KEY RESULTS: 50% decrease in employee healthcare costs.
Leblon Franchising Holdings, LLC is a restaurant franchisee based in Charlotte, NC with restaurant locations across the Southeast United States. The Leblon portfolio now includes 23 Popeyes restaurants, a fast-food chain known for its Louisiana-style fried chicken.
As a franchisee, Leblon is expected to meet certain expectations at every level of the business, from how food is prepared to employee benefits. This means that, while Leblon decides the specific healthcare package staff at Popeyes receive, the benefits they offer must align with the brand’s established standards.
Angie Woody is director of human resources for Leblon Franchising Holdings LLC and responsible for the benefits of 500 Popeyes employees. Although many of these employees are part-time, more than 100 are eligible for healthcare benefits.
As their annual healthcare renewal approached, Leblon was facing the costly combination of low participation and high usage. Presented with a massive 50% price increase on their group insurance, they turned to Take Command to learn more about the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA).
Challenge: Unaffordable group plans and unpredictable renewals
Leblon employees are motivated by the stability and immediate opportunities provided by a restaurant role, and traditional perks and benefits are less of a focus for recruitment and retention. Leblon’s United Healthcare group insurance plan was a poor fit for their employee base. The plan cost more than many workers were willing or able to pay; additionally, some of Leblon’s workers received healthcare through Medicaid — further reducing participation on the company plan.
For restaurant franchisees like Leblon, group healthcare renewal becomes a vicious cycle: plans are too expensive, so fewer people participate, which in turn leads to year-on-year price increases as the risk pool shrinks.
Going into 2024, United Healthcare quoted Leblon a staggering 50% price hike, justified by low participation and high usage among their employees. This marked a turning point for Leblon: they needed a new approach to healthcare benefits.
Solution: Stable spending with ICHRA
Although Woody was unsure how Leblon’s leadership would react to the idea of switching off their group plan, it didn't take long to get the green light. The team at Take Command walked Leblon executives through the financials and explained how ICHRA would fit into the company’s overall benefits strategy. Leblon evaluated their budget together with Take Command and chose average monthly reimbursements of $500 per employee.
Changing healthcare plans can be complicated and stressful, particularly when communicating with employees who rely on the insurance to keep themselves and their families healthy. While Woody wasn’t initially able to answer all the employees’ questions, it was an easy learning curve with Take Command.
With ICHRA, Leblon has been able to stabilize what used to be the most unpredictable line item on their budget. The company sets its own reimbursement costs for each employee, and they can hold those figures steady even when individual employees renew their plans each year. For Woody and Leblon, anxiety around renewal has been replaced by a sense of calm and certainty.
Results: 50% cost savings and increased employee participation
Switching to ICHRA with Take Command had an immediate impact on the company’s finances — Leblon saved 50% on what they had expected to pay for healthcare. “I had never received a bonus before, but I actually received one this year because I saved the company so much money,” said Woody.
Those cost savings haven’t come at the expense of plan quality or employee satisfaction.
Looking forward, Leblon will be able to continue providing their employees with strong healthcare benefits without having to worry about a sudden spike in costs. ICHRA has taken one of their most complicated, stressful responsibilities and made it simple.
