Employee Benefits
To control health insurance costs, work on the right end of the problem.
When it comes to managing health insurance premiums, most companies and individuals work on the plan, raising copays and deductibles in the vain hope that they can stem the tide of rising premiums. History and experience tells us that doesn’t work.
The plain fact of the health insurance “crisis” is that premium rates increase due to utilization. And why do people go to the doctor? Because they don’t feel good. Our diets of processed foods that lack the nutrients our bodies need and our sedentary lifestyles are two of the reasons we don’t “feel good”.
Doctors are trained (and encouraged by pharmaceutical companies) to prescribe medication to handle symptoms and/or ailments. Many prescriptions drugs have serious side effects and most side effects and those symptoms do not show up immediately. This provides yet another “ailment” to treat down the road. These additional prescriptions and doctors office visits add to the healthcare costs, further driving up rates.
We are our own worst enemies.
Question. Is it easier to get healthy or stay healthy? Obviously, it is easier, and better, to maintain your health than it is to repair it. Diet, exercise, and/or lifestyle change are the true delivery systems to maintaining your health.
So eat fresh fruit s and vegetables, drop those pounds, stop smoking, get off the couch and take a walk. You’ll be surprised at how much better you feel and how much less money you’ll spend on health insurance premium when you start working on the right end of the health care issue.
You’ll be glad you did.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Enrollment Services and Benefit Communication
Enrollment services. Do they really work? How can an employer or their benefits broker weed through all the promises?
Colonial Life puts their money where their mouth is, by offering employees the opportunity to rate the communication, knowledge, and professionalism of our enrollers with a simple online survey.
You want to know the effectiveness of your benefits package and your benefits communication. Let Colonial handle your enrollment and judge the results for yourself.
Cobra Premium Changes During Open Enrollment
Here is an interesting bit from the people at Benaissance.
Employers would do well to utilize a third-party administrator with full understanding and “in place processes” when it comes to COBRA administration.
http://blog.benaissance.com/post/COBRA-Premium-Rate-Changes-During-Open-Enrollment.aspx
Who Needs Voluntary Benefits?
Voluntary insurance is an often ignored coverage that most families should consider.
Health insurance does a good job of paying the lion’s share of the bills from doctors and hospitals. However, health insurance does not cover every expense. There are deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance that must be paid. A major health issue can leave a family with thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills.
In addition, there are many non-medical out of pocket expenses that are not covered by health insurance. Travel expenses, lodging, food, long distance phone calls, child care, and household help are just a few of the things that can impact the family budget in times of serious illness or injury.
All of this occurs at a time of reduced income. When one spouse is hospitalized due to injury or illness the other spouse must often leave work in order to provide care for the injured/ill spouse, meaning that there is less household income.
In the meantime, mortgages, car payments, utilities, and all other household expenses continue to accrue.
Who needs supplemental insurance? Any family that wants the valuable safety net supplemental insurance provides.
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Short Term Disability
One of the most overlooked forms of insurance coverage is short term disability or paycheck insurance. We insure our home, our autos, our boats, our health, and our lives, but we do not insure the very thing that pays for all of this, our paycheck.
Does this make sense?
Communication will solve the health care crisis
As my wife is fond of saying to me, “communication is key”.
One of the main reasons we find ourselves in the state we’re in is because people do not understand insurance products, especially health insurance products. If we had automobile insurance built in a similar fashion to health insurance, no one could afford to own a car, much less drive one.
Imagine getting a starter or muffler installed for a $20 copay. Need a transmission or engine overhaul? As long as you were in your automotive repair network, you get 80/20 coinsurance until your deductible is met. Have existing accident damage? As long as you can get in an employer group where the carrier has to accept you, you get your car fixed. No matter that you weren’t part of the original underwriting, Everyone helps pay your expenses.
After all, isn’t that what America is all about?
Now I know this sounds ridiculous, but no more ridiculous than for people to expect healthcare delivered this way for little or no cost.
The American public needs an education. I’m afraid it will come at the expense of the healthcare/insurance industry collapsing. No one knows what procedures cost, where they can get cost effective care, care provider success/mortality rates, what insurance carriers pay claims best, and how money works within the system.
HDHP/HSA’s are a great first step because a policyholders self interest requires that they ask these questions. At this time they cannot get all the answers, but more and more light is being shed on the situation.
As agents that have our clients best interests at heart, we must continue to fight the good fight. If we continue to promote, communicate, and educate, we know that understanding will provide a sensible answer.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Effective Benefits Communications Saves Your Company Money, Time and Energy
As health care costs continue to rise, it’s more important than ever that your employees understand and appreciate the benefits you provide for them. Along with increasing health insurance costs comes increasing competition for quality employees, and you want to attract and retain the best. In fact, the average turnover rate of top-performing employees is 17 percent at companies that offer rich benefits programs but poorly communicate them to workers, as opposed to 12 percent at businesses with less comprehensive programs but better communication strategies.[1]
A sound benefits package is a plus but only if employees know and understand what you make available to them. A quality voluntary benefits partner can help by providing professional, consistent communications throughout the entire enrollment process. As a result, employees will not only understand their benefits but also appreciate them.
Effective benefits communications has two integral phases: before the enrollment and during the enrollment. For each phase, your voluntary benefits partner should be able to deliver a wide range of services and capabilities.
Pre-Enrollment Communications Custom Communications. A quality voluntary benefits provider can provide enrollment communications such as letters, fliers, PowerPoint presentations, brochures, e-mails, posters, tent cards — whatever works best to help employees learn the about the upcoming enrollment and the key details of the benefits offerings.
Group Meetings. To help provide background on the overall benefits program, highlight any major changes in the program and introduce any new offerings, the enrollment process should begin with a group employee meeting that covers key highlights of the benefits program.
Enrollment Communications Through One-on-One Sessions With a Benefits Professional
Advances in enrollment technology have made enrollments simpler and easier to administer; however, nothing can replace the value of having a trained benefits professional meet with employees individually to review and enroll their benefits. Two-way communications between a benefit professional and an employee is critical for effective benefits communications.
Using the latest enrollment technology, a benefits professional can help employees consider their personal benefits situation and see the impact of their benefits selections on their paycheck.
Communication services can include:
· Helping employees verify and update basic employee data.
· Highlighting each employee’s existing benefits, pointing out what the employee contributes and what the employer contributes.
· Reviewing the employee’s benefits selections and how each affects the paycheck so the employee can see exactly what the deductions will be and, if pretaxing, what the savings can be.
· Showing the employee his or her entire benefits package, including paid time off, uniform costs or any specific benefits you want to highlight.
Again, the employee can see his or her own contributions to the benefits package, as well as what you contribute. · Providing a detailed listing of the employee’s selections and contributions as one last verification of plan information and premiums. So what’s the advantage of effective benefits communication? You’ll save costs, time and energy — plus, you’ll gain greater employee satisfaction through personal, quality benefits communication.
About the Author:
J. Keith Johnson is an Agency Development Manager for Colonial Life. Keith is responsible for marketing Colonial Life’s products, programs and services in the Kansas/Missouri area. Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a market leader in providing insurance benefits for employees and their families through their workplace, along with individual benefits education, advanced yet simple-to-use enrollment technology and quality personal service. Colonial Life offers disability, life and supplemental accident and health insurance policies in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Similar policies, if approved, are underwritten in New York by a Colonial Life affiliate, The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company. Colonial Life is based in Columbia, S.C., and is a subsidiary of Unum Group. For more information about Colonial Life’s products and services or opportunities with the company, call Keith at 913-205-6396 or visit www.coloniallife.com.
[1] 2005 Watson Wyatt Worldwide WorkUSA® study on effective employee-driven financial results
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