8 steps to manage your benefit plan.The best approach to managing your benefit programs is to perform critical plan management functions throughout the year and not just annually at your policy review date. Here are eight key management areas that will help your company deliver the best value for your benefit investment: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. Objective setting * Maintain a historical record of benefit plan cost, plan design and employee contribution requirements so that you can make good decisions for the future. * Recognize benefit programs are only a part of the compensation strategy. Understanding what you need to do to recruit and retain talented employees is a key consideration. * Develop a multiple-year strategy to manage cost increases. If a company can communicate honestly, and often, with employees about cost increases and goals, employees will be more comfortable with any needed change. 2. Plan design review * Review the incremental cost Incremental Cost The encompassing change that a company experiences within its balance sheet due to one additional unit of production. Notes: Incremental cost is the overall change that a company experiences by producing one additional unit of good. savings to various plan design changes. In reviewing your options, consider the cost saving compared with the plan provision affected and how your employees would be affected by the change. * Understand the benefits your employees' value. If you spend significant dollars on benefits that are not appreciated and valued, you may be wasting your benefit dollars. * Almost all employers charge employees contributions to participate in the benefit program. You should review your contribution/opt-out strategy. 3. Financial reporting and analysis * If possible, request that your carriers provide financial reporting and analysis for you to review at least twice a year. * Review your carriers' funding options. If you have over 200 employees on your plan and are fully insured, you should thoroughly review the benefits of self-funding. * Review your prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, program. You should investigate a carve-out, self-funded program that may better manage your prescription expense. 4. Managed care * Periodically review the networks you use for medical, dental and vision coverage. Make sure the PPO PPO abbr. preferred provider organization PPO Managed care Preferred provider organization, see there Infectious disease Pleuropneumonia-like organism, see there network you use is adequate. Review in-network utilization. An adequate network should achieve 70-90 percent usage. * Periodically review HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, options in your area. If you are self-funded or experience-rated, you should be mindful mind·ful adj. Attentive; heedful: always mindful of family responsibilities. See Synonyms at careful. mind of the possible cost increase if you split your risk pool by offering a community-rated HMO. 5. Vendor evaluation * Larger employers should review the key service indicators of your providers (what is customer service average hold time, what is average claim turnaround time (1) In batch processing, the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing. In an online environment, turnaround time is the same as response time. , etc.). * If you have not reviewed options in the last three years, review the marketplace. With carrier consolidations, the marketplace has contracted in the last 10 years, making it even more important to understand how your plan's benefits and price compare with comparable carriers. 6. Plan administration * Terminate employees from coverage on the effective date of termination. The employee can be reinstated once COBRA cobra, name for African and Asian snakes of the family Elapidae that are equipped with inflatable neck hoods. The family also includes the African mambas, the Asian kraits, the New World coral snakes and a large number of Australian snakes. is elected and you receive payment. * Keep your records up to date relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc other coverage employees may have. If your employee has dual coverage, your coverage should pay secondary on the spouse and possibly the children. 7. Plan Communication * Make sure your employees have a good understanding of plan options and how each plan operates. Plans that are not understood are often under-appreciated. * If you pay a significant portion of plan cost, take time to educate your employees on the state of health-care cost and the amount of inflationary in·fla·tion·ar·y adj. Of, associated with, or tending to cause inflation: inflationary prices; inflationary policies. Adj. 1. increases your company absorbs. 8. Regulatory compliance * Keep up to date on regulations that affect your benefit plan. ERISA See Employee Retirement Income Security Act. ERISA See Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). , COBRA and Section 125 have been significantly amended in the last five years. * New regulations such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191) Also known as the "Kennedy-Kassebaum Act," this U.S. law protects employees' health insurance coverage when they change or lose their jobs (Title I) and provides standards for patient health, , Mental Health Parity and Janet's Law can impact your plan and how you communicate your plan provisions. Source: McGraw Wentworth |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion