An Overview of Benefits for a PA
This time every year we have open enrollment for any changes to benefits. It is the time that we are able to make changes to our benefits without a qualifying life event, such as getting married or having a child. As PA salaries show signs of plateauing, it is important to take notice of what benefits are being offered and include these in any negotiations.
This year the medical group that I work for did not make any significant changes to our benefits, so most of my choices were the same as last year. We have the choice of two medical insurance plans. We can choose from a PPO (co-pay) plan or a High Deductible Plan. There are slight variations with how much the company covers with the two choices.
With the PPO plan there are co-pays with different services. As an example, an office visit at a specialty office would be a $30 co-pay. The annual deductible per family is $3,000 ($1,000 per person) and there is an out-of-pocket limit of $10,500 ($3,500 per person) per family. The amount that I pay for coverage for my family would be $418.58/month ($59.68 for an individual).
The high deductible plan has an annual deductible of $5,400 ($2,700 per person) per family and an out-of-pocket limit of $9,000 ($4,500 per person) per family. The cost for this plan is $341.24/month ($30.40 per individual) per family. The premium for this plan is significantly less than the PPO plan; however each visit you’re paying the total cost until you hit the deductible amount. After you hit the deductible you pay 20%.
Beyond the premium amounts for each plan another factor is the amount that is given in either the HRA or HSA plans. With the PPO, the company contributes up to $600 to an HRA, whereas with the high deductible plan the company contributes up to $2,750 to an HSA. To qualify for an HSA you must participate in a high deductible plan.
[jetpack_subscription_form title=”Don’t miss out on PA career information” subscribe_text=”Enter your email address to receive future posts by email for FREE” subscribe_button=”Sign Me Up”]
Since the company has been offering the high deductible plan with HSA contribution I have been electing for that option. There is a calculator from our human resources that allows us to estimate what we would pay on each of the plans; taking into account how many doctor appointments, medications, physical therapy, etc. that you might have. I’ve crunched the number and the high deductible plan has always come out on top.
We also can elect for a dental and vision plan. The dental plan ends up costing $64.68/month ($20.02 for individual) for the family. The cost of vision care for the family is $26.18, but I’ve been electing to do this every other year. Our vision hasn’t been changing and we have been healthy, so our prescriptions haven’t changed. Doing this every year does not really benefit our family.
The company pays for basic life insurance for us, and is equal to two times our basic annual earnings. We can elect for more life insurance, but I have a term-life insurance policy outside of my work already in place, so I don’t elect for more life insurance through my work. We also have the option of getting short term disability. Long-term disability is paid by the company.
I’ll be paying $989.25 for my elected benefits and the company ends up paying $1,532.85. A large portion of what I’m paying goes to my HSA. As mentioned above the company will contribute $2,750 to an HSA. The limit to HSA contributions set by the government went up to $7,000 for this year; so we can elect to contribute up to the remaining amount into the HAS.
As you can see, the amount that I’m paying adds up to almost $12,000/year. If you have an employer that is willing to pay for any of these, it can add up to a lot of money that is coming your way, which is not reflected in your salary. Other benefits that are continual and not part of open enrollment for myself include, four weeks of paid-time off, one week of CME time off, $2500 for CME, paid license and certification, cell phone allowance, paid malpractice insurance, 401k match and profit sharing.
Other things you might think about if you’re negotiating a new job are sign-on-bonus and moving expenses. These can help during times of transition when starting a new job.
There is a lot to consider when putting a value to a position. Salary and other ancillary benefits are just some of the things you want to consider. More importantly the personal fit is something to look at and is why I have turned down a good salary in the past . In my opinion your happiness with the people you work with outweighs many of the other things that people look at in a job.
What are some of the benefits you look for in a job? Please comment below the original post, sign up to receive future posts by email and share with your friends!
