Exactly when employers thought health insurance costs couldn’t go any higher, the predictions for 2021 and beyond say different. Costs for company health benefits are expected to rise 5.3% in 2021, according to a survey by Business Group on Health (BGH). Experience dealing with exorbitant employee health plans, combined with the knowledge of continued rising benefit costs, has employers asking:
How can I lower employee health insurance costs?
But, as much as employers and human resources directors seek to reduce healthcare costs, they don’t want the result to burden employees in the form of high-deductibles and copays either.
As the founders at HandsFree Health, we have navigated these hurdles (and others), which is why we came together to advocate for companies like yours by creating WellBe®. This HIPAA-compliant, voice-enabled virtual health assistant system helps lower medical costs by tackling many of the areas that skyrocket health benefits.
Find out how HFH Go (powered by WellBe®) is helping small and large businesses successfully lower employee health insurance costs one empowered employee at a time.
A Hard Look at Employee Health Insurance Costs
According to a survey conducted in 2019, the average annual cost to employers for employee health insurance totaled around $5,711 for single coverage and $14,069 for family coverage. For perspective—this is a price differential of $2,193 in 2009 to $4,744 in 2019—a hike that more than doubled the cost of employee health insurance over a decade. Figures like these have spurred many businesses to ponder: How much can an employer charge an employee for health insurance?
The answer largely depends on which state your business operates in. While there is no national requirement for how much an employer must contribute for employee health insurance, many state regulations stipulate a minimum of 50%. And, despite this minimum, many employees still paid more than this for family coverage, according to the previously-mentioned survey.
As we mentioned earlier, however, companies that wish to retain skilled and valuable employees don’t want to incur further hardships on their workers by imposing higher employee benefit costs. Thankfully, there is another way that employees can help their company save in health insurance costs—that will also benefit them— with the help of a ready-and-willing virtual assistant.
How Can Employees Reduce Healthcare Costs with the Help of HFH Go?
Before we explain how HFH Go is helping employers and employees reduce insurance costs—let’s take a look at two major health insurance problems for HR departments and how they impact company healthcare costs:
1. Medical Non-Adherence
It’s one of the most costly healthcare-related problems companies face. Through our ongoing research at HandsFree Health, we discovered that 50% of medications for chronic diseases are not taken as prescribed, accounting for $300 billion in avoidable medical costs!
2. Benefits Communication
HR personnel are routinely bombarded with the same questions about employee health insurance and benefits (often by the same individuals). Employees (rightly so) have many questions and need information on deductible amounts, copays, out-of-pocket expenses, and more.
But, as you well know, HR departments are often short on time and resources. In turn, as the HR director, you feel simultaneously overwhelmed and guilty for not having the bandwidth to a) Provide prompt feedback or b) Time to adequately and comprehensively re-explain health insurance information.
Here is where we return to how HFG Go as part of the WellBe voice-enabled virtual health assistant system helps alleviate many of the pain points described above. The system empowers employees to be more proactive in their health and wellness journey, subsequently helping your company save time and money on healthcare-related costs.
HFH Go tackles both medical non-adherence and employee benefit communication problems by enabling employees to:
- Schedule daily medication reminders
- Set-up prescription refill reminders
- Keep track of and schedule important preventative care appointments (yearly physicals, mammograms, flu shots, and more)
- Know how much of their deductible has been met
- Ask questions about chronic disease symptoms and treatments (Okay WellBe, what are the symptoms of diabetes?)
HFH Go for Employees in Three Simple Steps
To get started on the path to lowering employee health insurance costs with HFH Go, employers simply:
- Have their employees download the HFH Go App on to their smart device
- Ask each employee to enter his/her basic employee health insurance and personal information
- Start using built-in WellBe® voice-enabled virtual health assistant for questions and requests such as:
- “Okay WellBe, how much of my deductible have I spent this year?”
- “Okay WellBe, what are the treatment options for a hernia?”
- “Okay WellBe, I want to record my last blood pressure reading.”
- “Okay WellBe what was my last glucose reading?”
- “Okay WellBe, I need to schedule a reminder for an eye exam.”
What Happens Next?
We understand the value of seeing how to lower employee health insurance costs firsthand, and for this very reason, we encourage you to Request a Demo. Putting you in the driver’s seat of HFH Go offers great insight into how your company can save money and gives you abundant time to focus on the other pressing aspects of HR.