Getting Closer to the Right Calculation – Introducing Decision Support
A 2016 study by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) found that 50% of employees do not understand their benefits materials, and nearly 80% do not read them. The general lack of understanding of benefits poses a challenge, especially with health plans, our most heavily utilized benefit. The selection of the right health plan can make a enormous difference in the financial well being of an employee, and the decision requires a multi-part financial calculation which includes estimated claims cost, tax status, employer contributions, employer matches and other factors. A Decision Support tool and/or personal guidance can increase the likelihood that the employee will choose the right plan.
Many of the tools to help employees figure out which plan to choose to reside in systems that are not available to small to mid-sized employers. At the same time, a large percentage of bigger employers are excluding these tools from their benefit administration or payroll solution, based on budget or technological limitations.
In response to this, EmployeeTech will be releasing HCM Engage, which offers an affordable, easy-to-launch Decision Support tool that sets up in minutes and delivers stunning employee experience.
Features include:
- Flexible access linking directly from any payroll, benefits, HR solution or web page
- Easy-to-launch works from a simple MS Excel upload, links from any application
- Data provided by Milliman,a leading healthcare actuarial firm
- Complex Calculation factors your estimated health expenses, plan cost, tax savings. Suggests HSA contributions and provides pre-tax cost calculation
- Modeler allows you to change your assumptions on the fly
- Analytics enable you to measure participation of your workforce
Learn More
The release of Engage is scheduled a few weeks away in time for open enrollment. Alongside the Decision Support tool, it also includes several benefit communication screens/modules that you can include or make part of an overall open or new hire enrollment process. In addition, Engage can administer a comprehensive employee engagement survey. More features will be rolled out later in the year.
For Engage EmployeeTech offers two models:
- Full Service EmployeeTech handles the entire implementation
- Reseller where EmployeeTech licenses the application.