Great Article on "Killer Benefits"

"Killer Benefits" is the term used to describe an unbeatable benefits package offered by your employer. Unbeatable without question.

This article can be summarized as follows: "Organizational periods of hyper growth are rarely sustainable in the long term. While "Killer Benefits" are a great way to attract and retain the best talent during periods of rapid growth, they can become a real liability to your organization when things slow down and expenses must be kept in check."

The rest of the article details Employee Benefits packages at Facebook and Google. Read it here. In this economic uncertainty, I don't think this will be a concern but the point here is extremely valid. Be pragmatic.

Incentive Laden Benefit Plans

A program in from the University of Pennsylvania produced compelling results recently. The program was developed to test the value of incentives in achieving health improvements.

The results: individuals who received cash incentives to lose weight had greater success than the than those who did not. In fact, the incentive groups lost 13 and 14 pounds while those without incentive lost only 4 pounds in four months.

Dr Kevin Volpp concluded, "many weight-loss programs fail because people are being asked to make sacrifices now for rewards in the future."

This study supports the movements in consumer-friendly health care. Incentives provided by health insurance carriers are aimed at driving healthy behaviors amongst employee groups. Read the article here.

Why YOU Need To Understand Health Care Benefits

Employers are the foundation of health care in America.

PROOF:
- 71% of Americans receive employer sponsored health benefits.
- A stunning 96% of Americans receive dental benefits from employer sponsored plans or affinity groups.

However, health care benefits and access to them vary by your job. According to an October Forbes article, "least educated, lowest wage workers suffered the greatest erosion of coverage" from employer sponsored plans. "Employees with a post-graduate degree are nine times more likely to have health insurance from their employer than those with less than a high school education." (Read the Forbes article here.)

Regardless of such trends...a few significant concerns have surfaced amid the economic downturn.

- Many Americans have an insufficient understanding of health care, benefits, and insurance without their employers involvement.
- Employers facing operating crises are not being transparent with employees. A recent NYT article details the events surrounding the demise of a cookie maker. The company closed its plant on Oct 3. and hadn't paid benefits premiums, effectively leaving all employees without health care benefits. Read the article here.

The article details a woman who immediately induced labor for the hope that the insurance company would cover the procedure. What a terrible situation.

While companies have made huge investments in benefits programs, employees need to be more knowledgeable and more engaged. Benefits are simply too important.

Economy And What It Means For You

An article on WFLA highlighted the results of several recent surveys indicating employers are trimming back expenses in the wake of economic uncertainty.

As the job market becomes less stable and in light of this news, it is increasingly important for Americans to put hard earned dollars away in an emergency fund. These funds can be used to counter adverse circumstances like medical care, auto repair, etc.

When employers tighten their collective belt, employees should follow suit. According to a Watson Wyatt survey, 25 percent of companies surveyed indicated they would impose a hiring freeze in the next 12 months. An additional 25 percent indicated they would raise the amount employees need to contribute to healthcare plans.

For employees, it's time to take a look at your expenditures to eliminate some of the unnecessary spending. Do you really need 934 HD channels? What about $4 Starbucks coffees?

Be prudent...if your employer is cutting back, you should prepare as well.

Read the article here.

Small Business Benefits - OVERLOAD

Benefits Selling Magazine recently highlighted a study by Guardian. The study concludes that small businesses are often overwhelmed with "administrivia" during open enrollment.

Small businesses do not have the personnel bandwith to handle all the added paperwork. While this is seldom addressed during benefits selection, employers should ask their brokers and agents about the scope of work for enrollment. Many insurance companies and providers are willing to provide assistance during enrollment to ease the workload.

The results show, "The most frequently cited problems associated with enrollment are managing paperwork (23 percent) and engaging employees (42 percent). Twenty-three percent of small employers said getting employees to submit completed forms on time was a problem, and 20 percent said they had difficulty conveying information about options." To read the full article, click here.

Administrivia - n. Being overburdened with trivial administrative responsibilities!

Low Cost Perks

While surfing YouTube, I watched this little video on employee benefits, outside of standard benefit plans. As a business owner, it is important not to overlook the little things. There are some very simple, yet great ideas to get your employees to appreciate their workplace...especially in a tough economy. Watch it here.

New Information and Overview of Benefits Trends

Came across the Crain's Benefits Outlook. Published by the business daily, the website has significant information on employee benefits. Very good and recent information for benefits professionals as well as employers. View the information, here.

Specifically, there is a great article on High Deductible Health Plans. The article debates the future of this growing benefit plan. Quotes from representatives of Aetna and United Healthcare indicate that "Big Insurance" is making significant investments in these programs. In fact, United Healthcare has positioned itself significantly behind these types of innovative plans. HDHP plans and other innovative benefit products like the Pendant Health Defined Contribution Plan bring employees closer to self-management of benefits. Through incentives and tools, employees are provided ample information to begin to manage their health care and health care budgets. Read the article here.

Perspective

The subheadline of a recent article in the McKinsey Quarterly caught my attention, "Most companies treat benefits as a cost of doing business. They should see them instead as a competitive weapon."

The article, by the elite consulting shop McKinsey and Company provides an excellent perspective on benefits as a business tool. In fact, the authors unveiled a stunningly frank notion, "companies aren’t scrutinizing benefits as closely as they do other investments."

In fact, McKinsey takes a comprehensive and more active approach recommending employers tailor an investment in benefits to meet the needs and preferences of employees.

Furthermore, McKinsey charges that Executives consider thoughtfully a benefits strategy that encompasses clearly identified ROI objectives related to benefits. Potential objectives include: productivity, well-being of employees, talent management, community perceptions, union relations, and costs.

Finally, the article discusses the need to take a multi-year approach to benefits planning and implementation. The article states, "Most companies, follow a piecemeal yearly “keep up with the Joneses” approach that has the effect of shifting compensation from the more flexible salary and wages to the less flexible benefits, and as a result it is harder for employers to reward individual employees for their performance differentially."

To read the full article, click here.

Employers Responsibility in Health Care

Most Americans with insurance and benefit plans get them through their employers. As such, employers share a significant responsibility for driving health care reform. A recent Employee Benefit Advisor article details that 64% of employers favor a continuance of employer-based benefits. Simultaneously, 71% of participating employers say the system needs a major overhaul. For the full article, click here.


These statistics are refreshing to hear. Because employers play such a critical role in health care, any discussion about reform must involve employers. In regard to reform, 62% of employee benefits professionals consider consumerism the driving force to improve benefit offerings and cut costs. This is great news as consumerism gains momentum in the employee benefits arena.

Pampered At The...Dentist?

Insurance carriers today are experimenting with the inclusion of consumer friendly features. When included in benefit plan, these features encourage and reward employee participation. Insurers aim to drive responsible behavior, with the goal of reducing long-term exposure. Of course, healthier employees win as well.

Ironically, medical care providers are taking a similar approach. Dental spa's are popping up all across the country. In fact, a recent article in Employee Benefit Advisor touches on the early successes of this trend. Click here for the article.

The concept of the dental spa is to create an environment in which patients can feel comfortable. Therefore, more patients will seek regular treatment. However, these dental spas really seem to be after 1 thing: Cash paying patients. With a focus on cosmetic services, these offices participate in a limited number (if any) insurance networks.

Concluding commentary: Both sides of the equation (providers and insurers) are testing their hand at healthcare v2.0. The outcomes however are yet to be determined.

Being a Better Benefits Consumer

At the National Business Coalition on Health's annual conference, one of the most significant topics of conversation was the need for employers to be better about their benefits purchases.

Intel Chairman Craig Barrett was quoted as saying, "The only way health care is going to change is if people who pay the bill tell the industry to change." How true this is.

The problem however lies in the reality that businesses exist to make available their products and services to the marketplace. Benefits are not a critical function, therefore most small businesses have a responsible party for benefits...but as one of the myriad job responsibilities not the sole function.

With nearly half of the $2.4 trillion dollar annual spend on health care being paid by employers, employers need to avail themselves to new and better options.

Employee Benefit Advisor magazine covered the conference, to read the article click here.

Health Insurance Changes In A New Administration

A recent Wall Street Journal article discusses likely health care changes under an Obama administration. For a full version of the article, click here. The article points to the long-held Democratic pillar of improving access to health insurance and decreasing the numbers of uninsured Americans. Potential increases in publicly funded health insurance are likely to offset cuts to private Medicaid. Aetna, Cigna and United HealthCare are all mentioned as having taken proactive steps to increase their portfolio of state administered Medicaid business.

Unfortunately the article takes no risks and does not address employer-sponsored benefit plans. This is an area of great uncertainty as both candidates proffered proposals that would significantly impact the private sector. As the new Administration takes office in January look for health care to play an important role after the financial crisis is addressed.

Healthcare And The Family Budget

Financial and economic uncertainty yields to undesired consequences. A recent article from Business Insurance Magazine addresses one such consequence here. The assertion that individuals under greater financial stress would pass on receiving routine preventative and diagnostic care is, I think a real concern. Consumer spending is largely not predicated on need, rather on emotion. As a result, the BI article here makes for an interesting...or perhaps infuriating read.

President-Elect Obama & Health Care Reform

Just days after the presidential election results, conversation has begun regarding the fulfillment of ambitious campaign promises. Healthcare reform will undoubtedly receive major attention.

Linked here is an article highlighting Obama's pre-election Healthcare agenda.

Consumer-Driven HealthCare Benefits & Challenges

Consumer-driven healthcare is beginning to gain traction amongst employers. These innovative programs provide easy to use tools for employees to more effectively self-manage their benefits, health and overall welfare.

As these programs penetrate the marketplace, employees are reacting with mixed response. A recent CNN article illustrates the struggle. Click here for the article.