A great benefits plan can significantly decrease in value if your employees continue to choose low-quality, high-cost options when seeking out healthcare. From choosing a primary care physician to searching for a surgeon for a risky operation, many people feel alone as they make big decisions about their wellbeing.
This doesn’t have to be the case for your employees, however. Healthcare advocates are trained to make the care process easier for patients, and including their services in your benefits plan can ease your employees’ concerns while giving them access to a level of care they may never have thought to seek out on their own.
Here’s why an advocate can add value to your business’ benefits plan:
An Expert in Healthcare Navigation
If a tree fell on your house, you probably wouldn’t call a roofer first. Instead, you’d contact an insurance agent who could help ensure that the repairs are covered under your plan, affordable, and done right. What happens, though, if someone needs knee surgery? For most people, the answer is to visit an in-network physician. From there, it’s their job to navigate the healthcare system and somehow find the most reliable care at the lowest cost – something that many patients either can’t or won’t bother to do.
An advocate can help patients navigate the healthcare system, taking a significant amount of stress out of a process that is difficult by default. By including advocate services in your benefits plan, you’re enabling your employees to rest easier knowing that a professional in the field will be seeking out the best quality care at the lowest cost. Your employees can then stop worrying about where and how they’ll get treated and focus on their recovery.
Rejecting the Default Option
The modern healthcare system has taught society many habits that are difficult to break. For example, many people still get MRIs done at the hospital – a decision that can cost them around $3,200 out of pocket if their deductible is $5,000. An advocate explores the possibilities beyond what a patient might choose as their default treatment options, offering alternatives such as:
- Specialized care – An outpatient center or specialist could provide the same MRI for just $500.
- Alternative locations – Traveling an additional hour to a less expensive provider can potentially slash costs in half.
- Better quality providers – Do your employees know if their doctor was at the top of bottom of their class? An advocate will help direct patients to the care they deserve.
Searching for optimal care options is what advocates do, and the result can be massive savings and optimal care quality for your valued employees.
A Tool That Helps Everyone
Advocates don’t just help employees get the most out of their benefits – they themselves are a benefit. Better yet, your adviser can help build a plan for your business that enables your employees to get the most out of an advocate’s services. In a fully funded plan, for example, 60,000 employees may have just one advocate to share between them. But a high-quality self-funded plan may be able to provide one advocate per 5,000 employees.
The extent to which an advocate can create savings can mean that your business can save tens of thousands of dollars every year. If your employee needs shoulder surgery and an advocate can find them an outpatient center that can perform the procedure at half the cost of the local hospital, the $15,000 saved can easily justify you paying the employee’s deductible in exchange for them using the advocate’s services. Including an advocate in your company’s benefits plan isn’t just a perk; it’s a tool that positively impacts everyone involved, from the employees to the company as a whole.
Your Benefits Co-Pilot
The healthcare industry is complicated, and no one should feel like they have to navigate it alone. An advocate can act as a guiding force for your employees, helping them through the confusing and difficult steps required to get the best quality care at the lowest cost. By looking beyond the default healthcare choices many patients make, they can lead your employees to providers and treatment that can save them and you thousands of dollars, making your workplace happier and healthier.
Contact us today to learn more about how an advocate can add value to your benefits plan.
