If you shop online or in-store, you’ll already see Halloween decorations! This means it’s almost open enrollment time. It’s time to think about open enrollment for employees’ healthcare plans.
Confidence in Finding a Doctor
According to the EBN State of Healthcare 2024 study, 67% of employees feel confident finding a doctor in their network. However, less than half are confident about the other aspects of navigating insurance, including coverage and costs.
Need for Human Support
Even younger workers, such as Gen Z, prefer seeking assistance from an HR person when they have questions about their health insurance. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining a human touch in benefits administration.
No Bandwidth for Benefits
As a business owner, you wear many hats, from managing operations and keeping clients happy to ensuring your team is motivated and productive. You don’t have the time to properly deal with healthcare benefits details too. However, employee healthcare benefits and administration are critical to running a successful business. Providing the right healthcare benefits shows your employees that you value them, which enhances their overall satisfaction and well-being.
Why Employee Healthcare Benefits Matter
Employee healthcare benefits are essential for attracting and retaining top talent. According to United Insurance, 80% of employees are more likely to stay with their employer if they are satisfied with their benefits package. This reduces turnover, saves on hiring and training costs, and ensures a stable and committed workforce.
Equally important, employee benefits compliance ensures that your company’s benefit plans and practices comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Non-compliance can be expensive and result in legal consequences, penalties, loss of reputation, and a negative impact on employee morale.
Understanding Employee Healthcare Benefits Administration
Employee healthcare benefits administration involves selecting, managing, and communicating health benefits to employees. You will need an HR department or a specialized benefits administration team to handle these tasks, or you can outsource these functions to an expert, qualified company like PT Business Solutions.
Effective administration directly impacts your legal exposure and employee well-being and satisfaction. PT Business Solutions will collaborate with you to handle the ongoing healthcare benefits tasks.
1. Assessing Workforce Needs
- Understand the demographics and healthcare needs of your workforce
- Conduct surveys or hold focus groups to gather feedback on preferred benefits
2. Creating a Healthcare Budget
- Determine how much your business can allocate to employee benefits
- Balance offering competitive benefits with maintaining financial sustainability
3. Designing Healthcare Packages
- Choose a mix of health, dental, vision, and other benefits tailored to your workforce
- Consider offering wellness programs and mental health support
4. Researching, Negotiating, Finalizing Plans
- Research various health plans and providers to find the best options
- Negotiate with providers to secure the most favorable terms
- Finalizing the optimized offerings
5. Roll Out the Plan
- Communicate the new benefits package to your employees
- Provide clear instructions on how to enroll and access their benefits
6. Managing the Day-to-Day Administration
- Ensure timely enrollment and updates to employee benefits.
- Provide clear and accessible information to employees about their benefits.
- Regularly review and update the benefits package to remain competitive and relevant.
7. Providing Employee Support
- Assist employees in understanding their benefits and making informed choices.
- Offer resources like FAQs and workshops to address common questions.
- Serve as the day-to-day contact to service employee requests and questions
- Address any employee concerns promptly
8. Maintaining Compliance
- Staying updated on legal requirements and regulations related to employee benefits
- Communicating with you to ensure your benefits package remains compliant
Preventing Problems with PT
Given all the above, providing health benefits can be a huge administrative burden unless you work with an expert team like PT Business Solutions.
Benefits administration involves a significant amount of work, record-keeping and coordination. This can be overwhelming, especially for small to medium-sized businesses with limited resources.
Remember, a well-managed benefits program not only shows employees they are valued but also contributes to the overall success of your business. For expert guidance and support, consider partnering with PT Business Solutions to streamline your benefits administration process.
