Making employees understand their health benefits: a comprehensive coverage
Well, let me ask this: Do your employees understand their health care benefits? And if they do, to what extent?
This is a challenge facing employers around the globe.
There’s a gap that exists when it comes to employee benefits, and it’s communication, that’s according to a study by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
The study details that:
19% of employers say that their employees fully understand their benefits.
80% of employers say that their employees never attempt to open or even read the benefit materials.
31% of employers say that their employees find their benefits to be of no value.
With that being said, below are five helpful tips employees can use to understand their benefits and then be able to use the benefits.
Often reach out to employees in various ways
Normally, many companies engage with their members about benefits, only when it’s open enrollment time. But it needs to be done at least a bit often. Establish a communication strategy that runs throughout the year, and this way you’ll explain the tough and seemingly complex topics in small pieces. Let’s say you can send emails as a reminder to go get a flu shot or to pick a primary care provider. Incorporate a mid-year fair in your schedule on benefits and employees can check-in. Medicare Advantage Plans 2021 have lots of information you can share with your employees about their healthcare.
Another great idea is considering your workforce as well as their communications throughout the day. Start with an enrollment confirmation email, but keep in mind that there may be a need to mail employees’ homes. Using multiple ways to communicate – onsite meetings, emails, printed collateral, plus an online portal and mail – will enable you to reach many of your employees. Whatever method you choose, ensure to communicate simply to enhance understanding for everyone. Where possible, make use of visual aids like graphs, maps, and tables, to make stuff easy to understand and remember.
Inform about new trends and improvements
With everything ever-changing, benefits can get complicated. Let the employees know about what has been there, and probably they’ve heard a bit about it, plus what’s different. Make sure you’re ahead to know the changes like higher deductibles or increased co-pays, to avoid cost surprises. Importantly, explain why the changes are happening, and especially if your company uses a unique approach toward health benefits.
Advice on how to use benefits
Help your employees know the way they can make the most use of their benefits. Give them tips on how to:
– Meet in-network providers and find out their share of cost.
– Make use of the online tools to determine cost estimates, compare the qualities, and choose the right treatment setting, according to their needs.
– Save some money on prescriptions by asking for preferred generics and using mail order for maintenance medications.
– Seek non-emergency care at urgent care centers when their doctor’s office is closed.
Explain the value
When you help your employees understand the value of their benefits, they’ll feel more satisfied and be loyal. To make the “unknown” part of the paycheck more visible, most top-performing employers give an annual total compensation statement. Such statements add a dollar figure on the benefits package. Well, detailed statements also show the amount paid by a medical plan and the total amount the employers cover by themselves.
Teach them about resourceful platforms
Let the employees know all means they can use to receive answers to questions about their benefits, be it in person, online, or through their phones.
Your healthcare provider can let you know about such resources.
Your provider collaborates with employers together with their brokers to come up with helpful communication strategies, that enable employees to understand and benefit maximally from their plan benefits.
