This article is the first in EBN's annual three-part "Open Enrollment Boot Camp" series, aimed to get benefits professionals flexing their minds and muscles in preparation for final decision-making regarding this year's open enrollment season.
When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law in March, benefits pros already were behind the communications eight-ball, so to speak.
With the final congressional votes, bill signing ceremony and ad infinitum analysis on CNN for all to see, professionals weren't afforded the carefully timed and messaged rollout they prefer when communicating large benefit changes.
In addition to the publicity surrounding the landmark legislation, it was difficult for employers to properly communicate a law they didn't fully understand themselves.
"One of the major faults of HR communication is that companies will refuse to say anything until they know everything, which jut creates more anxiety in the workforce," says Jennifer Benz, president of Benz Communications, a San Francisco-based firm that aids employers in crafting effective benefits messaging.
Despite getting off to a somewhat slow communications start, over the last six weeks or so, benefits pros have begun to find their footing, and are getting on message about what reform means for their employees - now and in the years to come.
The keys to effective reform communications, according to Benz, are to "let employees know that it's on their employer's radar. Employers need to do some objective education about what health care reform actually means because there's so much misunderstanding out there about what's actually in the law.
The analysis in the media is so hard to follow, that I think it's going to fall on employers to help employees understand the basics of what's going to change."
She might very well be right. J.D. Power and Associates last month released its annual health plan satisfaction report, which revealed that employees' understanding of the reform law is lacking. Worse, what employees do know, they don't like very much.
Only 10% of health plan members say they completely understand health care reform, while 57% say they partially understand them. More than one-fourth of members say they don't understand the reforms at all.
Further, 11% of health plan members say the changes to the health care system introduced by health care reform laws will result in the loss of their current coverage, while 56% say they don't know whether their coverage will be affected. Lastly, 40% of health plan members say their health care coverage will be worse as a result of reform, while just 9% say it will be better.
"The recent health care debate has demonstrated just how complicated the health insurance market can be," says Jim Dougherty, director of the health care practice at J.D. Power. "While the full implications of the recent health care reforms will not take effect for a number of years ... one key constant in elevating satisfaction for all members is for health plans to proactively communicate to help subscribers avoid any unpleasant surprises."
According to Dougherty, plans that focus on building relationships through member education, communication and reliable, consistent delivery of health insurance services and that effectively manage member expectations during periods of change will likely have a competitive edge.
Dougherty says the confusion and poor attitudes surrounding health care reform only compound overall health plan dissatisfaction.
J.D. Power finds overall member satisfaction averages 701 on a 1,000-point scale, declining from 712 in 2009 and also falling below 2008 levels. Member satisfaction has declined in all factors except customer service, with notable decreases in coverage and benefits and information and communication. Also, only four in 10 members say they fully understand their plans.
"This significant decline in overall satisfaction is partially driven by a lack of members' understanding of their plan's coverage and benefits and how to successfully access them," Dougherty says. "Understanding alone does not explain member satisfaction, although it may help to mitigate other problems with the member experience. While satisfaction with many plans has declined this year, satisfaction decreases are less severe for those plans able to substantially increase member understanding."
So now benefits managers have battles to fight on two fronts: Get their companies and employees ready for reform in the future, and work with their health plans to improve communications. Winning this two-way battle won't be easy; it's a good thing pros can prepare during boot camp.
To help get employee communications into shape, EBN offers you your drill seargeants:
Jennifer Benz, president, Benz Communications
Shawn Connors, president, Hope Health
Heather Gatley, executive vice president of HR services, AlphaStaff
Steve Wojcik, vice president of public policy, National Business Group on Health
Each of these experts offered their insights on improving existing health/wellness communications and making sure employers put their best foot forward as they rollout their reform plans.
Read on for dos and don'ts from Benz and Connors. Gatley and Wojcik offer their advice via EBN's podcast series, "Five Minutes With ..." Visit ebn.benefitnews.com/podcasts to download the audio of their comments.
What to say, not say about reform
EBN: What should employers say about reform?
Benz: Do a clear simple job of [saying], "This is what's impacting us in the short-term, and here's what's going into effect in a few years and [how] it may impact benefits down the road." Right now, I think it's too soon to say what all the longer-term impacts are. But things like the dependent age limit are things employers will have to implement over the short term and I think those are things that will be easy for employees to understand.
EBN: Is it okay for employers to say, "I don't know?"
Benz: Yes, absolutely. I'd encourage companies to say, "We don't know everything, but here's what we do know and this is when we're going to tell you more." If you wait to communicate on health care reform until every last detail is known, nothing will ever get out the door.
Also, be consistent with following up. Don't send false expectations about what information you can give and when.
EBN: How can employers guard against raising employees' hopes that plans won't change at all?
Benz: I think it's important to set realistic expectations and be consistent about your company's overall benefits strategy. Benefit plans change a lot; employers are constantly re-evaluating, constantly making sure plans fit the needs of their workforce, so I think [benefit managers] need to remind employees that nothing is a guarantee in benefits.
Things change; there are a lot of factors besides health care reform that impact benefits. But remind employees that the company is committed to offering benefits - if in fact, you are - and let them know these are the changes you can expect with health care reform and because of other factors.
EBN: Is there anything employers shouldn't say?
Benz: They should beware making false promises or raising expectations that they can't follow up on.
Be very objective about what's happening. A lot of employers were active in the conversations surrounding health care reform, and it's so easy for this topic to become very political and very polarizing. We know a lot of employees have a lot of feelings about reform and know it's a very personal and politically charged topic but this is what we're doing and how our plans work. Keep it to the objective and actionable.
Also, I hope we don't, but I'm sure we will see some employers blaming health care reform for things that are happening anyway, [like] cost increases and changes in plan design. Employers should be realistic about what's connected to health care reform versus what's connected to just the natural cycle of benefits.
'15 things that absolutely won't work'
EBN: What are the most common mistakes employers make when it comes to health and wellness plan communications?
Connors: Often, employers have no structure. They have all these things they want to communicate, and the discussion is a hodgepodge. What ends up happening is like a fire drill - things are changing, but they've waited until the last minute to get a plan in place [so they can] communicate ahead of schedule.
Plus, there's an unlimited amount of things that will work, but we know there are 15 or so things that absolutely won't work. The problem is, a lot of times employers are doing all 15 of them.
EBN: So how can employers stop doing "fire drill" communications and make their messaging more effective?
Connors: You need to accept that, whether you like it or not, you're somewhat in the publishing business. You have to commit to a schedule and think about your content ahead of time.
Emazine [Hope Health's interactive wellness magazine] delivers four issues a year, focused on the seasons and the transitions employees go through every season.
We know when the holidays are coming, when kids' school vacations are coming. All those things create transitions in [an employee's] household that we can create health messages around.
It's not a mystery to marketing people, who have been doing this for years, but it's not done so well at the workplace.
EBN: A lot of times, employers aren't sure which medium to use to best reach employees. Is there one?
Connors: You can't just think in terms of print - e-mail, video, social media, all of those things have a place. But employers need to work on getting all [of the different media] in sync, so they're not just disjointed messages. There shouldn't be the same message in each medium, but it needs to be written with same strategy.
The traditional ways of communicating aren't competing well. What we really want is a little bit of that person's time and attention. And you have to think of what your message is competing against. Employees don't have to consume your message, and they didn't ask for it, either. So you have to give them a reason to pay attention in a very short period of time.
EBN: As technology continues to make communicating faster and easier, where is health/wellness communication headed?
Connors: The last 30 years or so have taught us a lot about what works and doesn't work, and how to analyze data and calculate ROI, and that's all good stuff and we can't throw it out the window. But we really have to understand that isn't the complete picture.
We got scientific about health/wellness, but forgot about the art of reaching people. We have to bring more creativity. And we have the technological capability to express that creativity now through video and other media.
