Despite the nation's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, employers that are genuinely concerned about having a sustainable impact on rising health care costs will need to invest in the health and well being of their human capital. But in order to achieve meaningful results, they must partner with key industry players whose deep knowledge of this increasingly complex area of benefits management will pay dividends.
Small and midsize employers that lack the health plan management resources of larger organizations now have access to a quick and affordable method for combating rising benefit costs that could prove invaluable in this difficult economic climate.
Employers and health plans are increasingly recognizing the value of pooling their resources into regional health care coalitions so that they can better achieve common objectives. Those efforts are now being turbo-charged, thanks to the emergence of regional collaboratives designed to help employers, health plans and providers set aside competing interests and jointly pursue greater cost and quality transparency and community-wide health improvement.
Changing demographics, including an increasingly ethnically diverse workforce with up to four generations of employees, are driving the need to customize employee benefit design, communication and enrollment strategies.
A series of comprehensive enhancements to one of the nation's leading dental benefit networks significantly sweetens the pot on dental HMO (DHMO) coverage by promoting good oral health, which is increasingly linked to overall health, eliminating a patchwork of plan designs for multi-state employers, and broadening access to more affordable treatment options.
The launch last month of MetLife's Employee Benefits Simplifier offers a comprehensive online employee benefits educational tool built around learning about the most appropriate coverage as part of a holistic view at open enrollment.
Employer-based wellness programs are commonly used as a strategy to reduce the cost of business associated with unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles. However, many employers underestimate how deeply connected physical health can be to mental health. Physical symptoms identified through a corporate wellness program often mask a deeper mental health issue that should be addressed in order to achieve total health and lasting lifestyle changes.
The launch last week of MetLife's Employee Benefits Simplifier offers a comprehensive online employee benefits educational tool built around learning about the most appropriate coverage as part of a holistic view at open enrollment.
Fall marks the beginning of open enrollment season, a time when millions of employees across the United States re-assess their workplace benefits elections. Given that many Americans and their loved ones are often left under-insured and unnecessarily exposed to financial risk, it is evident that employees could use some support with understanding what types of protection makes sense for their needs so they can make the most of their companies' offerings.
If knowledge is power, then the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America's Cost Estimator is bound to put a smile on the face of its dental plan members.
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