America's Benefit Specialist May 2023

NOTEWORTHY

and management required to coordinate multiple partners, as well as demonstrate impact through employee utilization and cost optimization. The study revealed that 51% of employers do not feel that managing point solution/digital health tools and vendor relationships is easy. The study also found that just about 20% of employers feel it is difficult to drive employee awareness, engagement and utilization of health benefits and don’t feel they have ade quate time to dedicate to the administration of their benefits programs. With 67% of employees having to navigate their healthcare journey alone, employers may underestimate the poor experience and outcomes employees have when trying to utilize their healthcare benefits. For employees, navigating insurance and understand ing the costs of healthcare can be the hardest part of their healthcare journey. Only 20% of employees say they feel “very confident” they understand and know how to use their health benefits. The study revealed that while employees cited feeling most supported at open enrollment when they are choosing a healthcare plan, when the plan becomes “real” and they must navigate and make decisions, they feel the support is not there. To learn more about these results, visit Quantum-Health.com. ADDRESSING EMPLOYEE STRESS IS KEY TO A COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS STRATEGY Health and benefits consultancy Mercer Marsh Benefits has released its 2023 Health on Demand Report, which revealed that employee stress is a critical issue for talent attraction and retention. The 2023 Health on Demand report surveyed over 17,500 employees in 16 markets across the globe about their priori ties when it comes to health and well-being, highlighting the voice of the employee so employers can better address their needs. The results show that almost half of all employees (47%) report feeling stressed in everyday life. When asked what fac tors put them at risk for burnout at work, the top three were work pressures (54%), poor leadership (39%) and toxic culture (37%). Addressing employee stress and burnout starts with addressing psychological safety in the workplace. Only 58% of employees agreed or strongly agreed that they feel free to speak their mind without fear of negative consequences. Leading employers are tackling the underlying causes of workplace stress as part of a comprehensive and inclusive benefits strategy, such as reviewing job design and supervisor competencies, creating a culture of belonging and inclusive decision making, and offering benefits such as reduced cost mental health treatment and virtual counseling. Encouraging ly, nearly 70% of employees globally believe their organization would support them in an emergency or time of need. Beyond work stressors, 21% of employees are concerned about affording healthcare, with women (26%), and single

STUDY FINDS THAT 67% OF EMPLOYEES NAVIGATE THEIR HEALTHCARE JOURNEY WITHOUT EXPERT HELP

Employee Benefits News recently announced the findings of its State of Healthcare 2023 study, sponsored by Quantum Health. The study reveals that more than two-thirds of all employees are currently navigating their healthcare journey alone, without enough support from their employers or health insurance to help understand the options available to them, including how to access leading care providers in their net works and the associated costs. The study, conducted by Arizent, the parent company of EBN, sought to understand both the employee and the em ployer perspectives not only surrounding the cost of health care, but what navigating the benefits process is like. The study sampled more than 500 employees and 165 benefits decision-makers at employers. Employees were balanced to the U.S. employed population (based on gender, age and race) and employers included organizations with at least 10 employ ees and from a wide range of industries and job levels/roles. “The study found that cost is a major healthcare challenge that employees face. Sixty-six percent of employees say the cost of care is too expensive and 51% encountered a healthcare bill that was higher than expected in the past year. In addition to cost, employees face challenges throughout their health care experience—from making decisions during enrollment to navigating insurance and the healthcare system. Although many employers provide active support during the enrollment process, most employers are largely absent during the rest of the healthcare journey,” said Kerry Gross, director of research intelligence at Arizent Research. These results suggest that employees are not getting access to the resources and expert guidance that could help them be more cost-aware and cost-conscious to make better healthcare decisions. Access to high-quality, affordable healthcare has never been more critical in helping prevent disease and improve quality of life. But healthcare is complex, burdensome and expensive, and can be stressful for employ ees to navigate alone. In contrast, companies have recently built up their employ ee benefits offerings to include a variety of healthcare point solutions. These are typically focused on chronic conditions in an effort to offer the right care and wellness solutions for em ployees, while incenting retention and recruiting during times of workforce and labor shortages. Despite the focus on supplementing benefits, this has resulted in point solution fatigue and confusion for both the employee and the employer. And because healthcare benefits are some of the costliest operational costs for a self-insured organization, employers are now pressured to demonstrate re turn on investment of their employee benefits programs. With employers working with four to nine solutions in their benefits portfolios, HR benefits administrators must assess the time

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