Employee Benefits for Employers in Detroit and Grand Rapids

CFH Insurance Consultants is an independent employee benefits consulting firm. We have been in business since 2007, and no carrier owns us. We are licensed insurance brokers based in Bloomfield Hills, and we work with employers across Metro Detroit, West Michigan and the whole state. Here is how we help employers with people in Detroit, Grand Rapids or both.

One Benefits Program, Two Metro Areas

Many Michigan employers grew in one metro and added a location in the other. A manufacturer in Macomb County opens a plant near Grand Rapids. A medical group in Kent County adds offices in Oakland County. Payroll, the handbook and the benefits plan usually stay the same across both. The trouble shows up when employees in the second location find their doctors are out of network, or that the nearest in-network hospital is an hour away. We look at where your employees live and get care before we recommend a plan, so one program serves everyone.

How the Carriers Line Up

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has the broadest network statewide, and its Blue Care Network HMO is available in both metros. Priority Health is headquartered in Grand Rapids. HAP is headquartered in Detroit. UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna also write group coverage in Michigan. A regional HMO can cost less than a statewide PPO, but only if its network covers your people. We run a provider check for each location and compare group health insurance options side by side.

Level-Funded and Self-Funded Plans

Mid-sized employers often pay a carrier’s margin on claims that never happen. With a level-funded plan, you pay a steady monthly amount that covers expected claims, the administrator’s fee and stop-loss protection, and some contracts return part of a surplus. A self-funded plan goes a step further: the business pays claims as they come in, and stop-loss caps the risk from large claims. We model both against your fully insured renewal, then find, set up and oversee the third-party administrator and stop-loss carrier. We are not a third-party administrator ourselves.

ICHRA for a Split Workforce

An Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) gives employees a tax-free allowance to buy their own individual health insurance. Employers can set different allowances for different classes of employees, and the rating area where an employee lives is one of the classes the rules allow. That can help when coverage costs differ between your locations. We help you design the ICHRA, then find, set up and oversee the administrator that runs it.

ACA and ERISA Compliance

Once you reach 50 full-time-equivalent employees, the Affordable Care Act requires you to offer affordable coverage and file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. ERISA sets the rules for plan documents, notices and, for larger plans, the annual Form 5500. Missed deadlines turn into penalties. We keep a compliance calendar for your plan and help you get notices and filings out on time.

Who We Work With

Our clients include manufacturers and their suppliers, medical and dental practices, law firms and other professional services firms. For proper coverage of an account we work in teams of 5: an account executive, an account manager, a plan analyst, customer service and IT. Clients also get access to CPAs and ERISA attorneys through the firm.

Can one group health plan cover employees in both Detroit and Grand Rapids?

Yes. One group policy can cover every eligible employee you have in Michigan. The real question is which network works in both places. A plan built around one metro’s hospitals can leave people in the other metro with fewer doctors to choose from. We check the doctors and hospitals your employees actually use in each area before we recommend a network.

Which carrier is best for employers with people in both cities?

There is no single answer. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has the broadest statewide network. Priority Health is based in Grand Rapids and HAP is based in Detroit, and a regional HMO can cost less than a statewide PPO. Whether it works depends on where your people get care. We quote the carriers side by side and show you where each network is strong or thin.

Do you have an office in Grand Rapids?

Our office is in Bloomfield Hills, on Woodward Avenue. We work with employers across Metro Detroit, West Michigan and the whole state, and our licensing follows clients beyond Michigan.

How do we switch our benefits broker to CFH?

It takes one signed broker of record letter. Your carrier, plan, ID cards and payroll deductions stay the same. Employees do not have to do anything.