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Gallagher executive links weak benefits communication to high health costs
An Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. executive said employers can spend up to $20,000 per employee annually on health plans while investing under $10 per employee to help workers navigate them.
US employers are spending up to $20,000 per employee each year on health plans but investing less than $10 per employee communicating those benefits, a structural gap that Gallagher argues leads workers to underuse coverage, according to Insurance Business.
John Tournet, a senior vice president of benefits consulting at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., said the communications imbalance is especially damaging because employees typically encounter the healthcare system at moments of maximum stress, such as a diagnosis, an injury, or a billing dispute.
Tournet pointed to research cited by the outlet from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has documented a persistent gap between the richness of employer-sponsored plans and employees' understanding of how to use them, contributing to unnecessary emergency room visits, duplicate testing, and out-of-network costs.
As a remedy, Tournet described a “one quarterback” navigation model that consolidates the benefits experience into one phone number, one email, one website, and one real person, with artificial intelligence layered in to personalize help based on claims data, demographics, provider quality signals, and an employee's deductible status.