What employees want in their health care benefits (and could be a deal breaker)

What is the #1 most popular employee benefit in the US? According to Forbes, that’s employee sponsored health care coverage: 67% of employees and 68% of employers ranked it first. If you thought it was a retirement plan, that only got 34% of votes. Paid time off also ranks highly at 31%, but not as high as health insurance. Do you know what employees value concerning health coverage?

Health care is expensive. Kaiser Permanente reports the 2021 figure of $13,000 per person. Although 67% of employees scored it the #1 benefit, their research showed 87% of employees considered these benefits valuable. Research reported by ADP shows at smaller companies (20-49 employees), 74% saw health insurance as an important factor when deciding if they would work at a specific company. Unsurprisingly, the older the employee, the more they value health care coverage. ADP reports 67% of boomers and Generation X rank it highly vs. 57% of employees from younger generations. Health care may be expensive, but in a competitive job market, it may be the determining factor when it comes to someone accepting your job offer or choosing to work somewhere else.

What features do employees want in their health plan? Marathon Health did research in this area:

1. Employees want to keep their primary provider. Although people want to see “their doctor,” 41% would find telehealth or virtual care acceptable.
2. Employees want premiums that are affordable and low out-of-pocket costs. This can be achieved to a degree with Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts. (FSA).
3. Employees want critical illness insurance. SRHM reported employers providing this benefit increased from 31% in 2016 to 48% in 2020.
4. Employees want access to mental health services: 25% of workers under 35 indicated mental health was their top concern, after the pandemic. Studies have shown although this is acknowledged by employers as a priority, employees often find accessing resources is difficult.

Related: Do you have a ‘competitive-enough’ employee benefits package for 2024?

Besides coverage and costs, what else are employees concerned about? McKinsey has done research in this area and found the following resonate with employees:

1. Employees want to understand their coverage and how it works. They want tools to help them navigate the system, find providers and get help for sensitive issues. Communication must be simple and clear.
2. Voluntary benefits are attractive. This includes dental and vision benefits, for example. The importance of these benefits has grown by 40% and 36% respectively, vs. five years ago. Those were not the benefits showing the greatest increase in demand over time. Critical illness, long term disability and short term disability showed the greatest increases at 45%, 44% and 42%.

How does everyone pay for it? What are the most popular options? McKinsey has research in this area too:

1. Most popular: Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO): 59% of employers offer them and 40% of employees choose them.
2. 2^nd Most popular: Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO): 50% of employers offer and 38% of employees enroll.
3. 3^rd most popular: High Deductible Health Plans HDHP): 32% of employers offer them and 28% of employees choose them.

It may seem like people want it all. They want accessibility, affordability and a broad range of services. Health care might simply sound like an expected benefit, but the right program, delivered and supported correctly, can support recruiting and retention. After all, it is the employee’s #1 priority among employee benefits.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry. His book, “Captivating the Wealthy Investor” is available on Amazon.