Businesses who are interested in cutting the cost of their
health insurance premium often overlook a very common bias that circulates
among their staff. This bias is so
inconspicuous that most people are unaware of it, even the ones who are
“guilty” of it. It’s the idea that once
the deductible is met, health care becomes free, or at least cheaper.
One employer shared the story about an employee who started
the year with an expensive claim when they had a baby. Since the deductible had already been met,
the individual approached the rest of the year with a perception that future
treatments were free because the bill was already paid for by the carrier. But, when the next year’s premium was set,
all those “free” treatments added up and enlarged the risk the carrier had to
absorb. The carrier had to offset the
losses experienced and anticipate the trend of increased claims by increasing
the employer’s rate, which all employees paid for.
Take a moment to consider your plan design or the
communication you’re sending to your staff and see if it addresses this silent
inflation issue. Share your story in the
comments about how you’ve dealt with this problem.
The Wilson Agency, LLC 3000 A Street, Suite 400 Anchorage, Alaska 99503
No comments:
Post a Comment