Self - Managed Medical Insurance

Insurance nowadays are making really good money. No wonder. Basically it's a business for security, whether it be for education, retirement, medical or hospitalization.

The company I'm working with contracts with insurance companies for medical and hospitalization purposes of it's principal employees. We pay premiums for one year contract. For the 2nd year another contract and pay the premiums, and so on the 3rd year. Usage or utilizations are very minimal and the premiums we pay is with mark up of administrative costs for the insurance companies. Premiums paid is non-refundable and will reset to zero as the contract expires, usually in a year. With these realizations, we look for another angle that we could at least save on the insurance premiums.

Came up the self-managed insurance. This works good and beneficial to the company. At first it's gonna be risky since, we still have to put up the fund, and what if there will be major hospitalization requirements of our employees. We proposed to the top management, to manage our own insurance and should the company willing to back us up in formidable cases, maybe even just for the first or second year.

What we did:

• We ask the boss to just give us the budgeted premiums for insurance companies every month.
• The monthly budget is being deposited to a separate account. We manage it just like insurance companies.
  
• Whenever their are medical concerns of our employees, the fund will be available but will still process some documentary requirements just like a normal insurance coverage.
• It's still for inpatient and outpatient coverage with certain limits and co-insurance programs.
• We contract a hospital near our company, to accept admission of our employees even without downpayment for emergency purposes, because the company will shoulder all medical claims.
• We follow the procedures and arrangements of claims from the insurance companies.

Fortunately on our starting year, we do not have major claims, only outpatient reimbursements. And the premiums every month, still there and no reset. It will remain on our bank account. It accumulates to thousands of pesos without going back to zero every year and we like it that way. The company will no longer demand it back since it is already given as medical insurance. It's actually a reserve fund for the future or we could convert it to retirement fund.

So, now we no longer have a contract with insurance companies and we manage our own medical/hospitalization insurance.