
A drop-in workspace next to the coffee counter at Office Evolution in Cedar Rapids. PHOTO SARAH BANOWETZ
By Dave DeWitte
dave@corridorbusiness.com
A new office rental and coworking space that opened this spring in Cedar Rapidsโ NewBo district is hoping to help fill the health insurance affordability gap for enยญtrepreneurs and small businesses.
Office Evolution plans to offer Affordยญable Care Act-compliant group health inยญsurance plans and other benefit programs to its clients next month through human resources consultancy TriNet.
TriNet is a Professional Employer Orgaยญnization (PEO), which provides outsourced HR consulting services such as payroll, emยญployee benefits and even regulatory compliยญance to businesses. Itโs able to offer competยญitive group rates because it has the buying power of a large employee group of about 30,000, according to Office Evolution franยญchisees Tom and Melissa Miller.
Even without the large group, premiยญums on group insurance tend to be lowยญer than individual policies. The major provider of ACA-compliant individual health plans in Iowa, Medica, raised its rates by an average of 57 percent for 2018. That has left many individuals and small businesses who have enough inยญcome that they donโt qualify for ACA subsiยญdies looking for alternatives.
Mr. Millยญer said he exยญpects health insurance and other benefits through TriNet to bring more office renters and co-workers to Office Evoยญlution, which opened in April at The Depot, a mixed-use deยญvelopment east of NewBo City Market. However, even cliยญents who only sign up for mailing address service and donโt work onsite will be eligiยญble, he said.
โBuy a post office box for $90 a month and save thousands on health insurance โ thereโs a lot of upside,โ Mr. Miller said. He expects the program to appeal to individuยญals in various occupations that lack access to group health insurance, including farmยญers and some real estate professionals.
TriNet works with eight different health insurance providers. A Skype presentation by TriNet covering the insurance offerings will be part of a happy hour event at Office Evolution scheduled for 4-6 p.m. on Sept. 6.
Already licensed through the states where it provides services, TriNet anยญnounced in July that it has received IRS certification as a Certified PEO, meaning it meets federal standards that include operational, financial and bonding reยญquirements. The company offers a variety of other HR benefits and services to busiยญnesses through its relationship with Office Evolution, the Millers said. They include payroll services, technology services, 401(k) retirement plans, dental insurance and vision insurance, and employee assisยญtance programs.
Many small businesses and individual proprietors who canโt afford individual health insurance are also looking forward to the availability of a new โhealth benefit planโ to be offered later this year by the Iowa Farm Bureau and administered by Wellmark Blue Cross-Blue Shield, accordยญing to Tom Hoffman, executive vice presiยญdent of marketing for Benefit Solutions in Cedar Rapids.
Mr. Hoffman expects the Farm Buยญreauโs plan to be significantly more afยญfordable than ACA-compliant individuยญal plans for those who donโt qualify for subsidies because of their income, and to be widely available. The plan is considยญered a contract between the Farm Bureau and its members, and wonโt be subject to ACA restrictions that prevent rejecยญtion of applicants because of pre-existing conditions. Individuals may not be able to qualify if they are eligible for group health insurance through an employer โ even though it may be significantly more expensive โ or because they qualify for Medicare or Medicaid.
Interest in association health plans is high among those who donโt have affordยญable group insurance, Mr. Hoffman said, but potential applicants will have to wait for details on eligibility, coverages, costs and other issues.
New federal rules are expected to be issued soon for two other types of plans that will help fill the affordability gap in ACA-compliant individual plans, acยญcording to Chance McElhaney, commuยญnications director for the Iowa Insurance Commissionerโs office. They are Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Association Health Plans (AHPs).
MEWA consist of groups of employยญers pooling their contributions into a self-contributing benefits plan for their employees, improving the economics and accessibility of health insurance. AHPs are group health insurance plans created by associations to pool the purchasing power of their members in the insurance market in order to boost affordability.
Because of rising individual rates on the ACA market, โ24,000 Iowans just left the market last year,โ Mr. McElhaney said. โThese are intended to provide a place for those folks priced out of the ACA market.โ
When seeking insurance, consumers should always read the documents careยญfully, Mr. McElhaney noted, taking time to understand what their risks are and what coverages they are getting for their money.