As many businesses struggle to offer affordable options for worksite benefits, they may be turning to consumer driven health plans as a way to curb rising health insurance costs, according to Employee Benefit News.
While CDHPs allow companies to continue to offer a full range of employee benefits without incurring unmanageable costs, benefits consultants may want to reconsider how they present benefit information to their staff. Rising costs and increases in employee contributions may be misconstrued if employees do not understand the intricacies of their worksite benefits, according to the source.
"It's communication, communication and communication and a good level of transparency," Bruce Elliot of the Society Society of Human Resource management told the source. "If they're getting hit with 15 percent increases, it's important that the employer show it to employees, so it's a shared deal."
Employers may also want to stress that when used properly, CDHPs can reduce individual healthcare costs. CDHPs offer lower employee contributions and incentives for individuals to maintain good health, according to Business Insurance.
Furthermore, healthcare reform requires employers to cover 60 percent of an employee's annual healthcare costs, a fact that companies may want to share with their staff so that they understand fully where cost increases are coming from, according to the source.
