This article was last updated Oct. 25, 2022
Are you confident your employees are getting the most from their health plan? Before you answer, consider only four percent of Americans can correctly identify what deductibles, coinsurance, copays and out-of-pocket maximums are — so there's obviously room for improvement when it comes to education.
No matter how much assistance you offer during enrollment or the quality of materials you try to provide, unfortunately confusion that leads to dissatisfaction can still happen.
This is likely due to an employee selecting an option that’s not right for them, they’re unaware of how to maximize their current plan’s value or they don't know how to look at past usage to properly plan for the future.
Do you also have employees who are:
- Looking for resources to help them make smart health care choices?
- Good at numbers and savings but don’t know much about health insurance?
- Struggling to select the plan that's best for them?
myWellmark® Opens in a new window is the answer to making them happier, wiser health care consumers.
How myWellmark can help
myWellmark allows your employees to be cost-conscious in a variety of ways:
- Locating in-network health care providers.
- Seeing a list of the covered services and benefits they’ve used.
- Viewing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
- Getting estimates for copay or coinsurance costs.
- Viewing health care provider and prescription drug claims.
- Using spending tools to review past usage and inform future needs.
Choose how to share myWellmark with your employees
Log in to the Wellmark Marketing Toolkit to access the myWellmark promotional kit (M-2018789) and deliver information about myWellmark to your employees however you prefer — whether it’s using ready-made emails, newsletters, intranet articles, or by printing out hard-copy materials.
How past spending trends can inform future decisions
A great way for your employees to maximize their plan is by doing an inventory of the care they (and their dependents) have received. Have they stayed in-network? Have they reached their deductible or out-of-pocket maximum (OPM)?
The spend report on myWellmark can answer these questions and potentially help them determine their optimal deductible or OPM, if they should be in a health maintenance organization Opens in a new window (HMO), preferred provider organization Opens in a new window (PPO), or high-deductible health plan (HDHP).
If your employees are in a PPO but only visit the same two or three health care providers that are also in-network with an HMO, that could be a source of their dissatisfaction since they’re paying more than necessary. Or if they rarely visit the doctor, they may feel like they’re paying too much for their health plan when an HDHP, which offers a lower monthly premium, may be a better fit.
myWellmark also allows them to use real-life data to influence their decision by viewing their health care usage from the previous two years to help determine if they need more or less coverage based on their health history and the history of their dependents. They can use the information to compare the amount they’re paying for their health care now vs. what they’d pay with a different plan.
Your employees — especially millennials — want easy digital solutions
Millennials are all about self-improvement and being achievement oriented. What better way to help their financial situation and give them a sense of accomplishment than to give them the tools they need to maximize their health plan?
And, since they’re unhealthier than Generation X, in part due to the mental health challenges tied to issues like economic health and stress, they’ll be using their insurance more than you (or they) might think.
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield held invitation-only listening sessions across Iowa, and in South Dakota. Together, millennial professionals, corporate executives, human resource managers and health care providers conversed to identify challenges and opportunities to creating a better future of health care for generations to come.
myWellmark enables them to quickly find the information they need to make important health care decisions. Plus, your employees can digitally ask and track a question instead of calling customer service — another millennial communication preference. And, with the Wellmark mobile app, they can take myWellmark on-the-go with them, including access to their ID card at all times.
Get your employees to use myWellmark
Use the myWellmark promotional kit (M-2018789) in the Marketing Toolkit Secure Site to explore the different ways to deliver information about myWellmark to your employees.
After all, getting employees in the right plan and maximizing its value saves money, reduces stress and makes them happier — while also helping your bottom line.
Questions? Contact your authorized Wellmark account representative or email us at blueatwork@wellmark.com Send Email.
