- Consider the tax advantages of Flexible Spending Accounts for both you and your employees.
- Explore innovative plan options to give employees more choices and more involvement in plan selection and health benefits management.
- Encourage employees to take advantage of in-network providers to reduce co-payments.
- Promote the use of formulary and/or generic medications. Use mail order for maintenance drugs to save even more on out-of-pocket expenses.
- Talk about the true costs of services, relating it to everyday things. It’s often a real eye-opener. Most people probably aren’t aware the average physician office visit costs about $159 or that an appendectomy averages more than $11,000.
- Share information on when to use the emergency room versus urgent care or the physician office. ER co-payments are usually three to four times higher.
- Partner with a plan that offers the latest in electronic technology. This can help achieve efficiencies in administrative costs and time.
- Encourage employees to read their Explanation of Benefits. This can help detect errors in billing and bring to light fraudulent, questionable or miscoded claims. In 2003, Anthem avoided paying more than $33.1 million in nonlegitimate claims with the help of its customers. This directly affects your premium costs.
- Offer programs to keep employees healthy and productive.
