Our Last Small Business Saved $53,000/year in Health Insurance Costs.
As rates continue to rise, we estimate their savings at nearly $300,000 over the next 5 years.
Learn how we did it by reading our Case Study.
What can W3 do for me?
If you're a small employer with fewer than 50 full-time employees, we may be able to reduce your cost of benefits by more than 50% while significantly improving your benefits package.
How do you do it?
As a small employer, your employees are likely eligible to receive anywhere from $50,000-$100,000+ per year in Premium Tax Credits (PTCs) paid directly to their health insurance providers.
If your employees are eligible for substantial tax credits—and you're still paying 50% or more for your group health plan (GHP)—then you are almost certainly overpaying for your employees' health insurance.
For the majority of small employers, Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and "wage up" benefits approaches are vastly more cost-effective than GHPs. Critically, they enable your employees to benefit from their available tax credits, whereas group health plans do not.
Why haven't I heard of this before?
Although rapidly growing in popularity—particularly among small businesses—HRAs and wage up plans are a relatively new approach to providing employee benefits.
HRAs and wage up plans were created by the Obama administration under the ACA, but were greatly expanded for small business owners under the Trump administration. Because these approaches have only been introduced over the last several years, many small business owners are simply not aware of them. This fact extends to insurance brokers, who may or may not be incentivized to help business owners understand the full range of their new plan options.
This seems too good to be true. What's the catch?
There is no catch; these programs were specifically designed for small businesses by multiple presidential administrations and are supported and maintained by Congress, the IRS, the DOL, and HHS.
HRAs and wage up benefits programs are most beneficial for small businesses whose employees qualify for substantial PTCs. Typically, this means employees who are paid less than $80,000 per year on average. Many of these employees are eligible for bronze, silver, and gold health insurance plans at zero cost to the employer (and often at zero cost to the employee).
How many small businesses are doing this?
Tens of thousands of businesses have already made the switch, and the Department of Labor estimates that more than 800,000 additional small businesses will be able to take advantage of these new plan options.
Small business adoption of HRAs and wage up plans has more than tripled in the last 2 years (between 2020 and 2022). The HRA Council estimates that these rates will continue through 2025 and beyond. In short, this the option that small businesses are increasingly choosing in order to provide affordable health benefits to their employees.
Are HRAs and wage up plans better than group plans?
HRAs and wage up plans are typically a win-win, improving the benefits plan for both employers and employees.
Most employees see dramatic cost reductions in their coverage. For employers, HRAs and wage up plans are a tremendous way to reduce costs, eliminate many of the administrative headaches associated with group health insurance, and still offer a comprehensive employee health benefit.
Every employee has distinct preferences, lifestyles, and health concerns. It’s easier and more cost-effective to support this diversity with an HRA or wage up plan compared to a "one-size-fits-some" traditional group plan. By offering these well-rounded health benefits, each employee has the freedom to choose the unique medical services and best local healthcare providers for their own needs.
What are my health insurance options as the business owner?
Depending on how your business is structured and how you compensate yourself, you may not qualify for PTCs, in which case you will need to purchase your own private plan.
Most owners come out substantially ahead, even when paying full price for their own private plan. Our licensed agents will help you find the plan that best suits your needs.
Are my employees' ACA plan options just as good as their group health plan?
ACA plans are no different from group health insurance plans.
Marketplace plans and non-Marketplace plans are generally mirror images of each other, though off-Marketplace plans don’t provide premium subsidies. This means that the few employees who may not receive tax credits will generally pay less by picking lower-cost off-Marketplace plans.
While ACA plans rarely include PPOs or Platinum level plans, employees are typically able to add dental, vision, and hearing (DVH) and supplemental plans to help reduce out-of-pocket costs for a still lower premium than their original group plan premium.
This sounds like a lot of work... How would I even implement this?
That's where we come in. Our licensed agents work hand-in-hand with you to help assess your needs, choose and implement plans, obtain and deliver health insurance cards, and maintain plans going forward.
Imagine never having to deal with premium increases and shopping for a new group plan ever again! With HRAs and wage up plans, you won't have to (HR loves us).
Our group plan isn't up for renewal, so we can't even consider this right now.
Actually, you can. Choosing to restructure your employee benefits automatically opens a special enrollment period (SEP), so that you can set up and implement an HRA or wage up plan at any time.
How can I learn more?
The first step is simply to know your options.
W3 will provide you with a free health benefits analysis (HBA) comparing your existing group plan to an HRA or wage up plan. Our HBA will give you an apples-to-apples comparison of what you're doing now, what it costs, and the benefits it provides, compared to setting up an HRA or wage up plan.
All we need to get started is some very basic information regarding your employees in order to determine the size of your available PTCs. To begin, simply contact our agents, fill out the form provided to you in your welcome packet, or ask your licensed agent for a survey link.
What Employers Are Saying
Eric L.
Pflugerville, TX 78660
03-14-2022
"It’s way less work and way less cost than our original group plan and it lets us provide great benefits while putting more value in the position. It's certainly helped us hire the right people, and our overall benefits package is now stronger than what a lot of bigger companies offer. If I could tell other small business owners one thing about setting up your benefits this way, it's that it’s worth it."
Steve R.
Round Rock, TX 78683
03-09-2023
"I've been so pleased! The agents with W3 spent time going through various scenarios with each of the plans offered, they patiently answered all of my employees' questions (and there were lots of them), and I really feel they have our interests at heart. I've known exactly what to expect. There really haven't been any surprises, and that’s a good thing!”
I simply can't afford to provide benefits.
You're right (kind of).
What you likely can't afford is a group health plan (GHP). This is true for most small businesses. What you can afford is a tax-deductible amount of your choice ($25-$100 or more per employee per month) to a custom-fit savings and benefits plan that may or may not involve setting up a GHP.
That's where we come in.
We know how to structure your benefits so that employees get what they want and you pay what makes sense for your business. Many of our clients find they are able to provide health insurance, supplemental insurance, and savings plans for less than they were paying under their original group health plan. Businesses who had not provided benefits have found they can provide great benefits at less than half the cost of what they were expecting.
Learning about your options is a simple, quick process.
Just give us the basics of your business by filling out our form and we'll give you a free, zero-obligation benefits analysis to see if what we do makes sense for you.
I offer benefits, but the cost is hurting my business...
Of course it is.
Most small business owners are simply not aware of the options they have. And we haven't run into a small business yet that has performed a detailed analysis of GHPs vs individual insurance that includes available subsidies. Our experts will do this for you, for free.
Once they receive our analysis, many small business owners discover that they can avoid GHPs altogether, without sacrificing their employees' quality of coverage (in most cases, the quality of benefits improves). Tax-deductible HRAs or simple stipends can close potential gaps so that employees end up with higher coverage and often lower deductibles for a lower net premium than they had under the original group plan.
Your business is already paying for premium tax credits, why not let them work for you?
To learn more, request a copy of our guide on premium tax credits and see how they can save you up to $50,000 per year or more on your employee benefits.
I'd like to offer a 401(k), but I'm concerned about the time and costs involved...
You should be!
Offering 401(k) plans requires significant time and cost to the employer. This includes numerous fees; compliance with ERISA, SECURE, and non-discrimination (including compliance testing); annual reporting to the IRS; disclosing plan information to participants (SPDs, SMMs, IBSs, and SARs); deferring income through payroll and more!
And for employees making less than $100,000 per year, a 401(k) is typically not all it's cracked up to be.
Your goal is to protect your employees financially, attract the best talent, and keep the employees you have. Learn how you can accomplish this without the time and cost involved in setting up a 401(k) by requesting a copy of our guide for small business owners—"The Truth About 401(k) Plans."
What Employees Are Saying
Sarah R.
Burnet, TX 78611
05-02-2022
"After everything our family was going through with the cancer treatment, it was such a blessing to receive these funds. We didn't have time to worry about how to pay our normal bills, much less our travel expenses. Thanks to Family Heritage, we didn't have to. I am so glad that we had this coverage."
Total Claims Paid: $42,768.00
Margaret H.
Mineral Wells, TX 76067
04-11-2022
"We were happy with the plan just for the security and peace of mind. The best benefit about it was the refund of all of my unused premiums when I turned 65. I had not realized the policy would continue even after I received my money back! We are so pleased to continue with the program. Thank you so much.
Return of Premium: $25,020.00
Kathy R.
Harker Heights, TX 76548
12-01-2022
"Family Heritage is one of the best decisions we ever made. It has brought us such financial peace during my husband's health crisis. I recommend this insurance program for financial protection to anyone no matter your age or your family status!"
Total Claims Paid: $71,665.25
This might make sense, but I just don't have the time...
Of course you don't! You're running a business.
Give us the basics of your business and we'll give you the numbers. We always provide a free, zero-obligation benefits opportunity analysis so that you can make a fully-informed informed decision for you and your employees.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will it cost me to offer great benefits to my employees?
That's entirely up to you.
Benefits can be offered at zero net cost to you or at any amount you choose. We typically recommend contributing something, but every business and every business model is unique -- there is no right or wrong amount.
How much time will I need to invest in order to set up and to manage my employee benefits package?
Very little.
Our entire business model is built around removing the barriers to providing benefits by cutting out the time and cost to the employer. Our agents will consult with employees one-on-one to find the most affordable Marketplace health plans and to set up refundable, income-appropriate supplemental policies that can double as retirement savings.
Once an employee chooses a plan option, our agents will implement, manage, and maintain their chosen plan. Plans are flexible, changeable, and cancellable at any time and our agents are available 9am-6pm every weekday to assist employees in managing their chosen plans.
Who are your agents?
All of our agents are licensed professionals in the state of Texas.
We have multiple agents on staff representing many different providers of health insurance, supplemental insurance, life insurance, and other products.
How many companies have you worked with?
To date, our agents have worked with more than 300 small businesses across Texas.
How can I learn more?
We know you have questions! We have answers.
Contact us for access to our Client Resources portal, where you can learn more about small business alternatives to traditional group plans, retirement savings plans, supplemental insurance, and more.
To learn more about your process, click here.
To learn more about our free benefits opportunity analysis, contact us today.
Our Process
1) You tell us about your business
2) We send you a free benefits analysis
3) We set up your plan
4) We enroll employees
Who We Serve
Employers (<50)
Employers (50-99)
Employees