Written by There’s an enormous amount of waste & inefficiency in musculoskeletal benefits. The primitive benefit designs prevalent in most companies keep employees away from discovering the actual cost of care. The existing system is constantly shifting costs to employees, often without informing people of those costs in advance. This creates no incentive whatsoever for employees to explore conservative treatment options or shop for higher quality care. Until people are able to connect the cost of care to their out-of-pocket spend, they should not be expected to change.
Steering employees away from overpriced healthcare providers through benefit design incentives and helping them make better care decisions can drive down costs for everyone. However, doing so requires disciplined execution of efforts that obtain employee buy-in and commitment to necessary decisions and behavior changes.
Positive messaging
Communication of any cost-cutting initiative needs to be handled carefully. Start by helping employees understand why savings matter in the first place. Share with them the effect of making better decisions to their financial well-being and enrichment of their benefits.
Make it simple
Employees should be empowered with the right tools and support that helps them make better decisions. Create an easy shopping experience that provides clarity on best treatment solutions for their current needs and suggests high-quality, low-cost providers. Remove barriers such as ‘deductibles’ that cloud people’s judgement in making a better decision.
Timely Education
Including cost-saving suggestions during open enrollment is not enough. It won’t sink in the first time. Repetition is essential. The cost-saving targeted messages should be delivered at health fairs and when people are looking for care, via multiple channels.
Share the savings
Allowing employees to personally share in the savings they generate can go a long way. Tying incentives directly to cost-sensitive behavior encourages people to seek out ways to save.
Measure the ROI
Evaluate your investments against overall cost savings, tweak it regularly to gain the maximum impact.
At Sprite Health, we work hard every day to help self-funded employers design simpler, lower-cost, higher-value musculoskeletal benefits. Sprite empowers your people with simple, transparent, upfront pricing for services and treatments that address their specific needs. With hands-on support by our concierge, your people get a seamless, personalized experience that makes accessing, understanding, navigating and paying for care effortless.