Tips for Open Enrollement
6 tips to share with your employees during open enrollment:
1. Take An Active Role. Many employers are working on making enrollment quick and easy. One of the ways your company can do this is by clearly communicating what is changing from previous years. You should also encourage your employees to take advantage of the resources you provide.
2. Assess Your and Your Dependents’ Health Care Needs. Encourage employees to start by reviewing how much they have spent out-of-pocket in the past year, the costs of their regular prescriptions, and the number of doctor visits they have had. If they are participating in a flexible spending account, encourage them to re-evaluate their contribution levels based on their actual and anticipated expenses for 2019. It’s also important to think about any life changes that may impact their decisions, such as an addition to the family or the development of a new medical condition that may impact health care expenses.
3. Evaluate Your Plan’s Provider Network. There have been many changes taking place in the provider community, including doctor’s groups joining together and hospitals and health systems re-contracting with insurers. As a result, health plan options may include vastly different combinations of doctors and hospitals than in the past.
4. Evaluate Whether A Consumer-Driven Health Plan Is Right For You. CDHPs often have lower premiums, which make them an attractive option for individuals who want to reduce the costs taken out of their paychecks each pay period. While employees may have a higher deductible to meet, many employers combine these plans with health reimbursement accounts or health savings accounts, which employees can use to help pay for eligible out-of-pocket health care costs. It’s important for employees to understand how the employer’s contributions work so they can maximize this subsidy.
5. Determine the Best Source of Coverage for Your Dependents. If an employee’s spouse, partner or adult children have access to health coverage elsewhere, including through their employer, it may be more cost effective for them to enroll in this coverage instead of being covered by you. Encourage employees to carefully review and compare these plans to ensure they are choosing the coverage they need at the most favorable cost.
6. Take Advantage of Health and Wellness Programs. Many employers offer a wide range of health and wellness programs, such as health assessments, weight loss programs and health coaching to help employees get and stay healthy. Taking part in these programs can help employees understand their current health status, and they might even be able to take advantage of a financial incentive for doing so.