To answer this, I want you to think about the market and analyze where it’s at and where it’s trending.

If you’re staying current, you’ll know that there’s a gig economy, and it is one of the places I’ve seen our product do very well. Gig workers are employees who work variable hours. They are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers and temporary workers.

Legislation has been put in place on which employers need to classify these gig workers as employees, and there are only a few types of companies that are exempt. Everyone else is subjected to ACA filing and reporting if they are considered an Applicable Large Employer and they are required to offer minimum essential coverage to their employees.

Our products are very relevant in the gig economy to ensure that all workers can be offered affordable health insurance coverage. As major medical premiums continue to increase, so does the cost of living. Often times employers might think they are limited in what they can offer their employees, and even if they offer their employees a bronze-level medical plan, most of them can’t afford to have it or use it.

One of the most relevant factors is employers want their broker to bring them affordable solutions, which is where Evolved Benefits steps in. We can even assist with the navigation of complex government contract insurance solutions and compliance-related insurance issues.

Objection Number One – This isn’t real insurance.

Our Approach – All of our minimum essential coverage plans are in fact a health plan and they are ACA compliant, and you can offer these solutions to your clients.

Objection Number Two – There’s no way these particular solutions pay enough commissions based on the premiums.

Our Approach: Our commissions are often on par with or even far exceed the major medical commissions with the group. A lot of times the broker only has a core amount of employees insured on a plan and they haven’t cast a net over the entire population, offering solutions to those that waived the major medical or those who are part time or variable hour. Once we do an open enrollment, you see that the commissions are actually very lucrative.

Objection Number Three: Advisors say they are not comfortable in talking about these solutions because they don’t want to jeopardize the commissions from the major medical plan that they have in place.

Our Approach: I completely understand that, but that’s really just another way of saying I don’t understand this solution, and I’m not comfortable talking about it, so I’m not going to talk about it.

At the end of the day, these are all very easy conversations to have. I’d be happy to talk through our solutions with you in detail so you will be comfortable showing them to your clients. I often join benefit advisors on calls with their clients as an extension of their team and subject matter expert. I want to help you add more value to the services you offer.

I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Contact — Evolved Benefits

For some people, this is excellent news! Some people need a subsidy, or they’re not offered coverage from their company or may not be eligible. These employees might work multiple part-time jobs, so they don’t have access to employer-provided coverage.

Many of these folks don’t understand that once they enroll in the state exchange, it puts their employer in a particular category with the IRS that could trigger an audit, and if the IRS determines that the employer is an Applicable Large Employer (ALE), they could be subject to hefty penalties.

Currently, we have a record number of people enrolling in state exchange healthcare programs. Over 14.5 million people have enrolled this year. That’s a huge spike from last year.

Why are people enrolling?

Well, it’s simple. The increased government subsidies are there to help. There are also very high enrollment rates in states with no Medicaid expansion.

The exchange health plan premiums can be up to 90% less than what’s being offered to people on the open marketplace or from their company because the company is only offering a major medical plan to the full-time eligible workers with salaries that can justify spending that on their health plan. Instead, the state exchange ensures that people will not spend more than 8.5% of their household income on the health plan.

All workforce employers must offer a minimum essential coverage plan to at least 95% of their full-time equivalent employees. An audit will be triggered if those employees go to the state for coverage and get a subsidy. This will affect the employer because they will get an IRS Letter 226-J, and there will be a short window to respond, pay the penalty, get in compliance, and try to make sure that they don’t get penalized the following year. Keep in mind that there’s no statute of limitations on a company being out of compliance. Once you receive an audit, they’ll go back as far as they can and get you for all those years.

There’s been a spike in enrollment on the state healthcare exchange because of affordability. This is great for many people, but this can be an issue for employers. As an employee benefits advisor, you must protect your clients from this. You need to understand the Build Back Better Bill and why it’s in place.

I would be happy to jump on a phone call and accompany you with your group as an extension of your team.

I hope that you all take this very seriously because when your group reaches out to you and says that they got a 226-J letter, they’re going to be wondering why they even got it. You’re their broker; you’re supposed to be helping them and making sure this doesn’t happen.

Reach out here with any questions:

Contact — Evolved Benefits

Right now, there are over 1.4 million security guards employed in the United States, and the average age of a security guard is about 44 years old.

Why is that important?

When discussing health insurance, most of these security guards aren’t “young and invincible.” They’re at an age where they need to stay on top of their health. They need affordable access to quality care.

It can be very challenging to find access to quality care when the average salary for a security guard is just under $32,000. It doesn’t matter what state you live in; that salary does not justify a $400-$600 monthly premium for your health insurance.

I’ve worked with a few security guard companies over the last 18 months that had no idea they’re an applicable large employer, meaning they have 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalent employees. They’re subject to ACA filing and reporting, and they don’t understand that.

Most major medical brokers have been selling fully insured plans for most of their careers. They haven’t had to know the importance of the ACA employer mandates because they’re always offering a plan that checks the box of both Penalty A and Penalty B.

The employers in the security guard industry need your help. If you’re looking for new opportunities, and a way to generate new revenue while helping more people gain access to affordable health care, this is undoubtedly one of the industries you should look in to.

Let’s schedule a time to talk. I can show you how to get in front of these folks and have meaningful conversations with them.

There are over 1.2 million employees in the landscaping industry. That’s a massive opportunity. There are over 604,000 landscaping companies in the United States, many of them highly concentrated in the states of Florida, California, and New York, and with many opportunities remaining in other states, it’s well worth your consideration.

The average salary is $35,400 for a landscape employee, and the average employee is in their mid-40s. Why is this important? Because when you’re in your mid-40s you need to stay on top of your health. We’re not young and invincible any longer.

If the employers of these landscape businesses knew there was a way to provide affordable healthcare to their employees, they would jump on it.

It’s your job as an employee benefits advisor to bring solutions, and it’s my job at Evolved Benefits to show you how to get in front of these companies and have meaningful conversations.