Access to “innovative and affordable” health insurance plans is now available to members of the Tire Industry Association (TIA) through Kiely Hines and Associates.
“With many businesses in the tire industry facing the grim prospect of radically scaling back or even eliminating health insurance, this major expansion of our relationship with Kiely Hines will be an extremely powerful weapon in the battle against rapidly escalating healthcare costs,” says TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield.
Health insurance costs are often one of the top expenses for a business. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, premiums for employer-based health insurance rose by 5 precent in 2008. In 2007, small employers saw their premiums, on average, increase 5.5 percent. Firms with less than 24 workers experienced an increase of 6.8 percent. These numbers are expected to continue to skyrocket.
To combat this trend, the TIA has created an arrangement with Kiely Hines so that its members now have access to creative health insurance options such as limited-benefit plans in addition to traditional major medical plans.
Under a limited-benefit plan, an owner can provide employees coverage for basic medical care for such things as routine physician visits, prescription drugs and hospitalization. The employer can decide how much of the cost they will share with each employee. And, a TIA member can save as much as 15 percent over the yearly cost of a traditional major medical plan.
However, those TIA members who prefer a more traditional health plan will have options under this partnership expansion as well. They now have the benefit of being able to “shop around” with several major medical insurers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare in order to receive the right amount of coverage at a competitive rate.
Littlefield says the TIA “already has a long and successful track record with Kiely Hines, and our members can rest assured that they know the needs of tire industry employers, and they can provide unique, powerful, and, above all, affordable options to help ensure the well-being of their employees.”
TIA members also have the opportunity to obtain quality, cost-competitive dental insurance, vision insurance, and other ancillary health insurance products, he adds.
For more information, call 800-295-1897 and visit www.tireindustry.org and www.kielyhines.com.
