5 Best Practices to Manage Your Company Health Plans

Posted by on Oct 21, 2016 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

5 Best Practices to Manage Your Company Health Plans

Managing company health plans


If you are an employer offering workers benefits, you should work to maintain a health plan that is affordable and market-competitive. To be able to get such a plan, you require an innovative and strategic plan for you and your employees to share a benefits and compensation package that is not only cost effective but also competitive.


Five Strategic Trends That Employers Use to Maintain an Optimal Balance


Benefits design adjustment


Begin by identifying some of the plan features that can be restructured within the ACAs recommendations without altering the key coverage areas. Also, encourage and empower your employees to take a preventive and proactive methodology to their health. You can also limit the times an employee can visit a physician for maintenance services and not medically necessary. This can include chiropractic care and other forms of physical therapy. You can also change the copays to a certain percentage of a coinsurance so that your workers also share in the increasing healthcare costs and to make them more selective about their service providers.


(CDHPs) Consumer Driven Health Plans


Many employers are planning to shift the cost of employee healthcare and the responsibility of seeking efficient and affordable healthcare. High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) and CDHPs when combined with Health Savings Accounts (HCAs) and Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) all efficiently shift some of the health costs to employees, and they work to minimize the number of avoidable medical care. Many employers introduce their employees to this plan by first offering both PPO and HDHP plans for some years. Others incentivize their employees by enrolling them into HDHP or HSA but with a small premium contribution.


Replace RDS with an Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP)


One of the most significant features of employee health plan costs is the prescription of drugs. This is especially for those employers who also offer retirement benefits to employees who are over the age of 65. Due to the increasing popularity of specialty drugs that have been manufactured to treat some catastrophic and chronic diseases, the cost of prescription drugs will increase. Therefore, a good option would be to invest in an Employee Group Waiver Plan (EGWP). This is a Medicare reimbursement program part D, and it has more financial benefits that even exceed RDS payment. This option can relieve you some of the managerial burdens of RDS.


Opt for an employee wellness plan


The employee wellness plans strive to keep the healthy employees healthy. They also identify individuals who have a higher risk of experiencing adverse health conditions and assist those who are living with chronic diseases to moderate the side effects by making better decisions and leading a healthy lifestyle. Begin by talking to your insurance carrier about the employee wellness plan and get some options including disease management coaching, biometric screening, and wellness program opportunities.


Implement the working spouse rule


A big amount of money is spent in medical healthcare cover for spouses of workers. The working spouse rule dictates that in case an employee’s spouse has access to medical care through their employer, then the employer decides to pay for a portion of their medical cover, the spouse is not eligible to be covered under your plan. Talk to your insurance carrier about your plan to save on benefits costs by implementing the working spouse rule under your plan.


You should make your decision very carefully when choosing an employee benefits plan and choose one that will attract more workers. Remember that the reason why you have an employee benefits plan is because of your employees. Therefore, keep your eyes on that and don’t rush. However, consider all your potential decisions and look under each and every rock to identify one that has the best solution.