See For Yourself

“Because of the ability of our employees to manage their own health care and the breadth of coverage available, we had a significant reduction in the use of sick days last year. MediDirect® helped us to achieve these results and control our benefit costs. ”

Compare a traditional insurance plan versus a MediDirect® program

In reality, all benefit plans are "cost plus". With group health insurance plans, the excess "cost plus" portion is administrative costs and risk premiums, and can be in excess of 50% of the premium. The MediDirect® administration fee is only 10% of your medical cost (plus applicable taxes), and payments are only made when an expense is incurred.

With group health insurance the employer pays more in premiums than the insurance company pays out in health claims. In our extensive analysis, we have not found one example where more has been paid out in claims than premiums charged. Companies are, in reality, self-insuring their benefit plans by paying the full claim amounts PLUS administrative fees. Depending on the size of the company, the administrative fees can be an additional 20% to 200% of the benefit costs. Combined, the benefit and administrative cost is called the premium.         

Cost and Tax Comparison of a MediDirect® Program vs a Typical Group Benefit Plan

This example is based on an actual case. A family of four (one employee and his/her dependents) spends, on a yearly basis, $1,100 on prescription drugs, $700 on dental, $500 for braces, $400 for glasses, and an additional $750 on health and wellness treatments (e.g., massages, naturopath), for a yearly total of $3,450. Their Group Plan covers 80% of medical and dental expenses, 50% for orthodontics, and $200 for glasses. The family income is $50,000 per year with an approximate tax rate of 35%. The employer pays $2,400 per year for the traditional Group Plan for family coverage.

The Medidirect® program would be structured to provide each employee with a private, individualized health insurance plan. The premium for this coverage for a family of four would be $1,680 annually. Coverage is comparable to that provided under the previous employer Group Plan. The employee claims the health insurance premiums through the MediDirect® health spending account, as well as amounts not covered under that health insurance. The employer funds the trust by $2,400 per annum.

	Typical Group Plan	Self-Administered MediDirect® Program	Self-Administered MediDirect® Program with Employee Participation*
Annual Cost to Employer	($2,400)	($2,400)	($3,600)
Less: Administration Fee (MediDirect®)	($2,400)	($2,240)	($2,360)
Dollars Available for Expenditure	($2,400)	($2,160)	($3,240)
Less Payment for Insurance	($2,400)	($1,680)	($1,680)
Total	($2,400)	($2,480)	($1,560)
Cost of Family Medical Expenses	($3,450)	($3,450)	($3,450)
Insurance Claims Paid**	($1,890)	($1,890)	($1,890)
After Tax Cost to Employee	($1,560)	($1,560)	($1,560)
Less: Health Spending Account	($2,400)	($2,480)	($ 1,560)
Employee Pays in After Tax Dollars	($1,560)	($1,080)	($2,400)
Before Tax Income Required (assume 35% tax rate)	($2,400)	($1,660)	($2,400)
Total Before Tax Cost	($4,800)	($4,060)	($3,600)
Total Direct Saving to Employee and Employer with a MediDirect® Program***		($2,740)	($1,200)

• Redirect 40 to 50% of group premium costs directly to employee benefits.
• Corporations experience benefit cost control and budget stability.
• Small business, sole proprietors and organizations can have benefits normally associated with large business.
• MediDirect® administers your program, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing corporate administrative time and the frustration of coordinating benefits through multiple vendors.

Tax Effective:

• 100% tax deductible business expense.
• Employees receive tax free benefits.

Innovative:

• With a MediDirect® Flex Benefit Program, employees can combine a self-contributed portion with the corporate contributions to fully cover all of their medical costs in a tax free benefit allowance.
• Limits can be increased with service anniversaries or promotions.
• If there are unused dollars in an employee’s account at the end of the year, there are several options available. Please contact us for more details.

Flexible and Customized:

• A MediDirect® program fits the changing needs of employees and their families.
• Eligible expenses include non-traditional and non-Western mainstream medicine.
• There can be differing amounts for different groups within the corporate structure (ie., owners, management, staff, part-time, seasonal, single or with dependents).

Comprehensive:

• Eligible expenses are much broader than traditional insurance plans, and include many complementary medical services, treatments and therapies. Some examples are: acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, massage therapy, other therapies, fertility treatments, transportation, crutches, and wheelchairs, to name a few.
• Optional Insurance against unpredictable medical costs both at home and abroad. 
• Optional Insurance to protect against loss of income due to accident or injury, including Business Overhead Expenses.
• Optional Critical Illness Insurance.

Proactive:

• According to our research, it costs employers an average of $200 per day when a staff member misses a day’s work for health reasons. A MediDirect® program enables employees to fund wellness regimes, thereby reducing absenteeism and adding up to a healthier, more productive employee and less sick days for the employer.

                          
  

“ The last benefit plan we had increased our premiums every year or two, regardless of our activity. Now I know what our health and dental costs will be up front, and we have a much broader range of eligible expenses. Our staff averaged 32% in savings last year and we were able to address some very uncommon conditions that our old plan wouldn’t even consider.”