300 Days. 300 days of waiting, working, not sleeping, hiring, toiling, luck, prayer, and determination. But 300 days and 10 employees later - We. Have. Healthcare. Starting May 1, we will officially be offering our employees healthcare benefits through United Health Care. This is the last piece of the comprehensive benefits package we have been putting together little by little since we launched in July. In addition to offering a comprehensive 401(k) plan through John Hancock Investments, we will be offering a full suite of vision, dental, and long / short term disability to our employees.

This is no small feat for a small company - or any company for that matter. Healthcare in this country is what it is. This article isn't about disparaging the system we have. But rather, how we managed to set a vision for our company, share it with our employees, and collectively make a decision about how we roll out this benefit. Ryan and I set out to make architecture a profession worth doing and doing well. Being able to provide our employees with healthcare that is worth having is a major cornerstone to how we address individual value in a company and support those individuals mentally, physically, and emotionally. We decided at the onset that we wanted a health plan that was going to be usable, affordable, and reinforced our values.

With United Healthcare, we were able to find a plan that offers a $500/$1000 deductible, covers 100% of the cost without coinsurance, and was based on copayment and not high-deductible employee paid expenses first. We also decided that Project Luong would pay for 80% of the cost of the healthcare plans for all plan consumers - including employees, spouses, and family.

It is no secret that most companies use a graduated coverage scale for different plan consumers, passing on the maximum of 50% for some categories and covering 100% for employees only. Access to affordable healthcare as a parent in architecture can be, and in most cases is, a massive economic burden. Both Ryan and I are accustomed to paying in excess of $800 monthly to carry our families in Architecture. This is one of the major drivers in pushing people out of the industry, as the cost of healthcare and childcare challenges the economics of being in the workforce.

We set out, and delivered, on crafting a plan and a set of policies that allow us to encourage our employees to have families and be architects at the same time. We want to support our employees' home life by providing comprehensive, affordable insurance.

The second part to this story is how we came to this decision. The majority of our staff are single employees with no spouses or dependents. When we started the journey - and it is a journey - to get healthcare we sat down as a group and went through the pros, cons, and costs of each type of plan. From high deductible plans, to catastrophic only, to comprehensive, we went through and evaluated each of them. Collectively we narrowed down our options to two comprehensive plans, discussed the value of each, and set the employee costs. Together, we collectively decided on which single plan to offer and the amount the company would supplement.

We have the great fortune to work with amazing individuals who are dedicated to their craft and who promote the values of the company we are trying to build. Today is a special milestone day, and one that is worth celebrating as we continue to be Great People Making Better Architecture.

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