Reduce Your Health Plan Costs, Give Back and Increase Productivity

I was asked to attend a membership meeting last week for an organization we are working with and give a brief introduction to the “Discount Benefits” program we are launching over the summer. I thought the timing of the presentation was interesting because prior to my slot in the agenda, the organization had their medical benefits insurance broker on hand to discuss the recent changes and increased costs in their medical plan. Predictably, attendees voiced their frustrations in how their “co-pays” increased by $20, had to use “in-network” providers, and if they travelled outside the NYC tri-state area, a whole new set of rules applied. Further, the acronyms of “PPO”, POS”, “HMO”, “PCP” and a few other I do not even recall made for very interesting theatre and added to the confusion. This meeting very educational and validating for me in many ways because I again witnessed first-hand what I share with (prospective) partners…that although current economic conditions are requiring companies to change their employee benefits, the perceived savings result may be very different than what a company is expecting.

According to Mercer, and I agree with this through my own experience, many companies fail to manage employee engagement and absence rates effectively because of a lack of good data. This should not be a shock because almost every company is busy trying to address health and benefit plans to save money and keep their business profitable. When it comes to managing employee absence, less than 50% of all companies collect data on the cause of absence and about one-third collect data on the exact cause of absence. When you look at today’s volatile, increasingly competitive environment it is imperative that employers identify ASAP the causes of absence so that productivity, customer service and engagement can be maximized.

An employer can take a very simplistic approach in calculating what absence costs amount to over the course of the year. Simply take the number of sick days and multiply what was paid out in compensation over those days and there it is…a numerical cost to absence that many people would agree with. These figures are probably just glossed over at a management meeting and accepted as a cost of doing business. However, there are many other factors that need to be accounted for:
· What did it cost for other employees to “cover the desk”?
· How many phone calls got returned in a timely manner?
· What happens to morale in the area impacted by absence?
· Were standards of service met?
· How many customers go elsewhere or do not buy because of a drop or change in service level?
· Do other areas of your organization “bottleneck” a day or two later, causing overtime or additional shifts to be worked, when other areas return to capacity?
· Were price concessions given to overcome poor service levels?
· And it goes on and on…

Again, per Mercer, in 2008 the average employee calls out sick 5.1 days per year. That does not include “unmarked” instances such as coming in late, leaving early, taking an extended lunch period to attend to health related issues or not being as productive as possible because of not properly addressing a health issue (how many people go to work with head colds, aches, etc and are less productive?). If you happen to be a company where employee engagement/ satisfaction is on the low end, the number of sick days will rise accordingly, up to 10 days per year. Think about it, who wants to be where they are not happy?

What if there were other ways?

TelaDocTM is an option that employers need to consider in today’s marketplace. By offering this benefit, employers can introduce something new, reduce absence, increase productivity and save money all at the same time! This service gives employees (and their family age 10 and above) telephone access 24/7/365 to board certified, state licensed physicians that use telephone medical consults to diagnose a member’s non-urgent medical condition. Did you know that 72% of doctor visits, including ER and Urgent Care visits, are for non-emergency reasons where telemedicine can diagnose and treat? I am a member of this service myself and over the past six months, it has saved my family at least 5 visits to our primary doctor, 2 visits to an “Urgent Care/ ER” type facility and saved my vacation. Additionally, I saved about $300 in co-pays.

I try not to use this space to specifically advertise or promote my website, but in this case I ask you to check it out and read up on the benefits of TelaDocTM. There is also a YouTube video link I invite readers to view that does a great job illustrating what I am talking about here. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnDSFQ9SV_E.

Imagine if an owner of a 100 employee company can potentially save $15,000 to $30,000 per year? A larger organization can potentially save hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per year if associates re-direct doctor visits and ER/ Urgent Care visits to TelaDocTM. I strongly urge leaders of both employment and membership organizations to consider making this type of benefit a part of their offerings. This is one of the biggest win-win opportunities I have ever seen…why not start today?


Introducing a benefit like TelaDocTM can save organizations a lot of money when you consider absence reduction and productivity increases to hit the national average.














Information herein represents opinions and thoughts of the author & is intended for informational purposes only.