Benefit Brokers and Employers View Consumer Directed Healthcare Offerings as Mission Critical to their Future Success, Alegeus Survey Finds

Brokers and employers are critical to the proliferation of consumer directed healthcare (CDH) benefits in the market (including high deductible health plans and account-based offerings such as FSAs, HSAs, and HRAs) – as well as the consumer’s ability to comprehend and realize their value. A report released today by CDH solution provider, Alegeus, reflects an industry problem – while brokers and employers understand the strategic value and impact account-based benefit programs bring to the market, they still need significant support to maximize adoption and realize the full value consumer directed healthcare can deliver.

With 60 million CDH accounts in the market as of 2016 and an 11% estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014 to 2020, 86 percent of brokers and 74 percent of employers rate CDH to be a critical component of their future benefits strategies and an essential tool to combat the rising cost of health benefits. To maximize the impact CDH programs can have, brokers and employers must be supported to ensure that benefit designs and communication strategies are effective and CDH programs deliver on their promise of cost savings, greater control over healthcare spending, and greater employee satisfaction – rather than a mechanism to purely shift costs.

Survey findings revealed the following insights regarding account-based benefit offerings:

• Rising healthcare costs are still the biggest factor for driving CDH adoption. This is true for both segments, but many employers have a strong desire to empower and provide valuable benefits to their employees. And, brokers are highly commission-driven and focus on customer retention – with both factors playing a role in the benefits they recommend.
• Both brokers and employers claim to be highly fluent in CDH benefits, but knowledge gaps still exist. Two-thirds of brokers and nearly half of employers claim to have a very high degree of knowledge about CDH benefits. However, both groups feel they would benefit from deeper market insights, best practice knowledge, and strategies to drive employee CDH adoption.
• Self-service features and customer support are mission critical. Both brokers and employers want to ensure a superior consumer experience. They view digital self-service channels as the most critical account features, such as a robust mobile app and online account access.
• The choice in CDH solution provider matters. Brokers, in particular, see significant differentiation between CDH solution providers – with more than 75 percent indicating that the choice of solution provider is critically important to the overall success of their customer relationships and benefit strategies.
• Employers need support to drive participation in CDH benefit programs. More than half of employers desire help from their benefit solution providers for training, messaging, communication planning and development of marketing materials that assist with driving employee CDH adoption.