Brokers must work with clients to
develop and execute a year-round benefits communications plan – educating
employees on how they can make more informed choices when it comes to not just
choosing health plans, but using them wisely throughout the year.
By Bart Yancey | November 18, 2019 at
12:51 PM
As consumers across
the country select their 2020 benefits plans, brokers may be reflecting on the
strategies they used to help employer clients create and communicate
comprehensive benefits offerings. And while it’s important to set employers up
for a successful open enrollment
season, sophisticated brokers know the work does not stop here.
To effectively help
employers increase the ROI of their benefits investments and improve employee
benefits satisfaction, brokers must work with clients to develop and execute a
year-round benefits communications plan – educating employees on how they can
make more informed choices when it comes to not just choosing health plans, but
using them wisely throughout the year.
Here are tips for
delivering continuous value to employer clients post-open enrollment season:
Promoting
cost-conscious health care choices throughout the year
To reduce health
care spend for employers and employees alike, brokers can encourage clients to
offer tools and resources that help employees compare costs for health care
services and treatments. For example, brokers may advise clients to invest in
transparency tools that offer comprehensive information about local service or
prescription options and associated costs. Resources like cost comparison
reports enable employees to understand that prices for treatments can vary
greatly in price — even in the same network. With this information, consumers
are able to make informed, cost-conscious decisions about where they receive
care.
Brokers may also
suggest that clients invest in patient advocates, who can help answer employee
questions about their health care coverage and options in real-time throughout
the year. For instance, advocates can provide employees with information about
where to get care (and even schedule appointments), review bills for
inaccuracies and help manage claims.
Creating a more
formal communications strategy
If employers do
decide to invest in transparency and advocacy services, brokers should help
clients actively promote these offerings throughout the year. It’s critical to
keep these services top of mind for employees; if employees know these resources
exist, they’re more likely to use them, thereby increasing ROI of the
employers’ investment in those services as well as their benefits program in
general, while boosting employee satisfaction with their employer.
In a survey of more
than 120 brokers, 81 percent of respondents said their employer clients highly
depend on them for help with communications.
Consistent communications across a variety of channels helps employer clients
ensure that all employees, regardless of generation, work schedule or location,
have the information they need to most effectively use their benefits.
While the content
of the communications may vary from employer to employer, brokers should
generally advise that employers share information and best practices to make
smart choices under their selected health plan. For instance, brokers might
steer employer clients to share information on why it’s important to shop for
care, how to find lower prescription drug prices or how to use tax-advantaged
reimbursement plans to their fullest potential.
In addition to
helping shape the benefits content that’s communicated to employees, brokers
can also work with employer clients to ensure those messages reach employees.
An employee’s worksite and work schedule can tremendously impact when, how and
where they receive benefits information. For instance, home mailers may be
effective for employees with dependents, while employees on the road might find
audio recordings of benefits best practices, or texts with tips, more helpful.
In addition to
geography, brokers can also consider other employee demographics when
developing benefits communication plans with clients. Though some generational
generalizations prove to be true, brokers should remind clients that it’s more
important to look at employees from the perspective of differing priorities
(planning for retirement versus paying off student loans), different levels of
health care and health insurance literacy and experience in choosing and using
benefits.
Preparing for
off-cycle enrollments
Increasingly,
employers are offering off-cycle enrollment periods for voluntary benefits. A 2018 survey
from Willis Towers Watson shows that employers are expanding their offerings of
voluntary benefits and services to help employees meet their overall financial
well-being and security. Nearly 70 percent of respondents believe that
voluntary benefits will be a very or more important component of their employee
value proposition in three to five years.
As traditional open
enrollment season winds down, now is the time for brokers to work on off-cycle
enrollment plans. They should ask clients which voluntary benefits they intend
to offer and then create a communications strategy that educates employees on
how off-cycle enrollment periods work, including the timeframe to enroll and
whether or not it makes sense for them to invest in the voluntary benefits
being offered.
Priming for open
enrollment 2020
As early as
January, brokers should sit down with employer clients to talk about how their
2019 open enrollment experiences went and if their goals were met. The
discussion should touch on what went well, what didn’t and where process
improvements can be made for 2020. While the conversations will vary based on
the employers’ objectives, brokers and their clients may look at data such as
the number of employees who met with benefits educators (if offered),
percentage of employees who made a change to their coverage(s), enrollment in
certain plans and employee satisfaction rates when surveyed on their open
enrollment experience.
It’s also important
to note which questions were asked most frequently by employees throughout the
open enrollment season, as brokers can help employers better address these
questions in year-round communications strategies and/or in planning for open
enrollment 2020.
By understanding
what can — and should — be done now, brokers can deliver greater value to
clients and help them add value to their benefits strategies.
Bart
Yancey is the co-founder of DirectPath and the President of Engagement. Since
2004, he has led its growth into one of the top strategic employee engagement,
health care transparency and compliance companies for Fortune 1000 employers.
No comments:
Post a Comment