Why this fits
- School staff have stable W-2 employment, 30+ hours, and existing health coverage - the eligibility match rate is the highest of any vertical.
- Mental health, primary care, and family-rider coverage are exactly the benefits teachers and paraprofessionals report wanting most in stay surveys.
- FICA savings sit outside the general-fund and levy structure - districts can redirect them into retention bonuses, mental health hires, or facility budgets.
A real example
A 412-employee suburban Ohio district added the program in fall 2024 alongside its existing SERS/STRS-affiliated plan. Net of admin fees, year-one employer FICA savings funded a $750-per-teacher one-time retention payment for 285 certified staff. 78% of eligible staff enrolled in year one; mental health utilization tripled vs. the prior EAP.
Numbers are illustrative and anonymized. Actual results vary based on payroll, state, participation, and industry-specific factors. We do not share named client information without explicit, written consent.
The math for a typical operation
A district of 400 employees with average $4,800/mo pay typically nets $155,000–$190,000 in annual employer FICA savings after admin fees - frequently enough to fund a meaningful retention pool without touching the general-fund budget.
Common objections, answered honestly
Yes. Public school districts, ISDs, ESCs, BOCES, and county education boards all qualify as employers under Section 125 / SIMERP rules. The most common path is board approval after a workshop with EHP's compliance team; we coordinate that.
The program is independent of your state retirement system. The pre-tax reduction does slightly reduce reportable wages for the FICA-taxable portion of payroll. Your retirement contributions are typically calculated on a different base; we walk your business office through the exact interaction on the discovery call.
Enrollment is handled directly by EHP/Revive (not by your HR office). Payroll integration is configured once at setup. Ongoing HR workload is approximately one email per year at open enrollment plus standard payroll feed maintenance.
How this integrates with what you already have
- SERS, STRS, PERS, TRS-affiliated medical plans (does not replace)
- ESC / BOCES / consortia health pools
- Existing EAP and employee wellness programs
Most relevant benefits for this industry
Talk therapy, psychiatric consultation, and crisis support - available to every W-2 employee and every family member on the plan, with no copay and no deductible.
Most benefits programs charge a per-dependent premium. This one extends every benefit - primary care, urgent care, mental health, prescriptions, weight health - to a spouse and up to five dependents at no additional cost.
Unlimited virtual primary care visits with a real, board-certified doctor - no copay, no deductible, available the same day in most cases. Spouses and up to five dependents are covered on the same plan.
Most common generic prescriptions filled at $0 to the employee, with deep discounts on brand-name and specialty drugs. Technically a discount plan - the discount just happens to be 100% on most generics.