Three Critical Questions for your Broker

What does success look like in benefits? Is it cost savings? Is it enhancing benefits? We think it is both. Your benefits plan plays a critical role in your organization. It impacts the bottom line, talent strategy and most importantly – your employees and their families.

A strategically designed employee benefits program can enhance both the health of your workforce and the financial health of your organization. But to create a plan with true impact you need to ask the right questions – questions that cut through the fluff.

Here are three you can take to your next meeting with your broker.

1. Who is looking at my data?

In today’s digital age, data is everywhere. Having access to the financial and clinical performance data of your benefits package is the first step to driving better outcomes – for your business and your plan members.

While having your data is important, who is analyzing that data is even more critical. The most beautiful, customized dashboard in the world might as well be abstract art if it does not help you drive actionable strategies.

Does your broker have a combination of actuaries, financial analysts AND clinical staff like nurses, pharmacists, dietitians and more?

2. Are we beating the trends, and improving outcomes?

Health care costs keep going up and employers like you feel that burden. Think about the last several years of renewals — have you seen a steady increase? Or have you been able to keep costs contained?

This is not just about financial performance. A ten percent increase means difficult choices. Do we need to modify our benefits to make them more affordable? How will that impact our employees and their families?

Here is the truth — you can beat the trends without disrupting your plan members’ experience. In fact, you can experience more cost savings while doing more for your employees.

You can have your cake and eat it too. Better outcomes for your bottom line and your people — if your broker does not buy it, we beg to differ.

3. What is the game plan for high-cost claims?

In today’s health care landscape, massive claims are not an if, they are a when. One development we tracked in our recent benefits benchmarking report was the growth of million-dollar claims.

As expensive treatments and pharmaceuticals continue to enter the market, employers and their broker partners must work together to contain costs.

Dig deep with your broker on some of the following topics:

• How will my current claims impact our renewal?
• What is your approach to predicting the impact of current claims, and mitigating future claims?
• How will you contain the costs of vital Rx treatments for our members?

A small percentage of your population often drives the vast majority of costs on your plan. Ensure your broker partner has an effective cost savings plan (and team members with the right expertise) in place to help you drive a high-cost claims strategy.

Demand a strategy that both mitigates current costs and drives proactive health measures, reducing the need for reactive, costly treatments down the line.

Health care is complex, but the goal is simple. Save more on your benefits, so you can do more for your people. These critical questions are just the beginning of holding your benefits advisor to a higher standard. Want to learn more? Just click below.