Many employers are shifting to high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to provide more choice and offset rising health care costs, but just bringing an HDHP into the mix is not enough. In fact, data shows one-quarter of Americans with an HDHP will forgo medical treatment to avoid high medical costs.
As health care costs rise, employers are relying on brokers to guide them on creative plan designs and offerings that can help them contain costs while still meeting employee needs. Telemedicine (and telehealth consultations) have arisen as one such solution. It's a great alternative for non-emergency treatment and visits to a primary care physician, and has a positive impact on cost and employee well-being, as it provides convenient and affordable access to quality health care.
Employers and providers have taken note. About 75 percent of the nation's employers provide coverage for the digital health service. But a National Business Group on Health survey of large employers' health plan design found that only 3 percent of employees used telemedicine services in 2016. The problem?
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Simply offering telehealth isn't enough; a successful strategy requires engagement and communication tactics.
Education
To encourage employees to take advantage of telemedicine's benefit, employers and brokers should encourage participation by focusing on educating their workforce about the availability of the service and its cost-effectiveness. Usually, employees hear about an added benefit once a year during open enrollment — but once is not enough. Offering year-round educational tools and reminders about the benefits of telemedicine encourages higher adoption and provides employees with a complete view of what digital health can offer.
Today's benefit professionals and brokers wear two hats. They're taking on the additional role of marketer to effectively communicate available benefits and corresponding information to targeted employee groups.
This need has arisen recently as benefits have become far more complex and require more decision-making from the end user. A 2015 Unum Benefits Buyers Study found that 86 percent of people with health insurance can't explain the concepts of deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance and out-of-pocket maximums.
Part of a benefit professional's job is coming up with new channels and formats for communication. One that's incredibly effective, especially for plan changes or additions, is video. Health plan videos that are concise and easy-to-understand provide an avenue to accurately educate all employees without having to create static text for fliers, mailers or email. In addition to saving time, it's an inexpensive option to generate awareness while offering clarity and taking the confusion out of benefit choices.
Communication
To drive more meaningful engagement, it's important to create tailored employee communications based on demographics and other data. Employees need to understand the service and be able to see and understand advantages such as potential savings. It's important to consider which channel would connect best with each audience.
For example, if you employ many millennials or gen Z workers, digital channels like video, text messages, newsletters and social may be more effective. On the other hand, if you're trying to communicate with baby boomers, they may prefer face-to-face communication, like benefit fairs or lunch presentations. Remote employees will look for a landing page, video or email designed with them in mind. Personalized communication channels allow employees to receive the information they need in a digestible format, and flexible and tailored tools reinforce the employers' brand — ultimately driving more meaningful engagement.
Resonate
Just as important as the communication channel is the message. The "what's in it for me" approach is a reminder to focus on the audience and consider what's most important to them. To get employees to engage and adopt telehealth services — and see the true value of its benefits — the WIIFM must be considered to communicate in a way that grabs their attention.
A telehealth WIIFM example is that as the broker or employer, you want a target audience to use the telehealth services the next time they are sick or need care. Rather than using the phrase "Don't Forget to Consider Telehealth the Next Time You're Sick," on an email blast, think about what's in it for them and what will gain their attention. Using a subject line like "Save Money and Time with Telehealth" is more compelling. Or, perhaps for some, their hesitation to use the service is due to a misperception that it's low quality care. Understanding what each of your stakeholder groups will care about will help you affect change.
In the end, just launching an employee benefit isn't enough to get people to use it. Employee engagement and effective communication are intimately linked, and brokers and employers need to ensure that their user base is taking advantage of all the benefits and services offered.
The telemedicine market is poised to grow as more employers, brokers and employees are willing to consider a more convenient and inexpensive care option. If you're paying for and offering the solution, making sure it serves its purpose starts with adoption. Whether convincing employees to adopt telemedicine through personalized communication or educating through video, articulating the value of benefits in a way that employees understand will persuade them to act.
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