By: Ashley Morrison

 

The demands of healthcare are changing everyday, and as a business owner or manager, navigating these waters can be a challenge. Health insurance costs have skyrocketed over the past few years, making it one of the most expensive, yet highly sought after benefits by jobseekers. In June 2017, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) added a health insurance exchange to their ever-growing list of benefits. As a member of the North Carolina Pest Management Association and NPMA, you have access to it. These brand new benefits include a health insurance exchange available to almost all states in the United States. Previously, only larger companies often had access to group coverage. Through the exchange, small to medium sized companies can now offer PPO or HSA-compatible high-deductible plans to their employees.

 

In addition to the health insurance exchange, there are many other health insurance-related benefits now offered through NPMA, and the best news is that it's not all or nothing. You have the ability to design and choose the layers of benefits you want in place. A few of the other offerings include a heath reimbursement arrangement (HRA) for the employers who don't meet the underwriting guidelines, a health savings account (HSA) where participants can use tax-advantaged savings to pay for medical, dental, vision and other qualified expenses, and flexible spending accounts (FSA) for health care, dependent care, and other limited-purposes that allow employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified expenses. To read more about this member benefit and the options available, visit https://npmapestworld.org/member-center/npma-health-insurance-exchange/.

 

--Ashley Morrison works at City Wide Exterminating in Locust, NC and recently completed the NPMA Executive Leadership Program, Class of 2017.