The switch brought Johnson Lumber $100,000+ in projected annual savings.
Quick Facts
Results: Lower healthcare costs and admin fees, affordable coverage, and plan quality that met employee expectations
Industry: Lumber
Background
Johnson Lumber is a long-standing building material supplier and lumber yard serving central Maryland since 1921. The company ran a self-funded health plan for three years. Costs kept climbing and administrative fees added to the burden. Claims grew so high that traditional insurers would not offer a renewal quote and group coverage was no longer an option. Johnson Lumber's brokers recommended a move to an employee health budget and introduced the company to Thatch. They needed a new way to offer coverage that employees would find comparable to what they'd had before.
Approach
Johnson Lumber decided to give employees a true choice of medical, dental, and vision plans for the first time, rather than one company-selected option. To support the rollout, Johnson Lumber held group enrollment meetings, and a broker partner walked individual employees through their choices. The Director of Administration worked closely with Thatch's support team throughout enrollment to help employees who had questions along the way. This close partnership between the broker and Thatch shaped how Johnson Lumber introduced choice to its workforce.
Outcome
Participation and satisfaction among employees utilizing Thatch has been strong, with HR noting no complaint. Employees responded well to smaller paycheck deductions while keeping the coverage they need. One employee was thrilled to land on a Kaiser plan for the convenience of having everything in one building. Johnson Lumber's confidence in the Thatch partnership going forward rests on that track record and on the strength of its broker relationship.
💬 “I know we were going to be saving at least over $100,000 a year by going with the ICHRA plans.” — Dawn Lautenschlager, Director of Administration, Johnson Lumber
