the past two years on her Twitter feed and you'll find she's not you know instead what she's been talking about is just continuous attacks on big corporations and you know the again the wealthy and you know all the not constructive I guess is what I'm saying and that's why I think it's bad for the economy and uh Fair Point my you know again I'm not here defending her to me I I think it's important to think about uh issues and how they affect specific parts of the economy specific types of businesses you know I think the Chamber of Commerce uh can be criticized for sometimes just backing big corporations big businesses and losing sight of you know what really represents you know more than half the economy and the small businesses yeah I agree and you know I the like everything else in this world it's frustrating because both the Chamber of Commerce and the nfib are you know are accused of Leaning too much to the right and frankly they do um so it's that's an issue and then I've got all these other people these other small business organizations I think John um you know from the small business majority I think is John AR yes yeah who's awesome I mean he's great and you know his heart's in the right place and a lot of great ideas but you know his organization clearly leans to the left you know and it when when I deal with organizations he he would quibble that with that I'll point out but that's fine but when I get you know when I get stuff sent to me from different organizations if it comes from the right or it comes from the left as a business owner I get I I start to you know question the data and the resources and where they're coming from do you know what I mean because even those organizations have become so much more politicized over the years and you know I I I truly think I mean you know and this goes against what most people believe I think people the whole narrative now is that the country is splitting apart but I I I really do believe at some point there's a Tipping Point where you know where where moderatism if that's a word um becomes more commonplace because Lauren you lean a little bit to the left but you're you're a moderate guy do you know what I mean and so there's there's a lot of things you that you would agree or disagree with with someone like myself um but I think you'd be more open to getting your facts and information and supporting a group that is more down the middle than somebody that leans too far to the left well you know what I really admire is someone uh who does what you did with that piece about Elizabeth Warren's Health Plan you didn't just react to the label oh this is coming from a you know far-left Democrat you looked at the plan and said this is a great plan for small businesses and that I think that's what we need more of we need to just get rid of the labels look at the facts and try to make a smart decision and unfortunately that doesn't happen and I tell you one thing and I know you just you know hope we don't get too off topic here but you know the biggest issue that we faced last Friday they announced the unemployment number it's you know like a record low number every business owner I talk to they just can't find people it's for some businesses it's devastating um you know like unemployment is like a huge issue um in this company right country not unemployment but lack of workers you know the tight labor Market you know to me you know the solution to this is immigration it's to me it's clear you know New York last week also announced an emergency I think on Friday stating you know because of the the amount of immigrants coming into the city you know um and I just you know there's there's got to be legislation to be passed to make these people legalized and available to work in small businesses would be such a huge antidote to this situation and like you just said I just wish that our political leaders can put aside the right and the left thing and say like this would be a really good thing if we can you know come together even in a divided Congress and figure out a way to make you know these immigrants have a path for legalization if anything just to help out all these businesses small businesses in particular that are desperate for workers I think that is a huge huge potential solution to this problem that's just staring Us in the face and I wonder if our political leaders will be able to come to I wonder if Elizabeth Warren can agree with Marco Rubio on a Sol you know what I mean I'm not going to hold my breath on that but but I think you raised the right issue and that's something that hopefully we will come back to yeah I hope so Gene marks is a CPA who writes weekly on small business for the guardian the hill the Philadelphia enquire the Washington Times Forbes and entrepreneur you can also hear him on ABC radio's eye on the world with John Bachelor Jee hosts two small business podcast with paychecks Corporation and the Hartford thank you Jean always a pleasure appreciate you digging into this with me uh look forward to doing it again have a great week everyone love you Lauren see you next week thanks Jean