Liazon Corporation

A better way to buy benefits.With the Bright Choices Exchange, you determine the dollar amount to give your employees. They go shopping in an online store to get a benefits portfolio that fits them best

What's the problem?
Health insurance costs are rising. Business is getting tougher. You want to provide quality benefits for your employees, but high costs and limited options force you to do the dreaded annual renewal trim and tweak of benefits and constantly switch carriers. You're trying to do what's right, but your employees only see what's going away.

There is now a better way that many businesses like you are discovering — shifting to a private exchange model.
What is an exchange and how does it work?
An exchange is an online store where employees can purchase benefits. Exchanges offer multiple options of health insurance plans, and may also offer other benefits, such as dental, vision, life, disability, and other options. Exchanges that are "private" are run by industry, while "public" exchanges are run by the government.

In most cases, the employer uses a defined contribution strategy to give each employee a set amount of money to purchase benefits. The employees and their families can then go shopping in the exchange with the money allocated by their employer and add their own if needed. Depending on the exchange, employees can receive guidance and education about the plans to help them make purchasing decisions.
What about Health Care Reform? Where does that come in?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka "PPACA" or "Health Care Reform") was passed by Congress in 2010, and is being phased in, with most changes starting in 2014. It is expected to reduce the number of people without health insurance by providing people with incentives and options to buy insurance.


Major components of the act include:

Expanding eligibility for Medicaid
Providing tax credits that make insurance more affordable for certain people and providing penalties for those who choose not to purchase insurance
Guaranteeing access to coverage regardless of pre-existing health conditions
Establishing government-run health insurance exchanges for individual insurance
Learn more about what the Affordable Care Act means for businesses and employees

Understanding Health Care Reform

The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation provides easy-to-understand videos and visuals on this topic:

Watch the YouToons explain Health Reform
View a flowchart about employer responsibility to provide coverage under the Act
View a flowchart about who will get coverage under the Act

Making Sense of it All as a Business Owner
What the Health Care Law Will Mean for your small business, Wall Street Journal
Shopping for Coverage: Tips for Small Companies, Crain's New York
Expectations for Public Exchanges - Building a Better Health Insurance Exchange, The Washington Post

Our Experience With Exchanges
We're helping people figure out how to make Health Care Reform work best for the people it's intended to help. We have already seen the positive impact of choice on our customers and their employees. Read what our Executive Team has said:
Private Exchanges Mull ACA Role
Cost Predictability Sparks Interest In Defined Contribution Plans
Costs are high and keep increasing
The average premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2011 were $5,429 for singles and $15,073 for families. That's 8-9% higher than in 2010. Workers in small firms contribute a significantly lower average percentage for single coverage compared to workers in larger firms (15% vs. 19%), but a higher average percentage for family coverage (36% vs. 25%).1
Employees don't fully value their benefits
80% of employees don't know how much their employers contribute towards their health insurance premiums. And almost half of employees with employer coverage don't even know how much they contribute from their salary to their own health insurance premiums! 2
Employees want to be in the driver's seat
A recent survey found that 83% of employees with employer-based coverage feel that they are better suited than their employers to choose a health plan for themselves. 3



Giving employees transparency, control, and skin in the game unlocks value." Todd Hixon, Forbes.com Employees want their employers to do four things when it comes to health benefits. These are:
Make it easy to do.
Make it personal so I know how to get the best value.
Make it move me in the right direction.
Make it meaningful so I feel supported as I try to improve my health. 4
How does Liazon fit in?
Founded in 2007, Liazon operates the Bright Choices® Exchange, the market-leading private benefits exchange for small and mid-sized businesses. Bright Choices is an online benefits store that is changing the way employers and employees buy benefits. It helps employers save money on their healthcare costs by setting predictable budgets while guiding employees to purchase better coverage of health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits, among others. Liazon helps employees by giving them the coverage they need at a price they can afford. It makes the whole system work more efficiently. We have years of experience that shows how. Read our white papers.
Learn more about Bright Choices
1: The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Education Trust, Employer Health Benefits 2011 Annual Survey.