Taking the Homebuyer Approach to Electing Medical Benefits

The median mortgage payment in the U.S. is about $2,200 per month.¹ The average cost of health insurance for a family of four in the U.S. is about $1,997.² Despite the similar financial commitment involved, the decision-making process for selecting a house and electing medical benefits could not be more different.

The average homebuyer spends weeks, if not months, selecting the perfect house. In stark contrast, electing their medical benefits during an annual open enrollment takes them less than an hour on average.³

Why is the process of electing benefits so different from buying a house?

One reason for the disparity could be the tangible nature of purchasing a house. It's a physical asset you can see, touch, and visit, making the decision more engaging and concrete. On the other hand, electing medical benefits seems abstract and complex.

The disparity between these two crucial life decisions boils down to several factors:

1. Lack of information: Many employees do not fully understand their benefits and need help understanding the offered benefits, according to research.^4,5,6 They often don't feel properly educated to make the right benefits decision. Unlike the housing market where data is plentiful and easily accessible, benefits information can be complex and difficult to navigate.
2. Insufficient support: Homebuyers have realtors to guide them through the process, offering expert advice and personalized options. They also have access to a plethora of handy tools to estimate the cost of the house including mortgage payment, property tax, etc. Employees electing benefits typically lack similar support to determine out of pocket costs, cost of prescription drugs, etc.
3. Lack of prioritization: Many people view their benefits decision as a mundane administrative task whereas buying a house is viewed as a significant decision. The lack of prioritization stems from the immediacy of the impact. Buying a house seems like a monumental event. However, the implications of choosing the wrong plan, for instance, may not become apparent until a medical emergency arises.

What are the pitfalls of poor benefits decisions?

According to a survey in 2022, 43% of working-age adults were underinsured in the U.S.⁷ The risks of being underinsured range from limited access to healthcare and poor quality of care to large medical debt, delayed care, and worse. Medical debt is one of the top reasons for bankruptcy and the role of insufficient insurance in this regard cannot be discounted.⁸

While being underinsured can pose significant risks, being over insured also comes with its own set of challenges. Over insured can mean electing a plan with benefits that surpass your needs, and it can end up being excessive, wasteful, and expensive. What the employees need is the support to help educate them so they can elect the optimal medical benefits based on their needs. Just as they would expect guidance when understanding factors like interest rates, neighborhood quality, and long-term investment when buying a house, they also need clear information to elect their benefits.

Bridging the gap: TriNet and Healthee

When buying a house, there are many important things to consider such as the schools in the area, the neighborhood, access to amenities, and extra costs like property tax, utilities, etc. Electing a medical plan, too, involves critical considerations such as the doctors in the plan's network, plan deductibles, coinsurance, and the cost of prescription drugs.

Fortunately, there are companies like TriNet and Healthee that recognize the importance of benefits and the benefits election decision. We have introduced the benefits decision support tool powered by Healthee that takes the complexity out of benefit decisions.

It provides worksite employees with much-needed support and walks them through the process of electing benefits, empowering them to make an informed choice. It is a completely optional process where employees can choose whether to use assistance.

The tool prompts worksite employees to answer a few simple questions like their number of dependents, existing providers, and expected inpatient and outpatient procedure or surgeries.

After this, in a few steps outlined below, employees can elect the benefits plan.

• An AI-powered interface analyzes TriNet-sponsored plans, providing clear cost breakdowns and financial comparisons in an easy-to-navigate grid.
• Digital tools instantly match employee health needs with benefits data, offering immediate answers on coverage and deductibles.
• Armed with specific benefits information, employees more easily complete enrollment tasks for medical, dental, and vision plans.

Conclusion

While many employees may not currently invest much effort into electing their medical benefits as they do when buying a house, this dynamic needs to change. AI-powered benefits decision support tool helps employees better understand their insurance needs and available options. This can also help boost benefits enrollment rates and lead to increased satisfaction with the benefits package.

Through our relationship with Healthee, TriNet aims to facilitate a benefits election process that is as thorough and thoughtful as purchasing a home.

Sources:

¹ Mortgage Application Payments Decreased 1.6 Percent to $2,219 in May | MBA (mba.org)

²What's the Average Cost of Family Health Insurance? | eHealth (ehealthinsurance.com)

³Too Much Choice? Workers Not Spending Much Time on Health Plan Decisions | Benefits Pro (benefitspro.com)

⁴ Employees Want Voluntary Benefits but Don't Always Understand Them | SHRM (shrm.org)

⁵Number of The Day: Benefits Knowledge | Human Resource Executive (hrexecutive.com)

⁶Employees Want Help Understanding Benefits Offered by Employers | Ameritas (ameritas.com)

⁷The State of U.S. Health Insurance in 2022 | The Commonwealth Fund (commonwealthfund.org)

⁸Why Americans Are Drowning in Medical Debt | Marketplace (marketplace.org)

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