Auto dealers are tapping the brakes on traditional healthcare

Like most midsized businesses, auto dealerships are faced with tough decisions about how to manage skyrocketing healthcare costs. Dealers can stay with traditional PPO plans and pass the cost burden on to employees in the form of higher deductibles and premiums. Or they can take control of their healthcare strategy and find innovative ways to offer affordable, high-quality healthcare without cutting corners.

A guide to better healthcare — developed for auto dealers

Imagine360 has a long history of working with self-funded employers to help lower healthcare spend with comprehensive health plans that include reference-based pricing. Our experts have compiled our best healthcare planning tips and tactics into a guide written exclusively for auto dealers: Renegotiate your health plan for a competitive advantage.

Download the guide and then contact Imagine360 to learn how you can lower your auto dealership’s healthcare spend by 20-30%.

More auto dealers are making the switch to self-funded health plans

An increasing number of auto dealerships have chosen to buck the system by dumping their traditional PPO plans and joining the ranks of employers who self-fund their company’s health insurance. Here are two examples of how forward-thinking dealerships have been able to negotiate their way to better healthcare with Imagine360.

Chapman Auto Group In Philadelphia saves 20% a year.

Anthony Tigano, chief financial officer of Chapman Auto Group, was searching for a new way to deliver healthcare to its 550 employees. This Philadelphia-based dealership has seen its fair share of cost increases over the years and Tigano was ready to make a change — from a traditional PPO to Imagine360. After switching healthcare providers, Chapman Auto has saved 20% a year and passed the savings on to employees.

What used to be a $3 million healthcare tab — split equally between the company and employees — now costs $2.4 million. “Before this we were continuously increasing deductibles on prescriptions, doctors’ visits, hospitals,” Tigano said. Since switching to Imagine360 in 2018, “we’ve been lowering them.”

Huffines Auto Dealerships In North Texas saves $31 million over 12 years.

While many auto dealers have only recently discovered the cost-saving benefits of Imagine360, Eric Hartter, CFO of Huffines Auto, is a healthcare trailblazer. This Texas-based dealership switched from a high-cost PPO plan to a self-funded health plan with Imagine360 in 2010 — and they haven’t looked back.

Since making the change, Huffines Auto has been able to lower its healthcare spend by 25% annually. Over 12 years, that’s added up to significant savings — more than $31 million since adoption. Huffines has taken its millions of dollars in healthcare savings and reinvested it back into the auto dealership — making it a win-win for everyone.

“This is the best form of true healthcare reform I’ve come across,” says Hartter.