3 things to know when recommending health care navigation to employers

The American workforce is growing increasingly uninspired by anything standard or expected when it comes to their employment experience and work environment.

As a result, creating and marketing a strong employment brand has become critical for human resources professionals who want to differentiate their organization as an employer of choice. Benefits consultants can help clients achieve this goal by recommending the right blend of benefits options and personalized support, which can turn a standard benefits offering into a highly valuable experience that supports all aspects of employee health and wellbeing.

Why does this matter/? In today’s hiring environment, the value of a positive benefits experience cannot be overlooked. Consider the fact that nearly 80% of employees who recently used the health care system experienced an average of three challenges; this complexity is causing employees’ physical and mental wellbeing to suffer. This could be why only 29% of employees say they are very satisfied with their health benefits and just 66% say they feel any satisfaction at all.

How health care navigation can help differentiate your clients

In the race for talent, you can help your clients differentiate their organization by offering health care navigation.

Health care navigation is a solution that employers can offer as part of their comprehensive benefits program. Most health care navigation companies offer platforms that connect employee members to their covered care delivery options and help employees better utilize their health insurance.

However, only health care navigation that is coupled with care coordination minimizes complexity and acts as an extension of a client’s HR team, providing individual support to employees and their families. This approach to navigation gives employees the information they need to make decisions and take action to achieve optimal health care outcomes. This results in more informed and efficient utilization of benefits, highly engaged health plan members, better health outcomes at lower costs, and a workforce that feels supported and care for.

The ideal health care navigation partner can intervene early in an employee’s  journey, offering proactive support and clinical guidance with critical decisions such as identifying providers, managing complex diagnoses, and completing claims paperwork. They also help streamline the administration of point solutions and increase employee utilization of their total benefits ecosystem.

3 things to know when recommending navigation

Your clients have an array of decisions to make when designing and managing a benefits program. As consultants, you can help them by understanding how health care navigation can bring diverse and disparate offerings together into a seamless experience for their organization, their human resources team, and their employees. Below are the top three factors that benefits consultants said were paramount in choosing a navigation partner during a 2021 industry survey.

1. Offers a single point of contact for employees The ideal navigation partner gives employees omnichannel access to their benefits through a portal, mobile app and by phone, and delivers personal and empathetic support. Better access means more engagement and a better experience, making it more likely employees will use their benefits appropriately.

2. Supports employees with clinical expertise In addition to offering provider and claims support, the ideal health care navigation partner will offer employees direct access to clinical experts who provide preventive recommendations and reactive guidance that improve clinical outcomes. This guidance ultimately leads to higher utilization of preventive care services, fewer hospital inpatient days, and fewer hospital readmissions.
3. Demonstrates claims savings Health care navigation that is coupled with care coordination reduces complexity for employees by helping them make informed decisions and better utilize their benefits. This approach, in turn, contributes to health care claims cost savings. For example, health care navigation experts encourage the use of preventive care, help employees seek in-network providers, and choose more cost-effective sites of care, all of which generates sustained claims cost reduction for employers.

As your clients begin to consider and make decisions about benefits offerings for the coming year, you can demonstrate your expertise and value by helping them understand how health care navigation can improve employee engagement and satisfaction, and support talent retention and recruiting – all while bolstering their bottom line.

Veronica Knuth is chief people officer for Quantum Health.