Top 5 Things Employers Should Consider When Getting Healthcare Plans 

Health and medical insurance are essential tools that help employers retain employees. However, there are various points to consider when getting health insurance plans for your company.  

 What items should be considered when making such a big decision? 

1.  Consider the Costs and Employee Impact 

According to an article, the plan’s costs should be considered, such as the rate or plan adjustments and the expectations of claim costs for the next year, but costs should also be looked at broadly to determine what can affect the bottom line.  

Expanding the considerations beyond just number costs for healthcare plans would be to inquire about carrying through value-add services at renewal and improving care management at the employee level. These considerations can avoid potential events and health complications, resulting in fewer employees being absent and higher production within the company, which is just as important as monetary expenses. 

Another cost to consider is employee participation in your plan. While the number varies by state, the minimum participation of employees is typically around 70%. So how does your company ensure it’s getting the mandatory participation? Affordability is how. Over the past 20 years, increasing deductibles and copayments to the employee have been the health plan model for companies. However, if employees cannot afford the plan deductibles and copayments on top of the plan’s cost, they will not use nor sign up for it. As a result, this will negatively impact the participation in the benefits and affect the attraction and retention of staff.  

The healthcare plan and pricing should increase employee engagement, retention and satisfaction while simultaneously reducing as many monetary costs as possible. 

2.  Are Healthcare Plans Accessible Enough For Your Employees? 

When considering healthcare benefits, inquire about the plans and ask yourself, are these plans able to give the access employees need to get the care they seek? Below are some questions to ask yourself: 

• When an employee gets sick, do they need to go to a clinic after making an appointment, or do they have access from home to an online or a telehealth appointment? 
• Do they have a 24/7 phone line to call a health professional anytime? 
• Are they required to get referrals every time for a specialist because they only have HMO plan options? 
• Can staff access the physician or primary care network of their choice? 

If access to the care they seek is restricted or has many obstacles to get through, employees are less likely to sign up, and if they do, they will likely never use it. This results in companies paying for benefits that aren’t being used and further exacerbate the retention problem companies face. 

3.  Support Employees with Health Benefits Transparency 

When looking for the right healthcare plan for your company, the plans should be fully transparent on what is covered and the costs between deductible, coinsurance, copayments, etc.  

Employees should be able to receive full support and transparency when looking over their healthcare options. Employees want to be able to decide on the right plan for their lifestyle and get the help they need for any inquiries they could have.  

4.  Benefits of Employer Contribution To Employee Health Benefits 

Employer contribution to healthcare plan premiums isn’t just beneficial to employees but also to employers. By contributing to the premium, employers can deduct it from their taxable income, and if qualified, you can get a tax credit for up to half of your premium contributions! 

Also, the contribution should be strategized to get the maximum amount of staff participation and positively impact employee retention and lower turnover.  

5.  Improve Employee Retention and Attraction with Health Benefits 

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, less than a third of US companies with less than 50 employees do not offer health insurance to their staff, which means almost 97% of companies with 50 or more staff do offer it. Offering health benefits gives you an advantage over other businesses when attracting and retaining staff within the company.  

Additionally, healthcare benefits are sought after by potential employees and by offering a comprehensive plan, you are improving employee satisfaction, engagement and retention.  

Lastly, partner with a PEO to enjoy employee benefits at significant group rates.  

Some PEOs offer the benefit of national, large group benefit plans. As a result, your company can leverage the buying power of the PEO plans, and your employees further enjoy the benefits typically reserved for larger organizations.  

Call us at 219-281-2459  to learn more ways to improve employee retention by inquiring about company-level healthcare benefit plans that can be provided at a fraction of the cost of the marketplace.