Employee Benefits Brokerage and Consulting Services

The Vendor is required to provide employee benefits brokerage and consulting services for include:
- Benefits management and compliance:
• Apprising the university of local and national benefit trends and develop, conduct, and summarize benefit surveys of public and private employers, especially, colleges and universities, focusing on benefits, contribution practices, funding, premium structures, student health coverage options, etc., and comparisons to the university’s package to help calibrate program offerings with employee and employer costs compared to similar organizations.
• Develop, conduct, and summarize surveys for other purposes, such as disruption reports, as well as market analysis and industry trend reports.
• Research and report on any new developments in the employee benefits arena on an ongoing basis.
• Meet with and provide reports and presentations to various university representatives as requested.
• Partner with the university to effectively manage the vendors that provide insurance and related services to the university.
• Guide legislative compliance and act as an advisor on issues such as discrimination testing, 5500 filings, section 125, cobra, HIPAA, Medicare, FMLA, aca, and other federal compliance requirements and state-mandated benefits.
• Prepare and distribute annual, legally required notices, as requested
• Overall guidance to the university on health and welfare regulatory compliance.
• Recommend programs and ideas to enhance the university’s culture and improve employee productivity and morale.
• Educate and advise the university on healthcare reform, specifically PPACA, and the key strategic decisions that the university should consider.
• Recommend innovative ideas and new products, programs, and services to ensure a competitive and valued benefits program for employees and students.
• Benefits-related advisory services throughout the plan year.
- Enrollment and member services:
• Partner with the office team in the administration of all group insurance plans, including responding to questions from employees/dependents and proactively communicating information.
• Assist the university with the implementation and communication of new programs or changes to existing programs, which may include attending and presenting information at open enrollment meetings, as requested.
• Assist new university employees with enrolling in their benefits and answering any questions.
• Employees during the annual open enrollment, including answering questions and assisting in making plan changes.
• Provide office, virtual support availability, benefit comparison tools, and create and update benefit handbook.
• Work closely with the office team to develop and execute the benefits communication strategy.
• Work with the university to align benefit services within the HR management system.
- Cost containment:
• Obtaining, reviewing, and analyzing claims and financial data from each of the carriers at least quarterly, or upon request from the university.
• Use the actual data reviewed to provide a summary of the data, emphasizing important trends and emerging problems, with recommendations on the most cost-effective funding methods for the benefits programs.
• Introduce proven programs and ideas to manage costs.
• Recommend innovative ideas and products, programs, and services to ensure a cost-effective benefits program.