Products January 30, 2018

Partnership Strives to Encourage Health Care Consumerism

Risk Strategies' partnership with DirectPath will help employers save on health care by educating their employees on the complex health care landscape and empowering them to make better, more informed decisions about their care.

Reported by

DirectPath announced a strategic partnership with Risk Strategies Company, under which Risk Strategies will offer its clients the DirectPath Advocacy and Transparency Service, which empowers employees at client organizations to become better health care consumers by providing specific medical procedural cost and quality quotes. 

The service helps employers save an average of $1,400 and employees $400 per transparency request, the firm’s say.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter.

DirectPath’s Advocacy and Transparency Service enables greater health care savings for employers, and their employees, by empowering employees to become more informed health care consumers. Patient advocates offered through the service assist employees and their family members by answering questions about their health care coverage, as well as flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). Advocates also provide employees with up to three options for medical tests or procedures, along with quality and cost data. By providing this information, advocates enhance employees’ understanding of their health care options and help steer them toward plans, procedures and prescriptions that deliver the care they need at affordable prices.

Not only does DirectPath’s Advocacy and Transparency Service help employees become more informed health care consumers, but it also enables employers to further save on health care expenses by assisting employees with locating in-network providers and resolving claims disputes. The service also reduces administrative burdens for employers and improves employee satisfaction with company benefits.

“The organizations we serve are committed to providing their employees with quality health care,” says John Greenbaum, national practice leader, employee benefits, Risk Strategies Company. “What many people don’t realize, though, is that quality health care can also be cost-effective. By partnering with DirectPath, we’re able to help our clients save on health care by educating their employees on the complex health care landscape and empowering them to make better, more informed decisions about their care.”
Benefits January 30, 2018

HDHPs Appeal to Millennials and Higher-Income Employees

An analysis also finds Millennials were especially eager to adopt health savings accounts (HSAs), nearly doubling their HSA participation from 2017.

Reported by

There is a continued shift toward consumer-directed health care, with the rate of employers offering at least one high-deductible health plan (HDHP) increasing more than 20% since 2016, according to Benefitfocus’ third annual “State of Employee Benefits” report.

 

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

The firm says this growth primarily stems from employers offering HDHPs alongside traditional health plans, reflecting the increased commitment among employers to offer more choice to employees. With respect to enrollment, the data indicates that employees’ health plan preference and benefits needs differ by demographic criteria, making plan diversity critical.

 

According to the report, there is mounting evidence that HDHPs are more appealing to employees with higher incomes. On average, employees enrolled in HDHPs for 2018 earn 7% more than employees enrolled in preferred provider organizations (PPOs)—a percentage difference more than twice what it was last year. This trend is consistent across all age groups. However, Millennials selected HDHPs at more than twice the rate of the most senior members of the workforce.

 

Participation in health savings accounts (HSAs) among employees in HDHPs grew by more than 60% percent, from roughly 50% in 2017 to 81% in 2018—with dramatic increases observed across every age group. Millennials were especially eager to adopt these accounts, nearly doubling their HSA participation from 2017. Employee contributions are up year over year—4% for single coverage and 3% for family coverage.

 

Benefitfocus’ State of Employee Benefits research represents an analysis of actual benefits enrollment data, aggregated anonymously across our large-group (1,000+ employees) customer base. The report may be downloaded from here.

«