EAST PROVIDENCE – The East Providence Area Chamber of Commerce and The Virtus Group in Providence are offering two free seminars to help employers, especially small businesses, better understand their health care benefits and manage their escalating costs.
The one-hour seminars, titled “Navigating the Maze of Health Insurance Options,” will be held this Thursday, May 29, at 8 a.m. and Tuesday, June 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Chamber, 1005 Waterman Ave., East Providence.
Kenneth C. Trinque, vice president of The Virtus Group and a certified employee benefits specialist, will lead the sessions, which are open to Chamber members and non-members.
“Health care costs average 20 to 30 percent of payroll costs in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which is a large percentage of a company’s overhead,” Trinque said in a news release. “There are many ways that a company can save money on employee health insurance without compromising coverage. Many employers simply aren’t aware of all of the plans and options that are available to them. Particularly with smaller businesses, we find that owners don’t have the time nor expertise to research these options or evaluate their current plans in order to make a change. We’re here to help them.”
Late last year, The Virtus Group and the East Providence Chamber surveyed nearly 400 Chamber members to determine the number of companies that offer health insurance benefits to their employees and their familiarity with options such as health savings or reimbursement accounts.
Nearly 68 percent offered health insurance benefits to their employees, and 47.5 percent said they were familiar with the options, according to the news release. The top three reasons cited by those who didn’t offer coverage were that employees were covered by their spouses’ plans, the high cost, and the use of independent contractors.
“Our members have been telling us that health care is expensive, difficult to understand, and they want to know about ways to bring the costs down,” said Laura McNamara, executive director of the Chamber, in the release. “Our Chamber is offering business owners help in getting the information they need to make the right decisions. And, in today’s competitive marketplace, a business can better retain or recruit employees simply by offering health care benefits.”
For more information or to register, contact McNamara at 438-1212 or office@eastprovchamber.com.
The Virtus Group is an insurance and financial services firm specializing in employee benefits, retirement planning and insurance for personal and business clients. For more information, visit www.virtusgrp.com.
