Pub. 17 2020 Issue 1

Issue 1 • 2020 17 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S What Employees Want: A General Shift There appears to be a general shift in how employees view health insurance benefits, the survey revealed. Younger workers are coming into employment with college and credit card debt, so a robust insurance package is not what they are demanding. They are thinking about things like work- life balance, overall quality of life and access to more money and more paid time off. When asked if health insurance was used to attract and retain talent, 63% of the companies said no, while 37% said yes. When asked whether employers have changed their health insurance programs to make them more attractive to candidates, 71% said no. Reducing Costs: Three Big Levers Benefits Plan Design — There are several ways to reduce premiums. Self-funded insurance can lower premiums for employees and potentially save companies money through reduced operational costs, but this comes with a risk of a massive bill if something catastrophic happens to an employee. Thus, it must be weighed carefully by smaller companies who may be less likely to absorb the cost. Byron Shultz, principal at MJ insurance, says there are creative options for midmarket companies with more than 50 employees. The key is to align a risk-financing funding plat - form that allows companies to mitigate severe high claims yet still capitalize when overall claims are affordable. “This is the only way for these types of companies to change their five-year health care trend,” he said. Another option is to choose a narrow network insurance plan. This option offers low out-of-pocket costs and monthly premiums in exchange for a smaller provider network. An increasingly popular choice is to move to a High Deduct- ible Health Plan (HDHP), which lowers premiums by increas- ing deductibles over a traditional plan. An HDHP makes insurance more affordable for both the employee and the company and tends to be popular with companies that have younger, single employees without spouses and children. An HDHP is required for the final option, a Health Savings Account (HSA). HSA’s are medical savings accounts whereby the money put into the account is not subject to federal income tax. Money is deposited tax-free and can be applied if the funds are used for qualified medical expenses. Despite the benefits, only 42% of survey respondents offer employees an HSA. Preventative Care Incentives — Programs that focus on wellness and preventative care are growing, with several studies showing more than 50% of American businesses n HEATH INSURANCE continued on page 18