bswift Releases Annual Benchmarking Study
Proquest LLC |
bswift has released its annual benchmarking study, conducted in conjunction with
In a release, the Company noted that bswift's fifth annual study covers the journey that employers are making, from centralized control over health insurance and other benefits toward shifting ownership to their employees. This year's study reveals a number of trends across three benefits topics in varying states of maturity: defined contribution (in its infancy); wellness programs and incentives (moving into adolescence); and employee self-service and automation (at the most mature end of the spectrum).
Of companies with wellness programs, the percentage of companies that offer incentives (83 percent of large employers and 78 percent of smaller employers) showed a significant boost from 2013 -- with health insurance premium discounts or credits representing the primary incentive type.
Perhaps the most significant finding is the rise in the adoption of incentives that are based on measurable results. Nearly one quarter of large employers with wellness programs now provide outcomes-based incentives for employees who meet or exceed biometric thresholds, and almost half are considering this approach for 2015.
On the downside, while employers expanded wellness programs and increased incentive amounts in 2013, participation rates decreased, with fewer employers achieving rates above 50 percent. For HR leaders, the result underscores the challenge of maintaining employee engagement in wellness while faced with rising corporate economic pressures and communication demands created by rapid regulatory changes.
More large employers are considering defined contribution (18 percent -- up from 14 percent last year), the majority for medical benefits only. Less than 1 percent of employers actually implemented the strategy for 2014 and it is likely that the adoption rate will remain low for 2015 as well.
Almost 30 percent of large employers lack an online enrollment process for new hires and still rely heavily on paper and manual processes.
"The rise in public and private exchanges has created a clear shift in organizations' approach to health care, and the prediction is that the transition to more widespread self-service and automation, outcomes-based wellness initiatives and adoption of defined contribution will accelerate," said bswift CEO
bswift offers software and services.
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