New Voluntary Benefits That Work for You and Your Employees
Voluntary benefits such as accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity have been around for decades. These benefits can offer a range of advantages for both employers and employees and have been an important component of an employer’s overall benefits package being offered to employees. Voluntary benefits can offer your employees:
First dollar benefits to be paid that can help offset medical expenses
Additional dollars at a time of need during a chronic illness
Peace of mind
However, these benefits may also present challenges. For example, an employee may be forced to choose between benefits because of their combined costs, i.e.: “Am I more likely to have an accident or a critical illness?” Another potential pitfall is there still may be an outstanding balance owed to the medical provider after a benefit has been paid. And, sometimes, an employee completely forgets they signed up for a benefit when a claim could be filed.
The good news is the industry has advanced significantly in the past couple of years coming out of the pandemic and many of our carriers have worked to address some of the above-mentioned pitfalls.
Some carriers have embedded all voluntary benefits onto one policy. They can pay one premium and get a program that bundles accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity.
Another carrier has solved the issue of additional provider costs. They have contracted with urgent care centers across the country. Programs may cover all services done at an in-network urgent care center at 100% with just a $25 co-pay.
There is a new solution entering the market that move away from the traditional products and offer payment for 13,000+ covered conditions and pay off an explanation of benefits.
Voluntary benefits will always have an important place in the benefit portfolio and it’s exciting to see the continual advances in the sector. To learn more about voluntary benefits, reach out to an MMA advisor today.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Austin Morgan
Austin Morgan is a Client Services Director on Assurance’s Staffing Employee Benefits Team. With seven years of employee benefits experience, he focuses on staffing firms and helping his clients become compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Austin elects to take a hands-on, client-focused approach to understand each client’s unique needs so he can craft the most appropriate solution. Austin is a current member and former board member of the Chicago Northeastern Illinois Association of Health Underwriters. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Augustana College.
