Open Enrollment is quickly approaching, so we wanted to take this opportunity to help you and your staff prepare for this busy time of year. Providing accurate, timely, and complete information about the healthcare options your employees have is important to ensuring they get the care they need for themselves and their families.
Here are some guidelines to set yourself and your staff up for success:
Understand Your Company’s Plans Completely
It is important that you completely understand the health plans your business is offering. You should know the ins and outs of each plan and how it may affect any employee who selects it. Clear communication from the beginning will reduce confusion and help your employees choose a health plan that is right for them and their family.
Additionally, you and your human resources staff should have a complete understanding of state and federal regulations regarding health insurance plans. Knowing this information will help you answer any questions your employees may have about their health plan options and why you’re offering certain health plans.
Establish Good Sources of Information
When it comes to selecting a health plan, your employees may need several resources to make an educated decision, especially if you’re offering more than one health plan option. Here are three ways you can efficiently and effectively get information out to your employees:
- Company-wide meeting
Schedule a company-wide meeting once you have finalized your health plan offerings and are comfortable presenting what each plan entails. This will give you the opportunity to introduce the plans to your employees so they can begin to think about their health and medical needs for the following year. - Create printed materials
At the meeting, take the opportunity to pass out printed materials with all the plan details. Your employees can then take this information home to discuss it with their families. - Intranet site
If your company has an intranet for its employees, be sure to post the health plan information. Through an intranet site, you’ll be able to push notifications and reminders regarding the health plans and Open Enrollment. This will be especially important if you have clarifying information that affects several employees.
Communicate Often
Open Enrollment is a busy time for your business and your staff. From end-of-year planning to holiday activities, Open Enrollment and selecting a health plan can often fall to the wayside until it’s almost too late. For this reason, it is important to make yourself or your human resources staff available to the rest of your employees (and their spouses) so everyone can get accurate information when it’s best for them.
During Open Enrollment representatives from your business should be available to set up appointments with employees and their spouses to go over all the options and features of each health plan. These appointments may need to take place before or after work or during lunch to accommodate the spouse’s work schedule.
During these meetings, you will have the opportunity to communicate with your employees, advocate for them, and help them make the most of their healthcare benefits. You can help outline and strategize how each plan can or cannot meet their medical needs and health and wellness goals.
Providing your employees with great healthcare and coverage takes a lot of time, money, energy, and other resources to complete successfully. However, investing your resources in your employees’ well-being will pay dividends to you and your business through productivity, moral, and profits.
Canopy Health
Canopy Health is reinventing healthcare in the Bay Area. With health plans being offered through our carrier partners to access the Canopy Health network, thousands of skilled and experienced primary care physicians and specialists working at dozens of hospitals, urgent care centers, and outpatient offices are available to your employees.