MANAGEMENT

Extended Health Care Benefits

An attractive benefits package with extended coverage for dental, vision, pharmaceutical and other health care services that are not covered by our public health care system gives employees an incentive to join and stay with a company.

A group health plan can be costly for the small business with few employees, but there are ways you can lower (or at least control costs) while maximizing the benefits for yourself and your employees.

Shop Around

Make sure you are getting the best package and service at a competitive price. Put out tenders for comparison quotes from insurance companies for your health, dental, disability, critical illness, life insurance and/or employee benefit plans.  Be sure to analyze the quotes you receive as not all packages are the same.  If a quote does provide the same coverage and quality of service for a reduced premium, your current agent may be able to provide a competitive quote.

Find the Right Broker

The right broker can save your company a lot of money on health insurance plans.  On one hand, brokers work for the insurance companies by selling you a product on which they make a commission.  On the other hand, they work for you by finding the best possible coverage for the least amount of money.

Your broker should be knowledgeable about costs, limitations of the coverage, maximum per year coverage, as well as the tax implications to your company and its employees. In that employees often want to include family members on their coverage, it is important for the agent to be able to provide specific coverage limits for the employer and perhaps additional coverage options available to, and payable by, employees.

Fine Tune the Coverage

The more options there are on the table for coverage, the higher the cost. Thus, if the plan calls for dental, extended hospital and a drug plan, it may be possible to negotiate with the insurer, through the broker as to dollar or percentage limits for coverage, specific care packages or shared costs with employees.

The objective of this exercise is to prevent insurance premium costs from escalating.  Certainly you will need the cooperation of your broker to determine what is best for the bottom line and your employees.

Join a Pool

There is definitely an advantage to being a small fish in a big pool when it comes to health insurance coverage. Purchasing within a pool allows smaller businesses to join together and purchase health insurance and thereby spread the risk and the cost of the insurance coverage.

A number of associations such as the local chamber of commerce or automobile clubs offer members the opportunity to purchase medical insurance as part of a pool of members.  As with any insurance offering, carefully review the coverage that is provided.  It may be prudent to determine which insurance company is carrying coverage for the association or club and the stability of the insurer.

Contract a Consultant

Aside from the cost of the insurance, handling medical claims and any issues that arise can be time-consuming and costly.  It may be advantageous to consider having an independent consultant process your employees’ claims and liaise with the insurance company.  If you already have an employee benefits plan, a consultant can review it and recommend changes to improve the value as well as help you find the right product at the right price.

Promote a Healthy Workplace

• Although the benefits may not be apparent at the start, there can be little doubt that encouraging employees to be healthy all through the year will eventually pay dividends.

•  Invite health speakers for lunch and learn seminars to talk about topics such as nutrition, fitness, smoking cessation, workplace safety, first aid, CPR and so on.

• When providing snacks or lunches for meetings, offer healthy choices such as fresh fruit, fruit juices, bottled water and avoid foods that are high in fat or sugar.

• When people exhibit cold or flu-like symptoms, encourage them to remain at home to minimize contact with other workers.

• Encourage washroom hygiene with signs, soap dispensers, heat dryers and paper towels.

• Ensure computer keyboards, telephones and other items you and your employees use are regularly sanitized.

• Help employees to join a local health club or gym by finding one that offers a corporate rate for employee groups.

• Ask employees how they envision a healthier workplace and listen to their suggestions.

• Set a good example.

Return on Investment

Take a proactive approach to managing your company’s health care benefit plans and encouraging employees to live a healthier lifestyle.  An attractive benefits plan can help:

• Attract and retain employees and help minimize the costs associated with high turnover.

• Provide you and your employees with access to insurance at a reduced cost, compared to an individual insurance plan.

• Increase productivity and improve morale by providing financial security and support when your employees need it most.

The cost of providing health care benefits should be on the agenda when budget time comes around.  With demographics suggesting that good employees will be harder to find as the population ages, taking care of existing employees is one way of ensuring your company has productive employees in the future.

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