How Health Brokers Are Helping Employers With Personalized Benefits Education

BURLINGTON, Mass. – February 11, 2020 – DirectPath, the company that guides employees to make better health care decisions, today unveiled new research, The 2020 Broker: Drive Savings Through Better Employee Benefits Understanding. The report, which details findings from an annual survey of health insurance brokers, reveals that 97% of brokers are seeing demand for personalized benefits education and enrollment services, representing a 12% increase from last year.

How Brokers Are Helping Employers Address Low Health Care Literacy

With nearly half of American adults experiencing difficulty understanding and using health benefits information, employers are increasingly turning to brokers for help engaging employees about their benefits options. According to the 2020 DirectPath broker report, 96% of brokers are experiencing increased demand for their benefits communications services, a six percent jump from 2019.

The report also found that employers are turning to brokers for guidance implementing transparency services, designed to encourage employees to comparison shop for health treatments and services, and ultimately identify more cost-effective options. Eighty-four percent of brokers reported seeing moderate to high employer demand for transparency services, up from 74% in 2019. The report also revealed that brokers are seeing much greater business value from these services than they have in years past; 83% of respondents this year say they see value in offering these solutions.

Other Key Findings from the Report:

• 87% of brokers say employers want guidance engaging employees on benefits choices during open enrollment
• 81% say employers request help selecting the right plans for employees
• 74% say employers highly rely on them for compliance and reporting guidance
• 59% say employers rely on them for help with developing communications materials
• 45% say employers seek guidance managing open enrollment

The report also revealed that brokers plan to stay competitive in 2020 and beyond by delivering superior customer service (74%), recruiting and retaining the best employees (63%) and adding new, innovative services to meet market demand (58%).

For more information on which broker services are most impactful to employees, download The 2020 Broker: Drive Savings Through Better Employee Benefits Understanding.

Methodology

DirectPath surveyed more than 140 health insurance brokers on what services they are currently offering, which services are delivering the most business value and how their models are likely to evolve to help them compete in the coming year. These brokers work for a mix of small and large clients, representing a sample of decision-makers in terms of their brokerage firms’ product and service offerings, holding roles in account management, sales, and strategy.

About DirectPath:

DirectPath guides employees to make better health care decisions with individualized education for selecting the right benefit plan, expert assistance in making informed care choices and rewards for sensible financial decisions. Its customers experience significant ROI on their benefits investments through increased employee participation, management of the evolving regulatory environment and reduced cost through health care cost transparency. DirectPath has offices throughout the country. For more information, visit the DirectPath website and follow the company on Twitter.