High deductible health plan. Health savings account. Out-of-pocket expenses.
For many of your employees, the above terms cause immediate confusion, fear, and worry. As a benefits professional, it is your job to alleviate these concerns and help your employees feel more confident when choosing health insurance for the upcoming year.
Health Savings Accounts, commonly known as HSAs, are one of the best kept secrets in employee benefits. If you are enrolled in a high deductible health plan (HDHP), you are likely eligible to enroll in an HSA. Contributing to an HSA enables you to maximize your finances, and each year you go without, you’re leaving potentially thousands of dollars on the table.
As a benefits professional, one of the most important parts of your job is to design and offer health insurance options that fit your organization’s needs. But, designing the right set of medical plans is always a challenge. Your organization’s goals will differ from those of your employees and on top of that, each and every employee has different preferences, health risks, and budgets.
When you choose a health plan, you’re making a complex decision for yourself and for your family - and as we all know, the benefits world is not easy to navigate. Most times you end up buying more insurance than you need in order to avoid risk and gain peace of mind. As a result, you could be paying up to $2000 more per year than you would in a plan that is better fit for your particular needs.
While evaluating and choosing healthcare and supplemental benefits may not be confusing or difficult to those of us who work in the field, it’s important to remember that the average employee doesn’t fully understand what they’re looking at when it comes to benefits. In fact, in a survey conducted by UnitedHealth, they found that only 9% (yes, you read that right) of individuals understand all four of these basic healthcare terms:
As a health insurance broker, your job is to help your clients make wise benefits decisions, and they count on you to provide the insights and best practices needed to implement successful employee benefits programs at scale.
The virtual workplace has arrived. The days of benefits fairs, on-site enrollment meetings, on-site vendor support, and roadshows are behind us, and the decisions you make about your benefits administration and communication system during this transition will have consequences for years to come.
The world has gone remote. We are all making adjustments to keep our heads above water, but your charge as a benefits professional hasn’t changed. Open enrollment is coming and you still need to communicate benefits to your workforce to ensure employees understand and value their benefits.
Millions of people must choose a health insurance plan each year. From seniors enrolling in Medicare to the large share of the U.S. population who choose an employer provided offering or selecting among plans on a state exchange, the one constant across all of these settings is that picking the right health insurance plan is extremely difficult.
