Yes summer is nearly here. So who is thinking, and worrying about the upcoming annual fall benefits open enrollment season? Thousands of HR executives and benefits administrators that’s who. Why? Because as healthcare insurance costs continue to skyrocket, benefit administrators are searching for ways stop the bleeding from company coffers while still offering employees affordable coverage options. This frequently results in a company changing insurance carriers every couple of years. The result has been that each year employees are asked to choose from an ever increasing array of completely different, and wide ranging healthcare plan choices.
HMO, PPO, HSA, HRA, PCP, in network, out of network, formulary, co-pay, deductibles, etc., there are now so many choices and considerations that effectively communicating information so employees can make informed decisions is the top open enrollment challenge HR administrators face today.
Simply put, the more choices, the more information needs to be communicated to employees. You would think that given the importance to both the personal bank account and the welfare of ourselves and our dependents that employees would make time to read and understand HR provided healthcare benefit info. Guess again.
A recent CareerJournal.com article (Kelley M. Butler, 6/12/2007, portions reprinted below) illustrates how little time employees spend making benefits decisions. Consider this:
Most employees – 63% – spend 30 minutes or less to make benefits decisions, and spend about 0.8 hours to research their options before buying – compared to 6.8 hours for a car and 1.3 for shoes (source: MetLife).
As such, it’s no wonder that over 60% of employers surveyed by Watson Wyatt rank employee communications as a top challenge during open enrollment, with 36% saying engaging employees is toughest. The difference is the process is no longer transactional with the focus on increased efficiency. Today’s open enrollment process is about complex choices, engagement and decision-support with the goal to interact with employees as benefits consumers.
It appears the largest communications flop has been in educating employees about consumer-driven health plans, which may explain the plans’ low adoption rates. According to WageWorks, 49% of employees with high-deductible health plans have not received any information from their employer about how the plan and HSAs work. 59% did not receive information about where they could open an HSA.
The lack of information isn’t due only to lack of employee interest. WageWorks also finds employees want clear information to help choose health care benefits (33%), better information about costs and savings of health benefits (28%), hands-on help from health and financial experts (15%) and tools for health care expense management (12%).
Sadly, it seems as if the objective of most consumer driven health plan communication is to turn average working families into tax experts. Getting employees to buy into an HSA, HRA, FSA or any other kind of A’ means giving information in a context that workers and families can understand. Luckily, the upcoming open enrollment season provides a new opportunity for employers to offer more hands-on guidance and get it right in the coming year.
So where does an employer start and how do they structure a meaningful benefit communication program. Two simple words: Plan Ahead. The most effective communication programs are year round and involve distributions of printed brochures, newsletters, video presentations, online content, and most importantly collaborative face to face meetings planned far enough in advance of a decision cut off date that employees don’t feel rushed. Employers need to realize that changing medical insurance carriers is a huge issue for employees and their families. It could affect making a surgical decision or result in impacting a long-term treatment or rehabilitation program. Employees, for their part, need to realize that their open enrollment benefit choices have become more complex and they need to invest adequate time to study provided information, seek out answers to their questions, and make the best decision.
With any type of change or healthcare/benefits related decision making process there is going to be anxiety and concern voiced by employees. Many have legitimate concerns and serious medical conditions they are dealing with. Correct, or incorrect, most employees simply feel like they are getting the shaft because their benefit choices cost them more each year so the employer can save a few bucks. An effective benefit communication program will make employees aware of the significant investment the company makes in their behalf to provide the best health care options available and to provide ongoing information in a variety of communication vehicles on which to base their benefit decisions.
