2022 employer outlook: Ongoing challenges in the COVID era

A new report on employee benefits finds American businesses face a range of challenges as the COVID-19 era continues, and that benefit offerings are struggling to keep pace with the needs of workers.

The USI Employee Benefits Market Outlook looked a range of issues, from telehealth to remote work to financial wellness, and concluded that employers are still in the middle of a changing benefits landscape, with more uncertainty to come.

“The C-suite has tough work ahead to negotiate the varied challenges of an ongoing pandemic, and decision-makers will need to stay on top of trends in health care, compliance, and benefits in order to develop thoughtful mitigation strategies,” said Arthur Hall, employee benefits national practice leader for USI.

Flexibility and inclusion continue to be top priorities

The report found that in a highly competitive labor market, employers will need to pay close attention to workers’ concerns around issues such as work flexibility and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. “Higher wages may not be enough to stem the tide,” the report said. “Employees want to feel like they are being valued and viewed as a whole person—and will seek employers that do so.”

Inclusive policies can be improved by tweaking current benefit plans, the report said, such as improving benefits that support access to health care, financial wellness, and inclusive parenthood offerings.

Remote work continues to be attractive to many workers, the report found, noting that a Gallup survey found that 54% of employees who have tried working remotely prefer a hybrid at-home/in-office arrangement; and 37% said they wanted to work from home exclusively.

The report added that it’s important for employers and managers to carefully consider what work can be done remotely. “Some managers still cling to old assumptions, so it is important for employers to take an unbiased look at which positions can and can’t be performed remotely,” the study said.

Health management, cost issues remain daunting

Other landmines that employers must navigate include encouraging preventive health care for workers, dealing with rising drug costs, and adapting to other industry changes such as the new No Surprises Act regulations.

The latter issue is overall a positive development for consumers, as it limits the practice of hitting patients with high, out-of-network bills for health care treatment. But the report pointed out that since the act has just gone into effect, compliance issues may emerge for employers who have self-funded health plans. “While the carrier is responsible for compliance for fully-insured plans, for self-funded group health plans, the plan sponsor (employer) is responsible and will need to work closely with its third-party administrator (TPA) to comply with these rules,” the report said.

The report also reviewed issues around population health management, saying that despite many efforts, strategies for keeping costs down have had mixed success. The report suggested that employers should emphasize primary health care with workers to prevent or minimize costly treatments down the road.

“USI’s claims data also shows that 70% to 80% of adult plan members do not engage in annual primary care visits, while 50% to 60% of plan members do not receive recommended cancer screenings,” the report said. “Without regular check-ins and recommended screenings, conditions go unmanaged until serious medical intervention—such as hospitalization or high-cost treatment—is needed.”