About Advanced Benefit Consulting
Who We Are & What We Do
Advanced Benefit Consulting is an employee benefit consulting firm and health insurance agency. We’ve been in business since 1995. Our goal is to take the employee benefit burden off of employers, allowing them to focus on their own businesses, but also allowing them to sleep well at night, knowing that they are taken care of regarding the myriad of compliance requirements (both state and federal) placed on employers. In this ever-changing world of Health Care Reform (PPACA), HIPAA, ARRA, COBRA, HITECH and more, we stand ready to assist you, and make your lives easier. We are committed to the best possible customer service…whether it’s a compliance question, a claims issue, or other.
On the agency side, we specialize in self-insured health plans but of course offer fully-insured plans and options. Our primary market is mid-size groups of 50 to 500 employees, but we also do smaller and larger groups. We offer all types of employee benefit programs, from self-insured medical, dental and/or vision, to fully insured medical, dental and vision, plus long-term and short-term disability, Section 125/Cafeteria Plans, Life Insurance, 401(k) plans, and more.
Consulting services are diverse and wide-spread. We are most well-known as HIPAA Privacy & Security Consultants, offering on-site implementation, a self-administration implementation manual with updates, and privacy training (both public and private). We offer a range of retail educational materials and services for employers and providers on HIPAA Privacy. We also do consulting, independent fiduciary and expert witness work on Self-Insurance, HIPAA Privacy, Security, Portability, ARRA and HITECH matters. Consulting services are done on an hourly or per-contract basis.
Groups of 100 or more covered employees are provided complimentary services such as HIPAA Privacy, Security, and HITECH consulting and implementation (IT services not included as complimentary but are available at discounted fees through our contracted HITECH IT Firm), and COBRA Administration. Groups of 50-99 may be eligible for most of these services, depending on premiums paid, etc. Ask us to evaluate your group to see if you qualify!
Meet ABC
Want to Know More About Advanced Benefit Consulting? Watch This Informative Video To Learn More About Us!
ABC Mission
Provide superior products and customer service to employers and their employees with insight, education, innovation, knowledge and compassion. We strive to not only meet, but exceed, our clients’ expectations in all that we do. We maintain a professional and efficient staff, committed to the principals of integrity and the highest ethical standards.
ABC Vision
Set a standard of excellence by combining old-fashioned caring and customer service with the needs of employers in a technological world. We see technology as an asset; a tool to help us provide our customers with service and data. However, we will never allow technology to take away from what we are: Service Providers. Our goal is to provide excellence in both Service and Technology.
Leadership
Advanced Benefit Consulting & Insurance Services, Inc.
DBA: Advanced Employee Benefits & Insurance Services
5130 E La Palma Ave, Suite 211, Anaheim, CA 92807
Mailing: PO Box 6677, Fullerton, CA 92834
California Insurance License Number 0D40564.
(714) 693-9754: Toll Free (866) 653-3835: Fax (714) 693-9768
What ABC Clients Say
One of the primary reasons we chose Advanced Benefit Consulting & Insurance Services (ABC) well over a decade ago as our health benefits broker and consultant is because of Dorothy Cociu’s vast knowledge of HIPAA Privacy & Security, as well as her in-depth knowledge of our industry. She truly understands what it means to work with our team in the homes and schools of our clients. She has worked with us over the years to train and re-train our staff in these specific areas. Dorothy has worked with many ABA clients, all who work in school environments frequently.
ABC, and particularly Dorothy, is a gem to work with. Her compliance knowledge and also her level of caring for her clients is exceptional. That is the best way to describe Dorothy Cociu. She cares, very deeply, and she uses her vast knowledge of benefits and compliance, and her phenomenal writing ability and podcast hosting, to tell stories and help people, whether it’s about serious compliance issues, or during COVID, just trying to help people understand how to better cope. It’s not all about business with Dorothy. Yes, business is important, but it’s the level of compassion and caring that shines through to everyone who knows her.
I highly recommend Dorothy Cociu and Advanced Benefit Consulting as a benefits broker and consultant for your firm.
Heimark Distributing Company, LLC. And Triangle Distributing Co. have been working with Advanced Benefit Consulting ( ABC) for over 20 years. Their professional expertise in both recommending and administering our self-funded plan 20 years ago has reduced our medical cost considerably over a comparable full insurance plan. We are so glad to have them as a business partner. They introduced to and educated us on Reference Based Pricing and have saved our company considerably since. Their expertise in self-funding and RBP is exceptional. More importantly, they are great people and wonderful to work with. Service and knowledge is exceptional!
Advanced Benefit Consulting has been our broker/consulting firm since 2002. They have far exceeded the services of any other broker we’ve ever worked with. They provide the most comprehensive benefits compliance expertise available. They have a law firm on retainer, but Dorothy Cociu is so knowledgeable, we can rely on her for everything compliance-related… But it’s nice knowing we have an attorney available if and when we need benefits legal advice. Dorothy is definitely a self-funded expert, as well as a referenced based pricing expert. They have saved us a tremendous amount of money over the years. We rely on them for everything. They are an excellent business partner.
Tri-West, LTD has worked with Advanced Benefit Consulting as our health benefits brokers and consultants for over 20 years. They have consistently given us more than fair renewals (some years, in fact, we had decreases in rates), excellent overall service, the highest level of compliance assistance, and exceptional open enrollment and onboarding services.
Dorothy Cociu is a leading benefits and compliance expert and she has provided us with continuous legislative and regulatory updates, in-person seminars, webinars, and now, on-demand educational classes for our team, and always, as clients, everything is complementary. Her podcast series, Benefits Executive Roundtable, has sought-after industry experts and is always timely and informative. Her written articles are exceptional, and always published in one to three publications. The fact that she is published on every topic she writes about tells us all that she knows what she is writing (and talking) about.
Advanced Benefit Consulting has video creation capabilities, and they have consistently provided us and all of her clients with educational videos, both generic and 100% custom-made, as needed (or in many cases, when we didn’t even know we need them!). If we have an educational concern, they create a video for us to educate our employees, if we determine that is a good method to reach out to them. They are also very good with individual assistance throughout our open enrollment period, as well as year-around. They provide on-site service throughout the year.
Please feel free to contact me regarding the services of ABC. I highly recommend them to any firm!
What Industry Representatives Say
While an increasing number of brokers/advisors are now advocating for self-insurance, Dorothy Cociu is one of the pioneers in the self-insurance world. She has successfully helped numerous employers set-up and manage self-insured health plans for more than 30 years. Additionally, given Dorothy’s recognized self-insurance expertise, she has been a featured speaker at multiple SIIA educational events
Having worked with many brokers and consultants in my long career in the TPA side of our business, I am always amazed at the depth of expertise and knowledge of the Advanced Benefit Consulting team. Not only is there the understanding of self-funding as an approach for employers to see cost-savings and manage their own plan but also the detailed knowledge of ABC in the area of ERISA and the many Federal Laws that govern these plans. Dorothy Cociu is also one of Southern California’s leading broker experts on the concept of Reference Based Pricing, which many brokers aren’t even aware of.