Transitioning to High Deductible Health Plans

High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) are medical insurance plans that have high annual deductibles (the amount a patient needs to pay out of pocked before the insurance kicks in). How high? Well that depends on your plan, but it can range as high as $6,550 for an individual or $13,100 for a family. These plans are almost always paired with a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) to help employees handle the out-of-pocket costs. HDHPs are very popular because they give employers an effective way to decrease healthcare costs.

Despite all the benefits, High Deductible Health Plans can have a bad reputation in corporate settings. While employees and employers end up paying less per month, employees will have to pay a lot more for any medical emergency before their health insurance kicks in. Companies that make the switch without being careful in their communications and their overall strategy can be seen as cheap and uncaring to their employees.

However, High Deductible Health Plans aren’t all that bad. The combination of a HDHP and an HSA has the potential to save a lot of money for employees. Furthermore, employers can deposit money into Health Savings Accounts at anytime, making it a flexible employee benefit for corporations to utilize. If you’re thinking that this method of health care is right for your company, here are a few ways to make the transition easier:

Offer both

Allow employees to select whether they enroll in a high deductible health plan or a low deductible health plan. There are plenty of people who feel that high deductible plans fit their lifestyle better. This satisfies all parties without being heavy-handed.

Incentivize HSA deposits

A great way to encourage employees to utilize Health Savings Accounts is to offer employer deposits based off of their participation in a wellness program. This is a win-win situation as employees are rewarded for healthy habits and therefore less likely to become sick. IncentFit specializes in designing these types of incentive programs and can automate the entire process of adding dollars to the HSA for you.

Educate

HDHP and HSAs can be scary if you don’t know much about them. Provide plenty of informational material for employees to look over. Include plan comparisons and financial projections so that staff can see all of the additional benefits HSAs can have if utilized correctly.

Plenty of people love having a high deductible plan because it gives them greater control of their money. Rewarding healthy habits with deposits into their Health Savings Accounts will definitely help those who are uncomfortable with the switch. Ask us how Incentfit can make this process easy today.