Health and wellness benefits for public sector employers.

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While federal employees are covered by The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, most state and local government employees also have comprehensive health plans and other employee benefits. These benefits are often a key factor in attracting and retaining employees who might otherwise pursue opportunities in the private sector.

Your Highstreet agent is part of a team of dedicated public sector benefits specialists who can help you find the policies and packages that fit the unique needs of your organization, large or small.

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The demand for better benefits is higher than ever.

You know how challenging it is to find a plan that meets the expectations of public sector employees but is also compliant and within your budget. We can help.

79% of peoplebelieve that benefits are an important reason why employees choose careers in the public sector.

Our Public Service, 2022

88% of jobseekersconsider better health, dental and vision insurance benefits when choosing between a high-paying job and a lower-paying job.

GovPilot, 2022

We understand the insurance needs of the public sector.

Highstreet’s team of public sector health and wellness insurance specialists understand the complexities of the public service, including compliance with state and federal labor and healthcare laws, procurement processes, collective agreements, and budget constraints.

Employee Healthcare Plans
Life and Disability Coverage
Mental health support
Wellness benefits
Voluntary benefits
Additional Employee
Benefits Services

Employee Healthcare Plans

To help your team stay healthy and productive, without worrying about high costs for medical, dental, vision , and other care, including prescription drugs.    

There are several types of health and other plans available to businesses:

PPO

(preferred provider organization) plans

These plans have contracts with a network of participating medical providers, such as hospitals and doctors. Under the plan, you and your employees will pay less for services if participants use providers that belong to the plan's network.

HMO

(health maintenance organization) plans

An HMO usually limits coverage to care from doctors who work for or contract with the HMO. What makes it different from a PPO is that it generally won't cover out-of-network care except in an emergency. An HMO may also require participants to live or work in its service area to be eligible for coverage.

HSA

(health savings account) qualified plans

This is a type of savings account that lets participants set aside untaxed money to pay for qualified medical expenses. HSA-eligible plans may have lower monthly premiums, but deductibles can be higher.

HRA

(Health Reimbursement Arrangement)

These plans reimburse employees for approved medical and dental expenses. The employer determines a reimbursement amount up to a yearly limit.

Life and Disability Coverage

Life insurance, short- and long-term disability and dependent coverage can give your team the confidence that they and their families will be covered in a crisis.

Mental health support

With mental health support more top-of-mind than ever, you can offer your team coverage for counseling, therapy and crisis support.

Wellness benefits

Support for healthy living and proactive health, such as:

  • Wellness
    programs
  • Wellness
    information
  • Smoking
    cessation
  • Health
    monitoring
  • Fitness

Voluntary benefits

A voluntary program can enable your employees to get additional coverage that’s tailored to reflect their age, health and lifestyle choices, including:.

  • Individual life
  • Accidental death or disability
  • Critical illness and hospital expenses
  • Travel health insurance
  • Pet health insurance
  • Legal expenses
  • Conversion options for exiting employees

Additional Employee Benefits Services

Your local Highstreet agent can also help you find and implement additional services to help you manage your employee benefits plans:

Benefits administration and technology

Benefits administration is a service that helps your company develop an employee benefits package that supports the needs of your workforce and meets your business goals and budget, including simplifying enrolment and minimizing risk.

Employee Benefits Compliance

Your Highstreet agent can assist you with the burdens of maintaining your employee benefits plans in compliance with federal laws, such as ERISA, Section 125 Cafeteria Plan rules, the ACA and COBRA, as well as state and union requirements.

Public Sector Health Care Group

Public Sector Health Care Group is a health insurance pool, created to purchase employee benefits on a scale that small and mid-sized governmental agencies cannot access or afford on their own. By joining like-minded employers, your organization becomes part of a larger and more stable collective, which gives you a greater range of coverage and pricing options.

Frequently asked questions about employee health and wellness plans

Challenges such as budget cuts, retiring employees, and competition with the private sector for top talent are making it more difficult for governments to recruit and retain skilled workers. For many employers and employees, there is a greater demand for better employee benefits. While cost management is always a priority, the Highstreet team can help negotiate the right employee coverage to suit any budget.

State employee health plans are often the largest employer purchaser in a state, which gives them unique bargaining power to find the best quality, affordable coverage for employees. Administering health plans with such diverse membership can be challenging, but also allows your organization to go to market to lower patients’ out of pocket costs and reduce premiums.

At the municipal level benefits such as quality health and wellness coverage are also key to attracting and retaining top talent. And larger municipal governments also benefit from considerable purchasing power when choosing a benefits plan provider.