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Published on: 5/25/2008
Last Visited: 5/25/2008
When a company transitions from a health care plan that features a $15 copayment to a plan with a $3,000 family deductible, "that's all the population sees," said John Bowe, director of benefits for Watson Wyatt in Arlington, Va. "Take the focus off of the deductible."
The first year of the full replacement process is the toughest, as employees experience "a lot of anxiety," but the transition to a CDHP is a long-term strategy and not a short-term fix, Mr. Bowe said."There's a lot of education that needs to take place in that first year," he said.
Watson Wyatt provides its employer contributions at the beginning of the year, so employees who manage their accounts are more comfortable about the plans, Mr. Bowe said."While it's not great for everyone, particularly for the high utilizers-they still have some anxiety-the majority of people are in a much better" position, he said.
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Benefit managers considering a transition to CDHPs need to spend a great deal of time communicating a large amount of information, so they should release information in a staggered manner, Mr. Bowe said.
"You cannot over-communicate these plans," Mr. Bowe said.
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Companies implementing CDHPs must have strong partnerships with their vendors, which will be responsible for implementing a substantial portion of the new benefits program, Mr. Bowe said."If they fail to deliver, it will appear as if the plan has failed," he said.
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