How to Give Your Employees Access to High-Quality Healthcare

Employees make hundreds of healthcare decisions each year. Each one affects your bottom line. And if they’re making those decisions in the dark, the cost of care and your insurance premiums will keep rising.

When your team can't figure out which doctor to see, what procedures they need, or how much care will cost, it creates problems. Poor healthcare choices drive up claims costs, premiums keep climbing, and everyone gets frustrated.

Here's what we know: healthcare costs drive health insurance costs. When you help employees make better healthcare decisions, you can better control your overall costs.

Why Current Healthcare Benefits Need Help

Many health insurance plans put employees in charge of navigating their healthcare alone. They get a benefits booklet, access to a website, and are expected to make informed decisions about complex medical situations.

This approach often falls short because healthcare pricing can be confusing, employees may not have the medical background to evaluate options, and quality information about providers isn't always easy to find.

When employees make decisions without proper support:

• Routine procedures happen at higher-cost facilities

• Minor health issues develop into serious conditions

• Emergency room visits increase for non-emergency situations

• Prescription costs stay high when alternatives exist

Three Ways to Help Your Employees

1. Provide Expert Guidance

Healthcare can be overwhelming. Rather than expecting your team to research doctors, compare costs, or decode benefits alone, consider providing access to healthcare experts.

These professionals can explain benefit coverage in straightforward terms, research provider quality and cost information, coordinate care between specialists, and help employees understand how choices affect their out-of-pocket costs.

2. Reach Out Before Issues Become Claims

The most effective healthcare support happens before someone needs to file a claim. Have your support team proactively connect with employees who might benefit most from guidance.

This includes reaching out to employees with chronic conditions, connecting with team members before scheduled procedures, following up after recent medical care, and sharing preventive care information.

This approach helps prevent small health issues from becoming larger, more expensive problems.

3. Make Support Easy to Access

For healthcare support to work, it needs to be convenient. Look for solutions that offer mobile apps linking employees with support teams, text messaging for quick questions, phone support with reasonable wait times, and easy access to benefit information.

When getting help is as simple as sending a text, employees are more likely to seek guidance before making healthcare decisions.

Here's How This Works

A member needs knee surgery. Instead of figuring out provider options alone, she connects with a healthcare expert.

The expert reviews their benefits, researches orthopedic surgeons in her area, and shares quality and cost information. They help her understand that while one surgeon charges $15,000, another equally qualified surgeon offers the same service for $8,000.

The expert coordinates pre-authorization, helps schedule the procedure, and follows up afterward. They get excellent care at a reasonable cost, and your company saves money.

What This Means for Your Organization

When employees have access to expert guidance, proactive support, and convenient communication, you'll see:

• Lower claims costs because employees make informed decisions

• Higher employee satisfaction because they feel supported

• More stable premiums because lower claims reduce pressure for increases

• Better productivity because employees spend less time managing healthcare issues

Moving Forward

Employees are doing their best, but the healthcare system isn’t exactly user-friendly. Traditional healthcare benefits often leave employees to navigate complex medical decisions alone. When people don't have the right support, it leads to higher costs and frustration.

By providing expert guidance, proactive outreach, and convenient communication, you can help employees access high-quality healthcare while managing costs more effectively.