Case Study · Auto Service Franchise · CA / NV

Maaco California & Nevada — How a Single Franchisee Referred 26 Other Owners

Peter Capdevielle's 50%+ Workers' Comp reduction at his San Diego Maaco location wasn't just a single data point — it became a network event. Within the Maaco California / Nevada franchise community, he personally referred 26 other owners to the Section 125 Preventive Care program after his own enrollment.

IRS Section 125 — Federal Law Since 1978
No New Insurance Required
No Changes to Current Benefits
ACA · ERISA · COBRA · HIPAA Compliant
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What this case study tells you

The structure that produced this result

26 referrals from one franchisee is the kind of organic, peer-validated adoption that no outbound sales motion can manufacture. The math behind it is instructive: when an operator in your same franchise system sees a measurable, repeatable savings line — and confirms it persists at the next WC audit cycle — that's a level of evidence other franchisees in the same system respect. Peter is a Maaco board member, which amplified the effect.

The mechanic generalizes beyond Maaco. Any franchise system with 10+ W-2 employees per location and an ACA-compliant group health plan structure — fitness, fast-casual, auto-service, urgent care, dental practice management — experiences the same network behavior once the first operator inside the system enrolls and confirms the audit-cycle math.

We don't publish proprietary figures from individual Maaco operators where they haven't disclosed publicly. The structure and the math are the same: $681.60/employee/year net FICA + a real-world 30–60% Workers' Comp reduction at the next audit cycle. The 15-minute analysis call returns the precise number for any specific franchisee.

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The calculator returns your exact net employer FICA savings + a Workers' Comp reduction estimate. Same math, your headcount. Verified by CBIZ + HitesmanLaw.

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Minimum 10 W-2 employees  ·  $25K+ salary  ·  ACA-compliant health coverage required
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Skepticism is the right response. We don't ask you to take our word for it — we bring institutional proof that convinced CPAs, CFOs, attorneys, and insurance brokers to enroll their own companies.

Darcy L. Hitesman, J.D.

HitesmanLaw P.A. · Minneapolis, MN

35+ years as an Employee Benefits attorney specializing in IRC Section 125, ERISA, HIPAA, and the ACA. Her May 5, 2025 opinion letter concludes: “In this firm's opinion, the Program described satisfies applicable IRS requirements.”

She specifically reviewed the IRS Chief Counsel Advice memoranda on "double-dip" arrangements — the exact schemes the IRS has flagged — and concluded this program is built differently and compliantly.

Named a Super Lawyer every year since 2000. AV-rated (highest possible rating) in Martindale-Hubbell since 1998.
Co-author: ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans (Thomson Reuters/EBIA) — the national compliance standard manual since 1999.
Member, Technical Advisory Group — Employers Council on Flexible Compensation. She helps set the industry standards for Section 125 plans nationally.

CBIZ Advisors LLC

Top-7 U.S. Accounting Firm · Cleveland, OH · 135,000+ Clients

CBIZ independently reviewed the program against IRC §§ 125, 105, and 106, plus ERISA, ACA, and COBRA requirements. Their August 22, 2025 letter concludes: “If operated per its provisions, the Program appears to satisfy the requirements of ERISA, the ACA, and COBRA as well.”

This review was commissioned by Affinity Hospice's CEO before enrolling his nationwide organization — and the CFO (himself a CPA) shared the letter publicly in his testimonial.

Top-7 U.S. accounting firm. 10,000+ employees across 100+ offices. Serves 135,000+ clients nationally.
Review covers: IRC §125 cafeteria plan, §105/106 wellness benefit rules, ERISA plan asset treatment, ACA integration, and COBRA obligations.
$500,000 legal protection per enrolled employer · $10,000 per employee participant · Insurance-backed.
🏛️

Direct From the U.S. Government

Section 125 has been in the Internal Revenue Code since 1978. Congress wrote it there specifically to encourage employers to fund preventive healthcare for American workers. This is not a loophole — it is the precise, intended use of a 47-year-old federal law, grounded in IRS Revenue Ruling 69-154, the specific published ruling supporting the benefit payment structure.

→ Verify on IRS.gov — Section 125 Cafeteria Plans ↗
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Verified: CBIZ Advisors LLC (Aug 2025) · HitesmanLaw P.A. (May 2025)
$500K legal protection per enrolled employer · IRS Section 125 · Federal law since 1978