Fighting poverty from the front lines, the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency (WCMCAA) is a nonprofit where every dollar in the budget matters. In 2019, the company’s employee benefits program used a fully-insured model.
Fighting poverty from the front lines, the West Central Missouri Community Action Agency (WCMCAA) is a nonprofit where every dollar in the budget matters. In 2019, the company’s employee benefits program used a fully-insured model. They had roughly 60 employees on their medical plan, with all premiums going straight to the insurance carrier.
WCMCAA had been forced to accept unjustified, high-percentage increases to their medical premiums every year. Employees were healthy, their plan was running well thanks to claims being at a standard level. Yet because the agency was fully insured, their insurance carrier had raised rates on everyone to make up for other companies with costly claims. An increase such as 14% in one year wasn’t fair for the WCMCAA or its employees.
Their limited budget needed relief. They were tired of being a prisoner to insurance carriers. WCMCAA was ready for something different and a long-term strategy
To gain more control over insurance costs, The Miller Group recommended WCMCAA join a captive. A captive would allow the agency to self-insure by pooling their risk with other employers. Together, the companies act like one large group. It gave WCMCAA greater negotiating power with insurance carriers and more control over premium rates.
While not every company is awarded acceptance into a captive, WCMCAA was easily accepted with guidance from The Miller Group.
Within the first 10 months of being in a captive, WCMCAA built a surplus of $95,000 in its medical budget. Had the agency stayed fully insured, they likely would have been spending an extra $200,000.
Additionally, employees experienced a seamless transition and had the same benefits and network as before. The only difference was that they now had coverage from Aetna instead of Blue Cross Blue Shield. Employees and their families have continued seeing their favorite doctors and providers at the same benefit levels as before.
Discovering the difference between being in a captive versus fully insured has been eye-opening for WCMCAA. They are now building a surplus of funds and are in a long-term plan that can grow as the agency adds more employees.
“For the first time in years, we’ve been able to maintain health care premiums with zero increase. The Miller Group staff go above and beyond their mission of providing the best care to their clients.”
Mary Lou Schussler
Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
West Central Missouri Community Action Agency
