While the discussions continue about healthcare reform, most agree that its primary goal—affordable health care for every American—is a noble one. Even as the law was written, and certainly as implementation has progressed, the reality that emerged was anything but simple. For many, “bogged down” doesn’t even begin to describe the processes and the outcomes.
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What if it was easier? What if each individual could purchase his or her own insurance, at a favorable rate, with his or her employer paying all or part of the cost? What if that individual could take benefits along to a new job, without fear of losing them simply because of a change in employers?
These are not merely what-ifs, according to Rick Lindquist, CEO of Zane Benefits, Inc.. Applying this kind of defined contribution model to health and welfare benefits is what they do.
In short, Lindquist says, their mission is to “consumerize” benefits for small business. “We have this vision of the world where employee benefits are actually employee benefits rather than employer benefits,” he says. “Consumerize is the word we use to describe that vision.”