The last several years have seen tremendous changes in the world of health insurance. These changes not only affect individuals, but they also affect companies seeking to provide health insurance benefits to their employees. Some of the most important new developments for employers involve the rise of Private Employer Group Exchanges. These Private Exchanges allow businesses many strong advantages in the marketplace, as well as giving them the freedom to build a plan around their company’s needs.
Putting Employers In Charge
While the government created the Healthcare.gov public exchange, a private exchange is sponsored by the employer. These private exchanges are created around the needs of the employees and provide an online marketplace of benefits where employees can shop for insurance using an account balance provided by the employer and also using their own money. This platform provides far more coverage options than what is typically available to employees, including multiple health plans, dental, vision and other types of voluntary benefits.
In a Private Employer Group Exchange, the employer is able to define the amount of money that will go toward each employee’s benefits. This is important because employers understand the needs of their employees better than an insurance executive and certainly better than those controlling the public exchanges.
Giving Employees a Choice
Once the employer has designated the amount that it wishes to contribute toward each employee’s benefits, the employees are then free to use the funds to purchase the coverages that best meet their own individual needs. This puts the right amount of power into the hands of the individuals who will actually be using the policy. Employees also have the ability to use their own money to purchase additional benefits if they see fit.
Companies that are able to offer health insurance benefits through a Private Employer Group Exchange are able to increase retention and increase job satisfaction for their employees. (If employees find it difficult to get coverage through their company, they are far more likely to look for another company that provides better benefits.)
Decision Support Tools
Is it possible to offer more options and keep the decision process easy for your employees? Absolutely. A quality private exchange technology should provide interactive enrollment support along with live assistance to employees. This presents a whole new approach to benefits shopping, enrollment, and education, helping employees make more informed and personalized decisions across a range of benefits offerings – all through an engaging online experience.
Today’s decision support tools guide employees through the buying process by asking a few simple questions and then suggests the plans that fit their individual needs. Decision support tools should be fully integrated into the shopping and enrollment platform for a seamless consumer experience.
You won’t need to field questions from your employees about which plan to choose. A private exchange technology along with licensed Benefits counselors will take care of that for you.
Reduced Administration
All changes, additions, terminations, and billing administration are handled through a Private Exchange, which acts as an Online HR administrative portal. Once the exchange is set up, there is little to no paperwork involved. Through their own online account, employees can access their coverage information, print ID cards, search networks, and request changes. This relieves HR administrators from a lot of the work that drives them nuts, allowing them to focus on other important activities more vital to running the business.
What Member Benefits Has To Offer
The Private Employer Group Exchange is an increasingly popular option for many businesses, thanks to how customizable and flexible it is. Having strong insurance options is critical to attracting and retaining great employees, and many companies are reaping the benefits of making the switch. At the Spark Health Insurance Marketplace, we know that no two companies have the exact same needs for their employee benefits, so we work with each company to find the right group plan to fit their specific needs.
In addition to the Private Employer Group Exchange, the Spark Health Insurance Marketplace also offers an Individual Marketplace that is open to individual members of Spark, their employees, and their families. In essence, this option allows individuals to shop for insurance without any employer involvement.
If you are ready to attract and keep the best employees, design the perfect benefits plan for your company, and save valuable time and money, contact the Spark Health Insurance Marketplace today. Request a quote and we’ll give you a preview of the how a private exchange would work for your company.