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.