The way we play the health insurance game has changed over the years. Today, many employers, large and small, pay too much for their work benefits program. Human resources have become so complicated and so crazy that it is difficult for anyone to stay with them. Especially old insurance brokers and employers.
Like many other industries, including sports, the game must change to be competitive. If you do not change your game, you will be marked for extinction. There are employers whose costs are so high that they are forced to close permanently. Does it sound familiar to you?
Employees are unemployed because they are in the dark during discussions in the boardroom with company executives. Does the employer reject new ideas? Or is it because the insurance broker has not changed over time?
Maybe a little of both!
Employers have the opportunity to make a difference, not only for the company but also for their employees. What if I could save tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and get single-digit increases every year? It’s possible.
If not, perhaps controlling costs by slowing the pace of increases could help save the business? What would happen if I could do it without eliminating the provider’s network or increasing the franchise to save a few dollars in the premium? It’s possible.
The first thing to do is be open to new methods. If you’re only there to listen to ideas, without trying any new concept, you’re wasting time with everyone. Some insurance consultants are billing this meeting just to provide this valuable information that employers can save a lot of money.
If in doubt, the next thing to do is to establish small steps towards the goal of cost reduction. If it is too difficult to use a network of unrestricted providers, reduce the cost to your employees by visiting a primary health care centre before consulting a doctor at no cost. Perhaps you even negotiated rates in outpatient surgery centres outside the hospital with more qualified doctors.
Employers can separate risk groups from conventional full insurance plans. By doing so, you can access the claims data that you do not have with a fully insured traditional group. This new method of purchasing health insurance will indicate the direction of your group’s claims and will combat it with programs as simple as educating employees. The cost could be almost zero, but it could save you thousands of dollars a year by increasing premiums.
There is a lot of work to do in your benefits program. The sooner it begins, the sooner the savings will begin. Stop wasting thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars a year, which can be invested in more productive and profitable activities.