Category Archives: Employee Health

Employees now rank healthcare as more important than salary.

Employees are now ranking healthcare as more important than salary increases. With healthcare insurance premiums rising again this fall, employers are faced with a unique challenge: revisiting the balance between salary increases, compensation, and benefits. Remember, this is all happening in a competitive market in which employees are no longer as connected to the companies they work for.

With a volatile economy and employees adhering to a remote-first work attitude, a recent survey showed that 70% of employees rank healthcare coverage as the most important benefit when considering a job change. They may not know the intricate mechanics of health plans, but they want the assurance of being taken care of, both physically and mentally. They’re also keenly aware of the amount that’s coming out of their paychecks through co-pays and monthly fees.

For employers, this focus on Benefits over salary can present a huge opportunity. If you listen to what your employees actually want, you can present them a Benefits package that’s creative and fresh. This can help you increase retention without breaking the bank.

Here are a few things that employers can do to keep their offerings fresh:

1. Revisit your benefits package.

Employees like choices! Make sure there is a full array of products including things like financial planning, legal, and Voluntary Benefits. Include perks that can increase morale like flexible work hours, fitness discounts, or career development opportunities. Don’t underestimate how little things can make a big difference in building good will with your employees.

2. Communicate the value of your benefits.

Spend time and resources in communicating the value of your benefits. Most employees won’t dig deep into benefit brochures on their own so be sure to highlight your offerings. Be transparent about why you’ve painstakingly chosen the plans they’re being offered.

Make this process fun! Create easy to understand graphics so all the information is digestible. If you’re in office, invite your employees to participate in an information session with a catered lunch or snacks. If you’re a primarily remote team, hold an informational Zoom session and send everyone who joins a free gift card for coffee to encourage them to attend. Do what you can to help your employees understand how much value they can gain from their Benefits package.

3. Go Digital

Make sure your benefit enrollment and communication has gone digital. The days of paper communication are long over! Employees want easy mobile access for every step of their Benefit enrollment and management. The less pain points there are in the enrollment and management of their Benefits, the more autonomy and agency they feel they have. Having a robust mobile application also builds confidence in employees that 1.) their data is secure and 2.) their company is using technology that’s with the times.

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At CorpStrat we pride ourselves in helping employers do all of the above. If you know of an employer who could benefit from our service and guidance, please recommend us. It’s that time of year when everyone deals with this issue and we are MONEY when it comes to these issues.

If you need help making sure your benefits packages are the best they can be, give us a call.

Open Enrollment is Over…Now What?

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2022 has presented employers with a unique set of challenges. With healthcare costs rising due to inflation, employees opting for unconventional careers post-COVID, and the Great Resignation hanging over their heads, employers need to work harder than ever to attract, retain, and reward their team. Most employers can’t afford to lose anybody. In order to keep their teams intact they need to actively seek out how to make their benefits package more enticing for current and prospective employees.

Here’s a quick hit of the things employers should be doing right now to ensure they’re delivering the best benefits without going over on cost.

1. Are your employee benefits offerings delivered online?

If they’re not, you’re way behind the times. This is an easy way to bring your benefits, delivery, and communication into the 21st century. (Curious how you can get your benefits up to speed, learn more about your Employee Benefits Audit.)

2. Have you done a great job of packaging your offerings to attract employees?

Can you show a new prospective employee what your offerings are, easily and digitally? Beyond medical insurance, employees should be able to easily access the status of and information about their PTO hours, 401K, and remote work options. This is all part of the package employees will look at and consider during the hiring process and the easier it is to understand, the more likely they might be to sign on.

3. Is your HRIS up to speed?

Since the start of the pandemic, the majority of employees are opting for full-time or hybrid remote work. This means your HRIS System needs to be able to manage remote workers effectively and accurately.

Ask yourself:

Do my employees currently have an easy way to clock-in, clock out, sign documents, and request PTO from home?
Can they view their hours worked or PTO availability?
Are all the rules being followed on meal breaks? Would I know if they weren’t?

If the answer to any of these was “I’m not sure”, let’s talk.

4. Have you looked at low cost ways to expand your benefits?

Healthcare costs are rising and this can be a headache for employers. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, take a look at voluntary plans that you can add to your benefits package. Benefits like dental, vision, life, disability insurance, and AFLAC are all great benefits that employees they can’t get on their own.

5. Take time mid-year to review the market and assess how you can improve your offerings.

Contrary to popular belief, renewal is not the best time to reassess what your benefits package looks like. Your broker should actively be helping you find ways to improve your offerings throughout the year. Get strategic with your broker. Now is the time for them to shine.

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If your broker is not a valuable part of your business planning team, give us a call at 818-377-7260 or email us at marketing@corpstrat.com

5 Hidden Attributes in Health Insurance Plans

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Many people don’t even think about their health insurance plan until they get sick. The fact is, it also means many people aren’t getting the most out of their plans because they don’t know how to unlock hidden benefits. We firmly believe that a good health insurance plan can do something powerful for everybody. Even if you’re not sick or injured, a good plan can put you on a path to optimal health with the right type of support along the way.

Today we’re sharing some of the most popular hidden attributes in health insurance plans.

1. Alternative Medicine

That lingering back pain might be a thing of the past. Most insurance plans provide some benefits that cover chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture treatment as a means of alleviating pain or assisting with an injury or illness.

2. Weight Loss & Smoking Cessation

Many insurance companies have moved the needle on preventative care and are incentivizing people to lose weight and get healthy. They have outreach programs that support those struggling to quit smoking and lose weight. Some even subsidize health club memberships.

3. Mental Health

As part of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2010 in the ACA, all insurance companies are required to provide equal benefits for mental health. Let’s face it, in these crazy and uncertain times, we can all use a little mental therapy. If you look closely, there are benefits available to you designed to help you cope and deal with life’s challenges. These benefits include access to psychologists, psychiatrists, and both in and out patient care.

4. Telemedicine

Stay healthy and alleviate concerns, all from the comfort of you own home. The pandemic accelerated virtual healthcare visits and most insurance companies have moved towards allowing people to have consultations and doctor’s visits virtually. Many people have this benefit without realizing it, be sure to login to your benefits platform to take advantage of not needing to go to the doctor’s office.

5. Disease Management

People that are diabetic and asthmatic can benefit from full-fledged programs that include blood sugar monitoring and consultations. These diseases may require round the clock support so having resources to aid in disease management is key. Don’t be afraid to ask your plan if they sponsor blood sugar management tools.

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Insurance companies are adapting to become much more consumer-centric. Reach out and find out what’s available. You’ll be surprised how many opportunities there are.

If you have any question, reach out to us at marketing@corpstrat.com or 818.377.7260

Are You Worried about the Quality of Your Benefits Offerings Post-COVID?

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During the pandemic shutdown, many employers had to get creative with how they delivered benefits. For the first time ever companies had fully remote teams, made work/life balance top priority, and ensured ample tele-health and mental health resources were available to their teams. As we return to the office, employees are now expecting these benefits and perks and feel more empowered than ever to ask for them. This creates a tricky situation for small business owners who might be working with tighter budgets. Employers are juggling budgets with making sure they’re keeping their talent happy in a post-pandemic world.

Small Business Owners Are Finding It Hard to Expand Benefits Post-COVID.

For companies with 500 employees or more, expanding benefits is a no-brainer. Many plan to increase their offerings in the next 12 months. However, for small business owners with fewer than 500 workers, affordability can be a barrier. The pandemic has changed the kinds of benefits and support employees are expecting. Many employees now want benefits like expanded retirement savings, pet insurance, access to fitness and mental health professionals, and more.

When It Comes to Benefits, You Don’t Have to Be on Your Own.

Many smaller companies don’t have an HR team to help them understand how to deliver benefits without breaking the bank. They want to offer their employees the world but don’t know how to create a benefits package that makes fiscal sense. In order to empower small businesses with the resources to evolve their benefits options, it will require better communication from both small business owners and their providers to decide on the products and services employees want and how to deliver them.

That’s where we come in. In order to fix the problem and empower your small business with the resources to evolve your benefits options along with your workforce, you need someone to guide you through the process. We can help you combine creative and main stay benefits that will attract and retain talent.

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Don’t wait until it’s too late, call us today to get your benefits set up for 2022. Call us at (818) 377-7260 or email us at marketing@corpstrat.com.

“Can I Deduct Medical Expenses Not Covered by My Insurance Plan?” – Answer Inside

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What if we told you there was a way you can deduct all of the medical expenses that are not covered by your insurance plan. Doesn’t that sound interesting?

We’re talking about things like deductibles, co-insurance, doctor visits, doctor’s who don’t take insurance, eyeglasses, therapy, etc. Basically, all the things that you shake your head at and wonder, “why am I paying thousands of dollars for every year, after tax dollars?”

We’re here to tell you that there is a way to make all of these expenses deductible through a Discriminatory Medical Reimbursement Plan. This plan is available to:

Subchapter S Members
Sole Proprieters
Members of an LLC
Officers of an S Corporation.

If this pertains to you, please give us a call now and we can help make sure you’re maximizing deductibility. Your CPA may tell you that it’s not possible, but let us check to see what we can do.

At CorpStrat, our primary focus is helping business owners utilize all available strategies to overcome the complexities in benefit planning, reverse discrimination of benefits, and maximize deductibility. If you want to learn more about medical reimbursement strategies, reach out to us at marketing@corpstrat.com

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