Private Exchanges Engage Employees More in Health Benefits

A survey also found employees that use private exchanges value their employers’ benefits more.

A survey of employees who use private benefits exchanges provided by Liazon, a Willis Towers Watson company, found 92% of employees are satisfied with the health benefit marketplace their employers provide.

Eighty-three percent of employees say they became more engaged in their health care decisions. Eighty percent of employees feel they spent the right amount of time selecting the right benefit for them; 87% feel there were the right amount of benefit choices on the exchange or want more; and 95% of employees indicate they prefer to select their own benefits.               

They also found education and comparison tools to be helpful.

According to the survey findings, 83% of employees using private benefit exchanges are more aware of their medical costs, and 79% better understand what their health insurance covers. Eighty-one percent report they better understand what their other benefits cover.

Using private exchanges made 85% of employees more aware of their company’s contributions towards their health benefits, and 81% say they value these contributions more. More than three-quarters (77%) report they value their benefits more.

“The data show us that employees appreciate their benefits more when they are engaged in the process of selection and view the full cost of their plans. As private exchanges become a more popular form of benefits delivery, employers are beginning to recognize the model as a way to communicate the value of the benefits they are offering to their workforce,” says Ashok Subramanian, Liazon’s co-founder and chief executive officer.

The survey report may be downloaded from http://liazon.hs-sites.com/liazon/employeesurvey.

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