We all know that for individuals, health insurance renewals and changes happen during the November and December calendar months. But if you’re a practice owner or manager, your group health insurance can renew at any time throughout the year. Whether your plan is up for renewal, or you’re offering group benefits for the first time, we want you to know that TMA Insurance Trust can help you year-round. We do the research, look for superior options, and always provide the best in service. Read on to see how your practice can benefit from getting assistance from our team.

As a solo practitioner or partner in a practice, you’re responsible for paying monthly overhead expenses that keep your business up and running. If something happens and you’re unable to work due to a disabling injury or illness, the personal disability insurance you have won’t be enough to cover your payroll and business operating expenses.

Imagine going to a very nice restaurant. You sit down at a table and the waiter asks for your order. After you place your order he points to the kitchen and says “Please pick it up in 10 minutes. And when you’re done, kindly bring your dishes back to where you got them.”

Is this the type of service you expect from a high quality restaurant?

As the owner of a medical practice, we don’t have to tell you that providing group benefits for your employees can be costly. In fact, you could be paying a significant part of your revenue for employee benefits. So it makes sense that you are entitled to ask this question – am I getting the service that I’m paying for?

It’s no secret that today’s health insurance marketplace can be complex, chaotic and confusing. And as a practice owner, you certainly know that trying to control health insurance costs can be a challenge.

But we found some information that might surprise you. It’s not very well publicized but it could be extremely helpful if you want to gain more control over your health insurance costs.

Liz West is an experienced advisor on health insurance under the Affordable Care Act here at TMA Insurance Trust. She has worked here for nearly three decades, so she understands the marketplace and the particular needs of physicians in our state.

As the date for open enrollment nears, we sit down with Liz to discuss the health insurance marketplace and solutions to some of the issues our members are facing.

As Texans, we treasure our independence, and it shows. In Texas, 63% of physicians are independent, either in a solo or small practice of no more than three physicians. But as the saying goes, ‘responsibility is the price of freedom.’ The burden of financial responsibility can be a heavy one for physicians, especially independent or solo practitioners.

Many factors are involved in getting good employees to fill the seats at a medical practice, but job candidates consistently rank group benefits as one of the top factors impacting their decision to accept a job offer. Benefits packages matter; a robust package can make their lives much easier, while a barebones offering forces them to bear most of the monetary or administrative costs themselves.

Medical practice owners have a great deal of overhead expenses for which they are responsible. In fact, according to the 2014 MGMA Cost Survey Report, practice operating expenses range from 50% to over 80% of total medical revenue. Additionally, Modern Medicine cited rising operational costs as one of the top 15 challenges facing physicians in 2015. So, what happens to the practice you’ve built if you became disabled?