A Market Test Has Four Possible Outcomes, Not One
The point of going to market is not simply to find a cheaper number. It is to establish what your coverage is genuinely worth this year, and there are only four ways that can end.
A Competitor Beats the Incumbent on Equivalent Coverage
and you move
The incumbent improves its own offer once a real alternative exists
and you stay on better terms
No One Beats It
but the incumbent concedes something else — a credit, a plan enhancement, a rate hold — because it now has to
Nobody Moves at All
and you have documented evidence that the renewal was fair
The Quote Has to Replicate the Plan You Actually Have
A cheaper quote on thinner coverage is not a comparison, it is a distraction. The competing proposal needs to replicate deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, network breadth and the drug tiers, priced on the same enrolled census. Change the census or the plan between the two columns and the exercise stops meaning anything at all.
And Sometimes the Right Answer Is Not to Market
Above fifty enrolled subscribers, taking the plan out invites a fresh underwriting review. If your file carries a substantial ongoing claim the incumbent has already absorbed into its pricing, a competitor seeing it for the first time will price it as new risk. In those years the judgment not to market is the work, and it should be written down as a decision rather than left as an absence.
What Applies Whatever You Decide
Continuation Coverage for Groups of Twenty and Up
with no Michigan provision beneath it
Fifty Full-Time Equivalents Triggers the Duty to Offer
The offer-of-coverage threshold is fifty full-time equivalents averaged over the prior year
A Self-Funded or Level-Funded Plan Owes
A self-funded or level-funded plan owes a per-covered-life fee each July and medical non-discrimination testing
The Annual Part D Notice for Older Staff
Employees eligible for Medicare need the creditable-coverage notice before mid-October.
Questions From Calhoun County Employers
Our broker says they marketed it. How do we know?
Ask for the list of carriers approached, the responses received including the declines, and the census used. All three exist or the exercise did not happen.
Should we market every single year?
No. Every year the question should be asked; not every year the answer is yes.
A College Town With a Factory Floor
Albion is a Calhoun County city of 7,700 people (2020 census), part of the Battle Creek metropolitan area and set along Interstate 94 at the forks of the Kalamazoo River. Albion College, a private liberal arts school with about 1,250 students, has long been one of the city’s largest employers. Manufacturing still matters: Caster Concepts builds heavy-duty casters here, Team 1 Plastics does injection molding, and the city grew as a malleable iron and auto parts town. Oaklawn Medical Group runs family medicine and Express Care clinics in Albion. Many residents commute toward Battle Creek, Marshall, Jackson and Kalamazoo, which shapes the provider networks an Albion employer needs.
Match Networks to the I-94 Commute
Albion employees may live in town but see doctors in Marshall, Battle Creek, Jackson or Kalamazoo. We check that the clinics and hospitals along that corridor, including Oaklawn’s local Albion clinics, sit in the network you choose, so staff do not face out-of-network bills for care close to home.
Balance Faculty and Plant Floor Needs
A college employer and a machine shop can share a zip code but not a benefits profile. Salaried staff often value broad networks, while hourly production workers watch paycheck deductions. We compare tiered contributions and plan options that let each group choose coverage it can use and afford.
Protect Income for Physical Work
Machining, molding and assembly jobs carry real injury and strain risk, and an off-the-job injury is not covered by workers’ comp. We explain how short-term disability, long-term disability and group life can protect paychecks at a modest cost, and we compare voluntary options employees can buy themselves.
Keep Small-Group Renewals Predictable
Many Albion businesses have fewer than 50 employees, where one serious claim can drive a steep renewal. We review your renewal history, compare carriers, and explain when level-funded plans or an ICHRA might offer steadier costs than another year of fully insured increases. We also flag the notice dates you need to meet.
What Albion Employers Ask Us About Marketing
Can one plan work for college staff and plant workers?
Yes, with thoughtful design. Offering two plan options, such as a lower-deductible plan and an HSA-eligible plan, lets employees choose what fits their pay and health needs. We model contributions for each so both groups see a fair choice.
Which hospitals should an Albion plan include?
Many Albion families use Battle Creek, Jackson or Marshall-area providers. We check that the hospitals and doctors your employees rely on are in network before you pick a carrier.
Show Us Last Year’s Exercise
Send the renewal letter, plan summary, contribution by tier and enrollment by tier, and two more documents if you are at fifty or above, along with last year’s quotes, and we will show what the number is made of. 248.370.8853 or info@cfhic.com.
Start the Review Email info@cfhic.com Call 248.370.8853
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
248.370.8853
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Related: how we help employers improve workforce health and control healthcare costs all year, not just at renewal.
