Saratoga Benefit Services is proud to announce the addition of Bill Webb as Account Executive to the Moorestown, NJ firm.

For nearly 20 years, Saratoga Benefit Services has helped business owners safely navigate through the dreaded task of administering employee benefits, while creating health insurance plans that are tailored to their employees’ personal needs, as well as property and casualty insurance services.

As part of Saratoga’s responsive team, Bill is responsible for managing and maintaining existing accounts as well as driving business development.

A graduate of Elon University, Bill began his career with Arthur J. Gallagher, AJG, the fourth largest insurance brokerage firm in the world for both employee benefits and property & casualty.

Webb is pleased to join the Saratoga team and is looking forward to offering a diverse array of services, while continuing the personalized touch that Saratoga’s clients have come to know and expect.

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(left to right) Benjamin Watts, Liberty Bell Bank; Joseph DiBella, Conner Strong & Buckelew; Will Hussey, Cook Moran; Amy Webb, Saratoga Benefits

Amy Webb, President of Saratoga Benefits recently participated in a multi-chamber forum, Navigating Healthcare – South Jersey’s Healthcare Forum. She participated in a panel, The Employers Guide to Controlling Costs.

The panel included: moderator Joe DiBella of Conner Strong & Buckelew; Ben Watts of Liberty Bell Bank and Will Hussey of Cook Moran.

The goal of the panel was to inform employers about the issues surrounding the ACA reform and educate them about what they need to know when making healthcare decisions for their employees.

Some take-aways:

Affordability: The biggest challenge facing employers today is finding a benefits plan that is affordable for both the employer and employee: finding a premium that isn’t cost-prohibitive while also offering co-pays and deductibles that their employees can afford.

According to a 2016 study by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), providing health benefits is their Number 1 problem. Even with consistent cost increases, employers continue to offer coverage as a way to attract and retain employees. Eighty-three percent of employers continue to offer benefits to attract employees.

Panelist President & CEO of Liberty Bell Bank, Ben Watts shared this thinking. As the employer of a small business, he would prefer that they did not need to shoulder the responsibility of deciphering complex employee benefit choices.

Education: One area where the expert panel saw room for improvement was to enhance employee education about HSAs and HRAs. By better understanding how their policies function, employees could take advantage of additional savings.

Self-Funding: This is a bit of a misnomer since it is still an insured plan but with a much higher behind-the-scene deductible that the employer funds. The employees still see more traditional-type copays and deductibles when they visit the medical provider. This can help lower payroll deductions for the employees and save the employer money as well.

Questions about ACA or benefits? Contact Amy Webb.

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Amy Webb, President of Saratoga Benefit Services was recently installed as the new President of the Rotary Club of Moorestown’s lunch club for 2017-2018. Amy has been a member of the Rotary for 10 years and has held several administrative board positions during her membership. The Moorestown club has over 90 members and contributes philanthropically to numerous charities and projects both locally and worldwide.

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Amy Webb of Saratoga Benefits and Paul Costello of Sciacca’s Upholstering & Design

Last year had started off with a bang for Sciacca’s Upholstering & Design Center in Riverside, NJ.

A third-generation, family-owned upholstery firm owned by Paul Costello and Sandra Sciacca, they had just celebrated their 70^th anniversary and had recently moved from their Delran location to a more spacious and modern one in Riverside NJ to accommodate their growth.

They serve their clients in a variety of ways: residential/commercial upholstery, onsite clean for upholstery and window treatments, professional services, for law offices/dentist/doctor offices, as well as auto and marine.

While their business was growing, there was one area where they were having difficulty: finding health insurance for their 10 employees and two owners, Paul Costello and Sandra Sciacca.

Last November, their insurance broker informed them that their insurance program was cancelled – and there were no other options to choose from. Paul decided they would discontinue the health insurance for their employees and instead give each of them a raise so that they could purchase their own health insurance in the individual online marketplace (www.healthcare.gov).

Once Paul began to look into purchasing insurance for himself and his wife Sandra, he was quickly frustrated by the complexity of it.

“The site was impossible to navigate,” said Paul, “It was confusing – I couldn’t get answers. And it took days to get a response.”

He quickly realized that he was going to have to help all of his employees manage this maze as well. Unable to take on the time-consuming task of benefits administrator, he reached out to Amy Webb, president of Saratoga Benefits and fellow Burlington Regional Chamber of Commerce member.

Within three days of meeting with Amy, Paul had 5 quotes to choose from. As a small group he was able to find options that were unavailable in the individual online marketplace. And they were similar in pricing to what he was paying previously.

“Saratoga was responsive when I needed answers,” said Paul.

Plus, by providing health insurance for his employees, Paul was able to deduct it as a business expense – and their employees could also benefit from a pre-tax deduction.

Recently, Sciacca received a notice that, again, their insurance program, Aetna, is ending their program in New Jersey. But this time Paul isn’t worried. He knows that Amy’s team at Saratoga Benefits will be ready with options.

Frustrated by a lack of response from your insurance broker? Confused about coverage options? Call (856) 642-2949 or email Amy Webb (awebb@saratogabenefits.com) today with your questions or concerns.

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Thanks for a great presentation by Tom Burgoyne’s “Pheel the Love” on creating an environment for business growth and success. Saratoga Benefits is proud to be a sponsor of this Burlington Chamber of Commerce event.

Pictured (top): Tom Burgoyne, “Best Friend” of The Phillie Phanatic.

Pictured (bottom): Amy Webb, President of Saratoga Benefits

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Saratoga Benefit’s President Amy Webb is once again participating in this year’s Moorestown Relay for Life in support of the American Cancer Society in honor and support of her friend Donna Morton.

Donna would have celebrated her 53rd birthday this week.

Most of you know that Donna worked for Saratoga Benefits for over 10 years – four of those years she fought cancer. We have been without Donna for almost 2 years now and we miss her everyday. We need to find a cure for cancer and your support of the American Cancer Society is a step in that direction.

This year Amy has been asked to be a Power in Purple candidate. This means she is committed to wearing purple for the next 30 days to raise awareness. So if you see a photo of Amy wearing purple, we hope you’ll consider supporting this worthy cause. Her goal is to raise $3,000.

Here’s how to get involved or make a donation:  Click here to donate:

Join Amy and her Moorestown Rotary Club Team on June 9, at Moorestown High School. Click here to learn more.

Thank you for your support!

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Saratoga Benefits recently held a seminar at Moorestown Community House to answer questions about what health insurance will look like moving forward. Saratoga president Amy Webb, along with Scott Wham, J.D., Director of Compliance at Kistler Tiffany conducted the informative seminar.

Geared to business owners and H.R. specialists, it provided answers about the American Care Act, reform updates, QSEHRA and Medicare. Here’s a brief summary of its highlights:

ACA: If the Affordable Care Act is not repealed, then expect significant changes. The big question that needs to be solved is: how to pay for it? Many of the taxes that have been built into the ACA have been postponed. The ACA cannot be funded indefinitely without the necessary taxes.

Health Insurance as a Deduction: Currently, health insurance is a 100% write-off for employers, which is a great incentive for them to continue to fund a significant portion of the premiums. Some Republicans are proposing that the employer portion should no longer be a business deduction and the employee benefit should be considered income. How will this affect employers? As 175 million employees get their benefits through their employer, this proposed change could have a significant impact on the employer’s bottom line and the employee’s paycheck.

Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA): Small business owners can choose to set aside funds in a cash account for their employees to buy health insurance on their own in the marketplace. The upside to QSEHRA is the employer can still get the business deduction, and not have to deal with the headache of choosing an insurance plan.

While this sounds appealing, there are also some challenges. First is that this cash set aside must be offered to all employees, not just the ones who need insurance. Secondly, this plan must apply throughout the company – owners included. The most often heard complaint about QSEHRA is that there are only 2 plans to choose from in New Jersey via the open marketplace for a single applicant. Employees may be dissatisfied with the choices available to them compared to what ‘s available via a group plan.

The next seminar will take place in the fall of 2017. If you would like to be notified via email of the next seminar, contact Kim Pewor.

Have a specific question about your benefits? Contact Amy Webb

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Saratoga Benefits is the first health insurance agent to sign up a New Jersey client to Aetna’s new health insurance program, Aetna Whole Health – Virtua.

The Aetna Virtua Partnership, available in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties, offers a 15-50% cost savings and lower co-pays compared to competitive plans in NJ. It allows patients to have access to doctors within their existing Virtua network, which includes 1600 physicians, sixteen urgent care facilities and three hospitals.

Regal Wine Imports’ Vice President of Human Resources, Heather Gill, explained why the Moorestown, NJ company made this choice.

“Giving our employees choice is important,” said Gill. “Anything we can do to reduce their costs and provide better benefits, while also save money for the company, is a win-win situation.”

In South Jersey, Virtua is known as a major healthcare provider that boasts excellent physicians and quality care, all of which are convenient to the majority of Regal Wine Imports’ employees. Employees still have the ability to go to any Aetna providers and hospitals in their larger network.

“We hope this innovative approach will be successful and that our employees continue elect this choice in the years to come,” added Gill.

Virtua provides services through Virtua Medical Group with 302 physicians and other clinicians, and at its urgent care centers, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, health and wellness centers, fitness centers, home health services, long-term care and rehabilitation centers, and paramedic program. A leader in maternal and child health services, Virtua delivers nearly 8,000 babies a year. It provides health services to 1,500 businesses, and participates in Virtua Physician Partners, a clinically integrated network of 1,400 physicians and other clinicians. Virtua is affiliated with Penn Medicine for cancer and neuroscience and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for pediatrics.

To find out more about this new plan just for SJ residents, contact Amy Webb

Photo Caption: Pictured from left— Regal Wines’ employee and AWH-V plan member Peter Caruso, Alfred Campanella; Heather Gill; Amy Webb, President Saratoga Benefit Services; Barbara Gotsch, Aetna; Francine Saraullo, Virtua Vice President, Managed Care.

For the last 5 years, Saratoga Benefits has been working together with kindergarteners, first and second graders from CamdenForward School, a division of UrbanPromise. Saratoga hosts an art contest at UrbanPromise, with the top five students’ creations featured in Saratoga Benefit’s St. Patty’s Day cards. Students win Target gift cards and Girl Scout Cookies.

Pictured left to right: Kim Pewor of Saratoga Benefits, Sarah Rose Kelley of CamdenForward School, Amy Webb and Madeline Webb of Saratoga Benefits

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