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Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

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Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#31

Post by kevc »

eganist wrote: post #6
RIMR wrote: post #5

Oh wonderful - more for-profit exploitation of people's need for healthcare. This business model is only possible because of deregulation by our current Federal Government. I hate to sound mean, but I really hope that this business fails. I know people worked hard on this with an expectation of a financial return, but 68,000 people die every year because of this illusion of choice being exploited here, and if we can…

> I hate to sound mean, but I really hope that this business fails. I feel bad saying this, but I'm inclined to agree. Part of the value prop with mid-large businesses subsidizing healthcare is the ability to bargain collectively. Individuals can't do this, and just paying that employer contribution to individual subscribers for them to find their own healthcare plan will result in net-negative benefits year over yea…

We absolutely want to use our platform as a base for negotiating lower prices. Currently our customers have 0 negotiating power and can actually get serious price increases if a single person in their group gets sick. For employers in this situation, it's often cheaper to use us and get employees all the same tax savings, but buy on the individual market.

Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#32

Post by jonas21 »

thedance wrote: post #28
kevc wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have an in-app insurance market that offers every ACA-compliant individual health insurance plan in the country, and you can speak 1-1 with a broker to help guide your decision. In the case of someone who is already pregnant, ACA-compliant plans cannot deny you coverage.

That's true but it's also true that the plans need not cover maternity. There are tons of ACA plans that don't. And in "markets" with one player they can just name their price. None of this is your fault of course.

Are you sure about that? healthcare.gov seems to suggest otherwise [1]

> Maternity care and childbirth — services provided before and after your child is born — are essential health benefits. This means all qualified health plans inside and outside the Marketplace must cover them.

[1] https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-im-pregnant-or-plan-to-ge...

Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#33

Post by eganist »

kevc wrote: post #31
eganist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hate to sound mean, but I really hope that this business fails. I feel bad saying this, but I'm inclined to agree. Part of the value prop with mid-large businesses subsidizing healthcare is the ability to bargain collectively. Individuals can't do this, and just paying that employer contribution to individual subscribers for them to find their own healthcare plan will result in net-negative benefits year over yea…

We absolutely want to use our platform as a base for negotiating lower prices. Currently our customers have 0 negotiating power and can actually get serious price increases if a single person in their group gets sick. For employers in this situation, it's often cheaper to use us and get employees all the same tax savings, but buy on the individual market.

Thanks for posting this. I'm looking forward to seeing this service offering as your customer base increases.

Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#34

Post by thedance »

kevc wrote: post #27
eganist wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your point, but to highlight a critical point of comparison: that's emblematic of the risk to healthcare. Pensions were an actual benefit to employees, largely subsidized by employers and taking into account various employment factors e.g. length of employment, salary, etc. With the advent of 401k, that expense was shifted almost entirely to the employee save for a remaining "match" benefit that the employer st…

We are extremely interested in engaging in group bargaining for lower rates and are actively working with experts who have experience doing this. A recent federal ruling has opened the door to doing this across state lines, which could be very powerful.

[flagged]

Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#35

Post by unlinked_dll »

koolba wrote: post #19

So what is this providing over simply cutting a QSEHRA check to your employees? Seems like it’s complicating something that requires nearly zero paperwork already. Just cut a check and make sure it’s uniformly calculated across your workforce.

As an employee whose has been on the receiving end of this, I won't work anyplace that does it. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#37

Post by danpalmer »

jkarneges wrote: post #9
RIMR wrote: post #5

Oh wonderful - more for-profit exploitation of people's need for healthcare. This business model is only possible because of deregulation by our current Federal Government. I hate to sound mean, but I really hope that this business fails. I know people worked hard on this with an expectation of a financial return, but 68,000 people die every year because of this illusion of choice being exploited here, and if we can…

I don't know the details of the new law, but separating healthcare from employment is a positive step towards fixing the system.

Unless this can be used by employers to move from paying for an employee's healthcare, to giving them a smaller amount to buy their own.

Re: Launch HN: Savvy (YC W20) – Give employees tax-free cash for health insurance

#39

Post by unlinked_dll »

> For employees, we provide an in-app marketplace with access to every individual health plan, as well as vision and dental options. Employees can speak with licensed brokers every step of the way.

I really want to like you for taking a stab at solving this problem because it's a serious one for startups and small businesses, but I can't as long as you keep this approach. Shopping for insurance (even through a broker) is an extra layer of friction to the hiring/onboarding process and this needs to be removed.

In my experience, startups are bottlenecked by hiring more than anything today, and part of that is compensation/benefits. If you make it more difficult or more complex for startups to get people compensated and set up with benefits, they will decide to work somewhere else.

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