Nearly half of U.S. employees learn
about their employer-sponsored health plans from sources outside of
their employer
CARMEL,
Ind., July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Optavise, a
one-stop-shop for employee benefits programs, combining products,
technology, and expert guidance, today released its 2023 Healthcare
Literacy Report, which found that employers are missing several
opportunities, including cost reduction, by not improving their
benefits education efforts.
Key findings of the report indicate that employers have an
important—and growing—opportunity to educate their workforce about
how to effectively choose and use their healthcare coverage.
"Health insurance is important to an individual's physical and
financial well-being," said Kim
Buckey, vice president, client services. "The more employees
understand how their plans work and how their decisions affect
their out-of-pocket costs, the more satisfied they will be.
Employers have an opportunity to take the lead in increasing
healthcare literacy rates among their workforces. By providing
consistent, year-round healthcare literacy education, employers can
ensure their employees aren't overspending on healthcare, which
saves money for all involved."
Benefits dissatisfaction can lead to poor cost
management
Compared to last year, fewer respondents
report that they are very or extremely confident in understanding
how their plan works (68%), down from 71% in 2022, and 35% are
taking the time to compare the costs of medical services or
prescription drugs before incurring expenses, down from 38% in
2022.
Optavise found that only 35% of employees check on the network
status of the provider or facility whenever they need care, which
can have a significant impact on the employee's out-of-pocket
costs. Also, before receiving care, only 35% of respondents said
they compare treatment or service costs. Of those who never compare
costs, 67% didn't know that they could, which means that
employees—and subsequently employers—are likely overpaying for
care.
All educational resources are not equally
effective
Direct involvement by Human Resource (HR)
departments in benefits education also declined. One-on-one
conversations with HR decreased from 28% in 2022 to 26% this year
and have been replaced by employers' increased use of online
resources (63%), up from 53% last year.
Unfortunately, employees don't perceive the resources their
employer made available to help teach them about health benefits to
be as helpful as one-on-one, personalized guidance. According to
the report, 68% of employees said that online resources are very or
extremely helpful, compared to 84% who reported that one-on-one
conversations are very or extremely helpful. Only 49% said that
email is very or extremely helpful, down from 59% in last year's
survey.
The study also found that nearly half (46%) of employees learn
about their benefits from friends, family, and coworkers, the most
commonly cited answer among those surveyed. Less frequent responses
included receiving information from their employer's HR team (27%),
from representatives from their insurance carriers (18%), and from
outside benefits experts (15%).
Opportunities exist for employers to close benefits knowledge
gaps
Compared to last year, overall knowledge of key
benefits terminology has increased for six of the nine key terms
including premium, deductible, copay, out-of-pocket maximum,
in-network, and out-of-network.
However, the study shows that a clear knowledge gap exists in
certain industries, including employees who work in education and
retail as well as among younger employees and those who earn less
than $50,000 a year. When asked about
their confidence in understanding their health plan, 60% of
respondents in education and 64% in retail said they felt extremely
or very confident in their understanding compared to 68% of the
total respondents.
Similarly, only 62% of respondents making less than $50,000 a year reported feeling extremely or very
confident in their understanding of their health plan. The study
also shows that age correlates to a greater understanding of
benefits with 80% of Baby Boomers reporting knowing each healthcare
term and how it relates to their coverage compared to 76% of Gen X,
68%, of Millennials, and followed by 60% of Gen Z.
For more information about the report and to read additional
2023 findings, visit Optavise.com
Methodology
Optavise surveyed 1,061 U.S. employees with employer-sponsored
health plans who do not work in the insurance industry. The
independent market firm Researchscape fielded this survey.
About Optavise
Optavise provides personalized employee benefits solutions to
help employers and their employees optimize their benefits and make
better health and financial decisions. Optavise offers a unique
combination of innovative technology, flexible voluntary benefits,
and experts who educate and communicate with employees about their
benefits. A part of the CNO Financial Group (NYSE: CNO) family of
brands, Optavise operates through direct sales to employers and a
nationwide network of more than 10,000 broker partners and over 600
dedicated agents that serve nearly 20,000 employers. For more
information, visit Optavise.com.
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SOURCE Optavise