Employee Benefits: Knowing When to Adapt
In an effort to retain and attract talented employees, employers have been struggling to offer competitive benefits in the same way they’ve been doing so for decades. Over the past 15+ years (most significantly in the last five), the U.S. government has made drastic changes greatly affecting the healthcare industry. No matter what your politics are or whether or not you agree, this is reality. If you pay attention to the news, it seems that one day we’re reading about problems (i.e. rising costs and plan elimination) in the group health insurance market and the next, we’re reading about the same problems in the individual health insurance market.
Reality is, both markets are changing and like Charles Darwin once said “It’s not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” For a growing number of employers, adapting means choosing Gravie so they can continue to offer competitive benefits. Gravie’s defined contribution approach lets employers set a predetermined budget and employees get to choose their own benefits.
As an employer, adapting might mean asking yourself a fundamental question, “Are your employees best served when you choose their benefits for them?”
Take this analogy: As an employer, you don’t obtain car insurance quotes for your employees and pick the plan you think they should have. It sounds silly right? Your employees have differnt types of vehicles, different driving records and different coverage needs. So why then, do employers take on the burden of picking out health insurance for their employees? And each year when the plan rates increase and/or the plans are eliminated, they are forced to go through the frustrating process all over again in an effort to find a new group health plan that fits their budget and satisfies their employees.
Gravie has responded to the changing healthcare industry by reinventing benefits. Making them better and easier for employers and employees. Employers set a budget based on the dollar amount they want to give each eligible employee. The employees then use those funds to make the benefit choices that fit their needs best. Gravie handles the payments and provides a smart tech and human touch shopping experience. Employers remove themselves from the hassle of plan design and administration and employees get guidance and far more choice.
Learning how to adapt in the face of change and adversity can mean survival. For more information on outsourcing your benefits to Gravie, call us at 844.540.8701, fill out our contact form, or tweet us @gogravie.
Want to learn more about the changing health insurance industry? Check out this post by Gravie co-founder and CEO, Abir Sen — Time for a change: Three Forces Reshaping Health Insurance.