The Annual Enrollment Season Takes on New Significance, Given the Economy, Says Aon Consulting
01 Ottobre 2008 - 5:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
Workers should consider enrolling in wellness offerings as a way to
improve health and reduce medical spend CHICAGO, Oct. 1
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With 2009 just around the corner,
organizations nationwide are conducting their annual benefits
enrollment process, which gives workers a chance to enroll or
change their enrollment status in their employers' healthcare and
financial protection plans. While the enrollment process may appear
to be just another administrative chore, the choices workers make
during this time will impact their health care and financial
protection throughout 2009, and beyond, according to Aon Consulting
Worldwide, the global human capital consulting organization of Aon
Corporation (NYSE:AOC). (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO) "The
annual enrollment process is designed for workers to maximize their
healthcare dollars in the coming year," said Lynn Devany, vice
president with Aon Consulting. "While this process is always
important, it's met with greater significance this year, given the
economy and the need for many to stretch their dollars as much as
possible. Employees need to think through their options and related
expenses, and balance that with their needs and expectations for
the upcoming year. The tools and materials provided by employers
will go a long way toward making educated decisions." The following
will help workers navigate through the annual enrollment process so
they can be prepared and make informed enrollment choices. 1.
Determine your healthcare needs up front: A good indication of how
you and your family will utilize healthcare coverage in 2009 is to
examine your current usage. Look at how you currently use
healthcare for routine types of services, such as preventive and
wellness care, annual physicals, office visits and exams. Then,
factor in those healthcare services you expect to need in 2009 --
such as maternity care or scheduled procedures. This will provide a
picture of how much care you and your family are likely to require
in the coming year. 2. Know your risk tolerance: When offered a
choice of healthcare plans, it is important to determine your risk
tolerance around the costs for coverage and for care. Ask yourself
if you are more comfortable paying a higher fixed cost per-paycheck
for coverage to pay less out-of-pocket for care and services. Or,
do you prefer to pay less up front, but more when you need
healthcare services. Asking questions like these will help you
understand how to invest your healthcare dollars during the year.
3. Make the most of tools and resources: Take time to carefully
review the annual enrollment communication your employer provides
and share it with your family. Attend employee meetings and ask
human resources personnel when you need help to understand your
healthcare choices. Many employers now offer personalized online
modeling tools where you can input your own healthcare information,
services and costs and see how they are calculated under each plan
option offered. Doing some homework up front can help you make
educated enrollment decisions that really pay off. 4. Consider
other coverage options: If you have other healthcare coverage
available -- through your spouse's employer, for example -- you
should compare his/her plan choices and costs to your own to
determine which is right for you and your family. If you're
considering choosing coverage under both plans, make sure you
understand how the two plans coordinate coverage. In some cases, by
choosing coverage under two healthcare plans, you may end up paying
for coverage you don't need. 5. Increase your tax savings: If
offered, take advantage of your employer-sponsored Healthcare
Flexible Spending Account (FSA). An FSA has a tax advantage that
allows your money to go farther when paying out-of-pocket for
healthcare expenses during the year. 6. Protect your family's
finances: Remember that annual enrollment means more than just
making healthcare decisions. Benefit plans, such as life,
accidental death and dismemberment and disability insurance, can
help protect you and your family financially in the event of a
death, serious injury or illness. To help determine the type of
coverage you need, ask yourself how your family would meet their
immediate and long-term financial obligations were you to pass away
or become injured or ill. Then, consider your personal finances and
the financial protection plans available from your employer. By
assessing your financial needs and reviewing your available benefit
plan options, you can choose coverage that will help to ensure that
your family and finances are protected. 7. Don't take "passive
enrollment" passively: The best way to ensure that you and your
family receive the healthcare and financial protection coverage you
want and need is to review and evaluate your options every year.
While your employer may offer "passive enrollment" -- where your
current coverage rolls over into the next year -- it's important
for you to take the time to examine your healthcare and financial
protection needs for the coming year and decide what benefit plan
choices help you meet those needs for 2009. Trends in Wellness
Programs Another key consideration for workers during this annual
enrollment season should be wellness programs, according to Aon
Consulting. Employers today are recognizing the link between
employee lifestyle behaviors and medical spend, and are responding
with wellness programs such as disease management and smoking
cession. These programs focus on the root causes of chronic
conditions to reduce health risk factors among employees and
dependents, which lead to a lower rate of increase in healthcare
costs. "Many organizations have invested significant resources in
wellness initiatives to improve workforce health and productivity,
and reduce long-term healthcare costs," said John Zern, U.S. Health
& Benefits Practice director with Aon Consulting. "When
comparing health plan options, employees should take into account
preventive care coverage, and the availability of wellness
programs. These clearly provide returns in the form of better
health and can be accompanied by cash incentives-creating an
immediate financial return." According to Aon Consulting's 2008
Benefits & Talent Survey, the top five wellness programs
employers implemented this year include: -- Promotion of
exercise/physical activity -- 68 percent -- Disease management
programs -- 60 percent -- Health risk appraisals -- 48 percent --
Biometric screening -- 47 percent -- Telephonic health care
coaching -- 46 percent To motivate workers to participate in these
programs, employers offer incentives. For example, 22 percent of
organizations offer non-monetary incentives such as gift cards,
merchandise and a raffle, and 21 percent offer other awards such as
wellness credits and gym membership reimbursement. Nearly 10
percent offer a premium reduction. Information on Aon Consulting's
annual enrollment solutions can be found by clicking on
http://www.aon.com/results. About Aon Consulting Aon Consulting
Worldwide is among the top global human capital consulting firms,
with 2007 revenues of $1.352 billion and 6,335 professionals in 117
offices worldwide. Aon Consulting is shaping the workplace of the
future through benefits, talent management and rewards strategies
and solutions. Aon Consulting was named the best employee benefit
consulting firm by the readers of Business Insurance magazine in
2006, 2007 and 2008. For more information on Aon, please visit
http://www.aon.mediaroom.com/. About Aon Aon Corporation (NYSE:AOC)
is the leading global provider of risk management services,
insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management
consulting. Through its 36,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon readily
delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk
management and workforce productivity solutions. Our
industry-leading global resources, technical expertise and industry
knowledge are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in
more than 120 countries. Aon was named the world's best broker by
Euromoney magazine's 2008 Insurance Survey. In 2008, Aon ranked
highest on the Business Insurance ranking of the world's largest
insurance brokers based on commercial retail, wholesale,
reinsurance and personal lines brokerage revenues. Aon also was
ranked by A.M. Best as the number one insurance broker based on
brokerage revenues in 2007 and 2008, and was voted best insurance
intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary, and best employee
benefits consulting firm in 2007 and 2008 by the readers of
Business Insurance. For more information on Aon, log onto
http://www.aon.com/. For more information, contact: Joe Micucci
312-381-4786
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aon Corporation CONTACT:
Joe Micucci of Aon, +1-312-381-4786, Web site: http://www.aon.com/
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