There's a significant shiftoccurring in benefits packages offered by large employers. Thefocus is no longer all about plan cost containment. Instead,offering more choices to employees appears to be driving thebenefits trend.

That's what a survey of 540 large employers by Benefitfocus reveals. The benefits servicesprovider found that employers offering plan members ahigh-deductible plan as an option along with a traditional plan hasjumped more than 20 percent since the 2016 survey. The survey alsounderscored the increasing sophistication of plan members inunderstanding their benefits, as they are weighing the pros andcons of high-deductible versus traditional health coverage.

Benefitfocus extracted several major trends from the surveydata, which came from employers with an aggregate 1.3 millioncovered employees:

Employees are rapidly embracing health savings accounts. Employeeparticipation in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) explodedduring the past year, from 50 percent of those covered to 81percent in 2018. The increase was driven by millennials, who tendedto select such plans more readily than other generations. Still,HSAs aren't seeing their full potential—the average combinedcontribution from employer and employee was just over half theallowed maximum.

Higher earners prefer higher deductibles. HDHPsappeal more directly to “high earners” than any other income group.The survey said the typical HDHP plan members earns 7 percent morethan PPOs enrollees.

Reduced out-of-pocket risk offsets risingpremiums. Another sign that employer priorities haveshifted: While employers will raise premiums, they are reducingdeductibles. PPO plan members can expect a 7 percent deductiblesdrop for themselves and a 9 percent decrease for familymembers.

Employers will continue to sweeten benefitspackages in 2018 by adding more voluntary benefit options.The standard voluntaries are all there—critical illness/accident,hospital indemnity—but more plans now feature such add-ons aslegal, pet, and identity theft insurance. The share of largeemployers offering identity theft protection rose 56 percent; petinsurance is up 80 percent.

The study's authors suggest four key take-aways from the surveyresults for employee benefit managers:

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1. Options are everything.

There's no magic combination of benefits to satisfy everyemployee. With needs differing based on age, income, and otherfactors, the best strategy is to utilize data to understand howemployees use benefits and tweak plan options accordingly.

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2. Personalization makes perfect.

Employees need more direction to help understand what planoptions are right for them. Decision-support tools and technologycan help.

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3. Financial wellness wins the day.

Employers have continued to shift costs of healthcare benefitsto employees, but they also need to provide more tools to helpconsumers understand how to make financially sound decisions.

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4. Complexity requires simplicity.

Myriad choices may appeal to employees but can be a headache foremployers. A technology partner can help create a single,simplified system to track communication, enrollment, andadministration.

From: BenefitsPro