America's Benefit Specialist November 2022

NOTEWORTHY

according to a new report from LendingTree research site ValuePenguin. The key findings: • More than 440,000 workplace injuries happened to workers not covered by employer-based insurance—or for one in three victims. While 67.7% of employees were covered by employer-based insur ance, workers who had to take time off due to a workplace injury were 7.8% less likely to be covered. • Americans working in jobs that have the highest rates of workplace injuries are less likely to have employer-based health insurance. In the farming, fishing and forestry industry, which has the highest injury rate, at 33.4 of every 1,000 workers, only 36.7% of workers have employer- based health insurance. • Sixty-four percent of the 25 occupations with the highest average annual fatality rate between 2017 and 2020 earned less than the national weekly median. In fact, workers in occupations with the most workplace fatalities earned an average of 7.9% less than the average American. • Half of the 10 states with the most workers in dangerous occupations were in the West. Overall, Wyoming ranked first, with 5.8% in the state working in the top 10 most dangerous occupations. Comparatively, states on the East Coast ranked among the lowest, leading with the District of Columbia (0.6%). The full report and methodology can be found at www.valuepenguin.com/work place-injuries-insurance-study. EMPLOYERS EYE INSURANCE BENEFITS AS A WAY TO ATTRACT, KEEP TALENT Facing a historically tight job market, many employers are looking to bolster their work place benefits to attract new talent and retain their existing workforce. In a LIMRA survey of U.S. private employers with 10 or more employees, 60% said they are considering

ficulty this year, and 44% say they have helped improve their overall financial health. “We’re at a critical moment in the em ployee-employer relationship. As we look to build more inclusive cultures and further support today’s workforce—including how and where our employees work—benefit communication is vital,” said Jenn Kischell, vice president, Workforce Engagement at MetLife. “In today’s volatile economic environment, ensuring workers understand and use their benefits is more important than ever for employees’ well-being, as well as overall retention.” AKASA, a developer of AI for healthcare operations, released findings from a new survey conducted on its behalf by YouGov, which highlights how patients often do not shop around for healthcare service pricing because they are unaware of publicly avail able pricing information is or do not believe there is competition in healthcare because of limited transparency. Respondents were asked: “Have you ever tried looking for prices for care or services needed?” The survey of more than 2,000 Americans found 64% have never sought out pricing for healthcare services. When looking deeper into the data, younger adults (18-34) tend to be more likely to research prices (45%) for healthcare services vs. older adults 55+ (27%). Addi tionally, patients with high-deductible health plans (41%) and individual plans (43%) are more motivated to research healthcare pric ing information than other groups. Additionally, respondents were asked: “Would knowing the price of care or ser vices ahead of time encourage you to shop around?” The survey found 58% of Ameri cans would be encouraged to shop around if pricing information was disclosed before nec essary healthcare procedures and services. MAJORITY OF HEALTHCARE CONSUMERS CONDITIONED TO NOT SHOP AROUND FOR THE BEST PRICE

“There’s clearly a gap between what many healthcare organizations—providers and insurance companies—think helps increase price transparency and the experience of patients in finding price information conveniently and in a manner that is easy to understand,” said Amy Raymond, VP of rev enue cycle operations at AKASA. “This is a deterrent for patients in seeking out the best price like they would in any other industry, which can be incredibly frustrating. In the survey, 36% indicated they have researched prices for healthcare services. Of these individuals, 60% would look to their insurance provider for pricing information, with nearly half (44%) reporting they would look on the websites of health insurers, and more than a quarter (29%) would call their health insurance company. (Respondents could select more than one option): • 44% would try looking for pricing infor mation on the health insurance company website • 39% would visit a physician or hospital website • 34% would opt to call their physician or hospital for pricing information • 32% would access a patient portal for the information • 29% would call their insurance company Additionally, 44% of survey respondents say their health insurance company does not provide pricing information for local healthcare providers, and 34% don’t know if this information is available. OVER ONE IN THREE WORKPLACE INJURY VICTIMS DON’T HAVE EMPLOYER-BASED HEALTH INSURANCE Employer-sponsored health insurance is supposed to offer access to affordable health care to Americans of all social and economic classes. Sadly, employer-sponsored health insurance is not common among employees who face a higher risk of workplace injury,

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