Should I hire someone to manage my benefits?

The challenge with putting a benefits plan together is twofold.

First: Do you have anyone that can devote the necessary time and effort into crafting the proper plan?

Second: Do you have someone that can devote the necessary time to maintain that plan and is that the most cost effective option?

Let me answer the first question, many times CFO’s, CEO’s, and HR people are busy handling multiple problems and don’t have the time necessary to craft the right plan.

With an ever changing landscape of challenges, is your plan current?

"Have there been changes to the census (new employees, new families etc)?", "Have there been coverage changes (Benefit Changes, Deductible Changes)?" or "Has a provider changed (HIP & GHI have become Emblem in NY)?"

These are just a few of the questions that need to be asked, but with proper leg work can be answered.

The more complex questions become “how many plans do we offer?”, “Do we offer voluntary benefits?”, “How often do we review our claims history?”, “Are we compliant with ERISA?”.

This is why its so important to outsource your benefits to someone qualified that can devote the necessary time, that ONLY focuses on employee benefits.

This ties right into the second question, do you have someone who can service and maintain your benefits?

This usually falls into two categories, for larger companies a Human Resources Person and for smaller companies an office manager.

A Human Resources Person is more equipped to handle any situations that might arise but as companies get larger, the question becomes “Do we have sufficient HR Representatives handle the activity?” and "Who can they turn to if they have a problem?"

The challenge that office managers face, is they have multiple responsibilities, so benefits are typically not a priority. This can create a “fend for yourself” environment which breeds resentment by employees, where problems aren’t addressed fast enough and employees have to figure things out on their own.

Either way both situations aren’t ideal, this is why it’s valuable to have a benefits company not just handling your plan implementation but also your maintenance.

This way the office manager can manage the office!

If you have any questions you can always reach me at 631-338-9917.

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Should my company have an employee advocacy program to help my employees with their medical benefits?

The majority of the time that you speak with business owners they’ll tell you “I don’t handle the benefits”. It’s usually the CFO, Office Manager, or HR Representative. The challenge they face is benefits are PART OF THEIR JOB, not THEIR ENTIRE JOB.

This causes quite the dilemma because benefit management is an around the clock job. Most of the aforementioned people can handle new employee paperwork or answering a simple question about a Co-Payment.

But what about the tough questions that happen everyday?

What about questions like “Why was my claim rejected?”, “Is this procedure covered?”, or “How do I appeal this bill?”

That’s where they usually refer the employee to the insurance company. Now let me ask you a question, Who’s looking out for your employees best interests? Do you think if your employee calls the insurance company they can actually get someone on the phone, nevertheless get the problem resolved in a timely manner?

We live in a world of answering machines, when a last resort is an actual person.

That’s why a business should have an employee advocacy program. Whenever you’re dealing with insurance companies it can be confusing, frustrating and difficult. An employee advocacy program provides a central administration point to help employees manage problematic claims issues. It serves as the personal benefits advocate for every employee to make sure they receive all of the benefits you've intended to give them. Employees simply make one phone call and an employee advocate helps them solve any issues directly with their provider.

This results in more productive work time and fewer distractions for everyone involved!

Who's advocating for you and your employees?

If you have any questions you can always reach me at 631-338-9917.

Related Posts: Should I hire someone to manage my benefits?

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