New Survey Shows 1 in 5 Employees Regret Their Benefits Decisions, Jellyvision Buys Pair of Leather Pants in Show of Solidarity

Business Wire

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Jellyvision, creator of employee communications platform ALEX, today released the results of a new benefits communication survey finding that 1 in 5 employees (21%) often regret their benefit choices.

The nationwide online survey was conducted from February 24 to March 17, 2017 by Harris Poll on behalf of Jellyvision. It surveyed 2,043 US adults who are employed full-time, are eligible for company-provided benefits, and do not have health insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, or the VA.

Some highlights:

		•		Employees want help. 55% of employees whose companies offer health insurance say they would like help from their employer when choosing a health plan.
		•		Benefits decisions are stressful. 49% of employees say making health insurance decisions is always very stressful.
		•		People prefer electronic benefits communication. 60% of employees prefer to receive information about company benefits electronically.
		•		Some employees just don’t engage with some communications. 20% of employees say they don’t always keep up with benefits correspondence (e.g., they don’t attend company benefits meetings, never read their company benefit summary plan description or file/throw paper benefit materials away unread)

“Benefits enrollment is a time of confusion and stress for many employees,” said Jellyvision CEO Amanda Lannert. “The result is that many employees make decisions they later regret, often at a time when they need their benefits the most. We hope the results of our 2017 survey help employers improve their benefits experiences, so that more employees have the confidence to select benefits that are right for them.”

Jellyvision’s survey also revealed a number of employee knowledge gaps around health care costs and HDHPs. Four in 10 employees (41%) can’t identify all of the elements that add up to the full cost of their health care, such as employee and employer contributions and cost of care. And half of employees (50%) say they are not knowledgeable about HDHPs.

That knowledge gap is critical. Employees who are knowledgeable about HDHPs, for example, are much more likely to positively describe the option than those who have less knowledge (e.g., 26% of knowledgeable employees describe HDHPs as affordable vs. 9% who are not knowledgeable; a good value: 30% vs. 5%; dependable: 20% vs. 5%; and great coverage: 19% vs. 3%).

“Employers spend so much time putting together competitive benefits packages, but not enough time helping employees understand their options,” Lannert said. “The challenge is most people don’t want ‘education’ on these topics. No one wakes up with a burning desire to learn about HDHPs. In our experience, people respond best to plain-English communication that feels like they’re talking about benefits with a friend—if benefits were a thing friends ever talked about.”

In addition to asking people about their employers’ benefits communication, Jellyvision’s survey asked respondents to react to a possible repeal of the Affordable Health Act (ACA), particularly as it relates to employer-provided health insurance plans.

One of the survey’s findings, which may suggest a fundamental misunderstanding of what’s at stake with a possible repeal, shows that 61% of employees don’t think a repeal would affect them personally. When responses are broken down by political party affiliations, Republicans (68%) are more likely to feel that they won’t be personally affected by a repeal of the ACA than Democrats (55%) and Independents (60%) land in the middle.

Regardless of politics, though, most employees using their employer-provided health insurance say it is important to include key Affordable Care Act provisions on annual and lifetime coverage limits (72%, 74% respectively), coverage of preexisting conditions (80%), free preventative care (78%), and coverage of adult children up to age 26 (67% of those who have children under age 26), with the majority saying such characteristics are “absolutely essential” or “very important.”

To read the complete results of The 2017 ALEX Benefits Communication Survey, including the Affordable Care Act supplement, please visit: https://www.meetalex.com/blog/the-2017-alex-benefits-communication-survey.

About Jellyvision

Jellyvision is an award-winning technology company whose interactive software talks people through important, complex and potentially snooze-inducing life decisions—like choosing a healthcare insurance plan, saving for retirement or managing finances—in simple, fun and engaging ways.

Jellyvision’s SaaS employee communication platform ALEX^® is used by more than 800 companies with more than 14 million employees in total—including 88 of the Fortune 500 and 1 in 4 of the country's largest companies. ALEX helps employees make better decisions about more than $90 billion of health insurance premiums. To learn more, visit www.jellyvision.com and www.meetalex.com.

About Harris Poll

Over the last 5 decades, Harris Polls have become media staples. With comprehensive experience and precise technique in public opinion polling, along with a proven track record of uncovering consumers’ motivations and behaviors, Harris Poll has gained strong brand recognition around the world. Contact us for more information.

About the Survey

The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Jellyvision from February 24 to March 17, 2017 among 2,043 US adults aged 18+ employed full-time and eligible for company provided benefits. Respondents do not currently have health insurance through Medicare, Medicaid or the VA. Data are weighted where necessary by age by gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, income, marital status, household size and propensity to be online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.