Group Health Insurance Bloomfield Hills Employers Can Actually Understand

CFH Insurance Consultants is an independent employee benefits consulting firm. We have been in business since 2007, and no carrier owns us. Our office is on Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills. We are a member of the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber, and we work with employers across Oakland County, Metro Detroit and the whole state of Michigan. Here is every group health insurance Bloomfield Hills service we offer, in plain words.

Group Health Insurance

Most employers want coverage people will use, at a cost the business can carry. Group health insurance is one policy that covers your whole team. You pick the plans and pay part of the premium. In Michigan, groups of 50 or fewer employees are “small group.” Their rates come from carrier filings, employee ages and ZIP codes. Above 50, your own claims start to count. For group health insurance Bloomfield Hills employers can budget for, we compare Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Priority Health, HAP, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna side by side.

Health Insurance

Sometimes the question is simpler: “What should we offer?” Health insurance pays for doctor visits, hospital stays and prescriptions in exchange for a monthly premium. An employer’s big choices are plan type, deductible size and how much of the cost to pay. An HMO usually costs less but keeps care inside a network. A PPO costs more but lets people see doctors outside it. We explain each choice, then help you pick what fits your team in Bloomfield Hills, Troy or anywhere in Michigan.

Group Health Plan Assistance

Buying a plan is one thing. Getting help with it all year is another. Group health plan assistance means someone answers when an employee has a billing problem or a carrier makes a mistake. 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. A chat assistant also answers around the clock. We help keep you ERISA compliant, too. ERISA is the federal law that sets the rules for employer health plans.

Self-Funded Health Plans

Larger employers often ask why they pay a carrier’s margin on claims that never happen. With a self-funded health plan, the business pays employee claims as they come in instead of a fixed premium. A third-party administrator (TPA) processes the claims. Stop-loss insurance caps the risk from very large claims. Self-funding can work well for groups with steady claims. It can also hurt in a bad year. We model both sides with your claims data, then find, set up and oversee the administrator and stop-loss carrier.

More on Self-Funded Health Plans →

Level-Funded Health Plans

Level funding is a middle step for employers who want some of the upside of self-funding without surprise bills. You pay the same amount each month. That covers expected claims, the administrator’s fee and stop-loss protection. If claims come in low, some contracts return part of the surplus. If claims run high, stop-loss covers the gap. We put level-funded quotes next to your fully insured group health insurance in Bloomfield Hills and read the fine print on surplus and renewal terms.

More on Level-Funded Health Plans →

Alternative Funding & Stop-Loss

Alternative funding is any way of paying for health care other than a standard fully insured policy. That includes self-funding, level funding and group health captives, where several employers share stop-loss risk. Stop-loss is the safety net underneath. Specific stop-loss protects you from one very large claim. Aggregate stop-loss protects you if total claims run high for the year. Watch for “lasers,” where the carrier sets a higher limit for one person. We shop stop-loss and help you pick a setup your cash flow can handle.

More on Alternative Funding & Stop-Loss →

More on group captives →

ICHRA

Some employers would rather give people money than pick one plan for everyone. An Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) gives employees a set, tax-free allowance to buy their own individual health insurance. Employers of any size can use one. You can set different amounts for different classes of employees, such as full-time and part-time. Affordability rules matter most for employers with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees. We help you design the ICHRA, then find, set up and oversee the administrator that runs it.

More on ICHRA →

QSEHRA

Very small employers often think health benefits are out of reach. A Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) may help. It is for employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees that do not offer a group health plan. You reimburse employees, tax-free, for individual health insurance and medical costs, up to yearly IRS limits. We help you choose between a QSEHRA, an ICHRA and small group health insurance in Bloomfield Hills. Then we set up and oversee the administrator.

More on QSEHRA →

HSA & Consumer-Driven Health Plans

When premiums climb, many employers look at a higher deductible with a savings account attached. A consumer-driven health plan pairs a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). The employee owns the HSA. Money goes in, grows and comes out tax-free for medical costs, and it stays with the employee after they leave. The hard part is keeping people from being scared off by the deductible. We help you set the plan design, pick an employer HSA deposit and explain it at open enrollment.

More on HSA & Consumer-Driven Health Plans →

FSA & HRA Administration

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) both help employees pay medical costs with tax-free dollars. An FSA is funded by the employee through payroll. An HRA is funded by the employer and often helps cover a deductible. Both need a plan document, clear rules and someone to process claims. We are not the administrator. We find, set up and oversee the administrator for you, and we hold the administrator to its contract.

More on FSA & HRA Administration →

COBRA Administration

COBRA is the federal law that lets people keep their group health coverage for a time after they leave a job or lose hours. In Michigan, federal COBRA applies to employers with 20 or more employees. Michigan has no state continuation law, so employers under 20 have no continuation duty. COBRA notices have strict deadlines. We do not run COBRA ourselves. We find, set up and oversee the COBRA administrator and check that notices go out on time.

More on COBRA Administration →

Pharmacy Benefit Consulting

Prescription drugs can be a big share of what a health plan spends. A pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) is the company that runs the drug side of your plan. It decides which drugs are covered, negotiates prices and handles rebates. Michigan licenses PBMs under Public Act 11 of 2022, in effect since 2024. For self-funded and level-funded plans, the PBM contract makes a big difference. We review PBM contracts, compare pricing and rebate terms, and help you ask the right questions at renewal.

More on Pharmacy Benefit Consulting →

Direct Primary Care Integration

Direct primary care (DPC) is a flat monthly fee paid to a doctor’s office for primary care visits. Some employers add it next to their group plan so employees have easier access to a regular doctor. IRS guidance in 2026 lets direct primary care sit alongside an HSA within monthly limits of $150 for an individual and $300 for a family. Be careful with the savings pitch. A Society of Actuaries study found direct primary care lowered care use but did not lower net employer cost on average.

More on Direct Primary Care Integration →

Direct Contracting & Centers of Excellence

The same surgery can cost very different amounts depending on where it happens. Direct contracting means a self-funded plan makes its own pricing deal with a hospital, surgery center or doctor group. A center of excellence is a provider chosen for strong results in one area, like joint replacement. Plans can steer members there with lower or no cost sharing. These setups fit self-funded and level-funded plans best. We help you decide if they make sense, including how far employees would need to travel.

More on Direct Contracting & Centers of Excellence →

Wellbeing & Population Health

Health costs follow health. Population health means looking at your group’s claims as a whole, without names, to see what drives cost. It might be diabetes care. It might be emergency room visits that could have been urgent care. Wellbeing programs then go after those areas. We help you add programs to your group health insurance in Bloomfield Hills that match your own data, not just what is popular this year. Employer reports should never identify individual employees.

More on Wellbeing & Population Health →

Medicare & Retiree Benefits Guidance

Employees turning 65 often ask whether to sign up for Medicare or stay on the group plan. The answer depends on your company’s size and the employee’s situation. For active employees, the group plan generally stays primary. Your plan also has to send a Medicare Part D creditable coverage notice by October 15 each year. It says whether your drug coverage is at least as good as Medicare’s. We help employers and employees understand these rules and plan health coverage for retirees.

More on Medicare & Retiree Benefits Guidance →

Group Retiree Medical

If you promise health coverage to retirees, that promise can get expensive over time. Group retiree medical is coverage an employer offers to former employees after they retire. Pre-65 retirees are not yet on Medicare, so they need full coverage. Post-65 retirees usually have Medicare first, with a group plan filling in the gaps. Retiree coverage can be funded different ways, including self-funded arrangements with stop-loss. We place group retiree medical plans and help you compare structures, costs and the long-term commitment.

More on Group Retiree Medical →

Medicare Maximization

Some pre-65 retirees qualify for Medicare early because of a disability. When they do, Medicare can become their primary coverage, and the retiree plan pays second. That can lower what the employer’s retiree plan pays. Medicare maximization is the work of finding those eligible retirees and helping them enroll the right way. It is aimed at pre-65 retirees, not active employees. For active employees, the group plan generally stays primary. We coordinate this for employers with retiree plans.

More on Medicare Maximization →

Student Health Insurance

Colleges, private schools and international student programs often need to offer students their own coverage. Under federal rules, school-sponsored student health plans are a form of individual coverage. Most schools use a waiver process, so students with other coverage can opt out. Students can stay on a parent’s plan until 26, but that network may not reach an out-of-state campus. J-1 exchange visitors must meet federal insurance minimums. We place student health plans and help schools set waiver rules that hold up.

More on Student Health Insurance →

Who’s the best group health insurance broker near me?

The right broker does the work you would otherwise do yourself. When you compare brokers for group health insurance in Bloomfield Hills, ask each one:

• Are you independent, or does a carrier own you?
• Who answers when an employee has a problem?
• Will you shop the market every year, or just forward the renewal?
• Can you show me what is driving my rate?
• Who helps with deadlines like Form 5500 and the PCORI fee by July 31?

We are independent, in business since 2007, and based on Woodward Avenue. Clients get a team of 5 and access to CPAs and ERISA attorneys through the firm. Switching takes one broker of record letter. Your carrier, plan, cards and rates stay the same.

What do I do if my group health insurance renewal comes in too high?

Don’t sign it yet. You usually have a few weeks.

1. Get the renewal in writing, with every plan option and rate.
2. Update your census. A census is the list of covered employees with ages and ZIP codes.
3. If you have more than 50 employees, ask the carrier for your claims data.
4. Shop the market. Compare carriers, plan designs and funding options.
5. Check the size of the increase. 2027 small-group rate filings with Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) average close to 10%. If yours is far above that, ask why.

Then get a straight second read on your group health insurance in Bloomfield Hills.