Huntington House builds competitive benefits package while keeping costs well below industry average
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“Great-West Healthcare gives us all the flexibility we need. They offer enough flexibility on plan design that we can be as proactive as we need to be to bring costs down. The plan design lets us control our costs and gives us the quality coverage we need to keep our valuable employees happy.”
–Johnny Slagle, Controller, Huntington House
Huntington House, based in Hickory, North Carolina, manufactures made-to-order handcrafted furniture. Started in 1985 by several families with a long tradition of furniture building, the family owned and operated business builds sofas, chairs and love seats and distributes them through fine-furniture stores throughout the region. Today, the company offers more than 60 frame styles in multiple sizes and 800 fabrics, and prides itself on quality craftsmanship.
Benefits needs:
- Quality benefits help to attract and retain highly skilled furniture craftsmen.
- Flexible, innovative plan designs to help contain costs and provide rich benefits.
- Previous plans came with high annual renewal rates, or demanded excessive employer funds to cover chronically ill employees.
The Great-West Healthcare solution:
- Over the past two years, the company’s claims costs have only increased by 3 percent and 0 percent, respectively, compared to industry increases of around 18 percent.i
- Huntington House lowered its prescription drug expenses by 5 percent by implementing higher copays for brand name than for generic drugs. This action increased generic drug use by 30 percent and gave employees a choice.
- The Great-West Healthcare Consumer AdvantageSM plan offers Huntington House a creative plan design, further lowering the company’s costs and encouraging employees to maintain their health through preventive care.
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i Great-West Healthcare research, July 2004