Let’s face it: transitioning your company to a new health insurance broker can be difficult. Learning an entirely new employee benefits system is daunting for your HR team, and the last thing you want is an employee to fall through the cracks. Going into a transition with a solid understanding of your personal care needs and where you’ll need to make adjustments, though, will make the difference.
While your broker should make every effort to assist in the onboarding process, it’s critical you as an employer do your part to ease the process for your employees—and equally important your employees do their part, too. Help them be proactive in taking care of their health needs before the big transition.
By providing your employees with these five steps, you can simplify their transition and focus on enjoying the savings and superior coverage your new broker provides.
Tip #1: Get Your Prescriptions Filled
If your employees have any prescriptions open for filling, have them go to their pharmacy and get the refill before your new plan starts. While employees are requesting refills and picking up their prescriptions, it’s a good idea to have them also notify their providers of an upcoming change in their health insurance.
Tip #2: Alert Your Doctor and Medical Providers
For employees with an upcoming doctor’s appointment, have them keep the appointment as long as it is before the new benefit plan starts. While your employee is visiting their doctor, have them discuss the upcoming health insurance changes with the doctor and office staff who handles insurance and billing.
If the employee doesn’t have an appointment scheduled, they should definitely still call their doctor’s office and alert them of upcoming changes with their insurance plans. This way, if there are any issues with the transition on their medical provider’s end, they have this information in advance and can work with the new broker to find a solution.
Tip #3: If You’re in Treatment, Inform Your Broker and Providers
If an employee is currently receiving treatment for a disease or chronic condition, make sure they work with your new broker to understand the treatment they’re receiving and how it’s been covered under your old plan. Additionally, these employees should let their treatment providers know of an upcoming transition so they have no issues with continuing treatment as their benefits change.
Tip #4: Be Proactive With Your Appointments and Procedures
If your employees have any office visits, prescription refills or special medical actions coming up, make sure they get this taken care of before the transition. This way, they’ll know for sure that they are covered under the old plan and save a window of time between refills and appointments if there are any kinks to iron out during the new plan transition.
Tip #5: Advocate for Yourself With the New Broker
Over-communicating in this circumstance is much preferred to under-communicating. During the coordination of benefits, or any forms of treatment that’s going to overlap between the old and new plan, help your employees speak up for themselves and their healthcare needs. A reliable broker will provide excellent member support through the process, but your employees have to advocate for themselves and make sure there’s someone aware of their unique situations.
Bonus Tip for Employers and Administrators
Set yourself up for success by evaluating brokers and their track record of onboarding and transitioning new clients. As you look for a new broker and health insurance benefit plan for your employees, consider brokers who intentionally incorporate employee feedback and insight into not just their onboarding, but also their quote creation and continual operation. This will boost employee morale from the start, as they feel like their voice is heard and valued.
Also, pay attention to the resources a broker will provide you and your employees during the transition. Do they have any special plans in place to make it easier for you? Are there educational and administrative programs they have in place for new member groups of theirs? What does their customer service and member support look like?
Your Voice is What Matters Most
At Waypoint Benefit Solutions, we’re committed to a smooth transition for you and your employees. Our mission is making sure nobody is left wondering or wandering during a transition. In fact, our clients even tell us we provide the smoothest transition they’ve ever had with a broker.
Since our plan is one-of-a-kind, providing adequate educational and administrative resources to your group is absolutely essential. We want to create a fulfilling and enriching member service experience for you, and your input and feedback are invaluable to us. Ready to learn more about the Waypoint Benefit Solutions model? We’re here to help. Contact us today to set up an introductory call.