Three-quarters (74 per cent) of U.S. employers say they plan to consolidate their health benefits within the next year, according to a new survey by Summus Global Inc.
The survey, which polled more than 250 employers, found that, while 86 per cent said they’re satisfied with their current health benefits offerings, they’re inundated with the management of multiple condition-specific solutions.
Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of employers said they’re focused on identifying solutions that provide access to specialists and 50 per cent said they’re focused on ensuring that specialty care solutions are affordable for employees. The No. 1 factor cited in the selection of new benefits was affordability (51 per cent), followed by ease of integration (42 per cent) and having proper human resources staffing to manage new benefits (37 per cent).
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The survey also found employee satisfaction with current specialty care benefits was significantly lower for large companies with 5,000 to 15,000 employees, as well as publicly-owned companies.
“When employees have too many options that are not integrated, they just don’t use them,” said Julian Flannery, chief executive officer of Summus, in a press release. “Consolidating into a broad, integrated platform that provides high-quality access to leading specialist expertise across any health question helps employees get the personalized, longitudinal support they need to make good decisions that result in better health outcomes.”
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