OK, I am venting
Elizabetharess
179 Posts
I have just finished a four day travel to all our facilities with our ins. broker to discuss the new HDHP/HSA plan. I had never traveled to the various sites before so I was a little excited and looking forward to meeting everyone.
Well, let me tell you I felt like I was put in front of an angry mob with, tar, feathers and torches. And you know where it came from? The Directors of the facilities. For the most part the ee's were curious and asked questions but the Leaders of the facilities acted like children. One was upset when it was asked where she got her Rx's and she said Walgreens. Well, Walgreens is the most expensive in our area. She pouted, stating that she didn't care, she liked going there. I wanted to say "you are fat and you smoke, do the math."
OK, so I am venting, but whew! what an ordeal.
I would never say what I was thinking, but honestly, isn't there some way to tell people that being 100 lbs overweight and smoking is just not healthy????
Well, let me tell you I felt like I was put in front of an angry mob with, tar, feathers and torches. And you know where it came from? The Directors of the facilities. For the most part the ee's were curious and asked questions but the Leaders of the facilities acted like children. One was upset when it was asked where she got her Rx's and she said Walgreens. Well, Walgreens is the most expensive in our area. She pouted, stating that she didn't care, she liked going there. I wanted to say "you are fat and you smoke, do the math."
OK, so I am venting, but whew! what an ordeal.
I would never say what I was thinking, but honestly, isn't there some way to tell people that being 100 lbs overweight and smoking is just not healthy????
Comments
Did she behave that way in front of her own employees? If so, she needs to be addressed. She may not LIKE what's happening, but she still needs to behave professionally and demonstrate support of what the company does, including decisions with employee benefits.
I HATE open enrollment. HATE it. Even when we aren't changing anything and the premium increase is not frighteningly high, I hate it.
Did I mention I hate it?
I put blurbs in our employee newsletter, send notices out periodically to be posted on the bulletin board in the staff restroom (the only place they actually READ things) etc about rising insurance costs, impending open enrollment, and people are still surprised. "Why do MY premiums go up when it's OTHER people who have all the medical issues?" I explain the joys of group coverage, and they are welcome to find other coverage and drop ours with open enrollment.
Actually, most employees are pretty nice. There are just the few who I want to hurt.
It's also a paper blizzard around here for at least a month before and after open enrollment. I have my broker looking into online enrollment options right now. I told him I will make him suffer next year if we don't find a better way to do this. x;-)
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys have it easy. Our broker is also on our Board of Directors. So at renewal time, he gets to "help" us decide on which carrier to go with for insurance benefits. Of course, he doesn't make the presentation until the last week and this year gave me 3 days to get all the enrollments completed and delivered to the new carrier. It took the new company 2 weeks to get us in their system. What a mess.
So, one of your directors is fat and smokes. I don't get it. Why was she upset?
The upfront deductible is dramatic but to display such unprofessional angst in front of her staff was a bit unsettling for me.
Benefits changes can be so intense.
Thanks for sharing.
I recently did an enrollment of a group that we aquired out of bankruptcy. They had been used to a typical PPO plan with copays. We have a CDHP with an up front deductible also. You would have thought I had just told them they wouldn't have coverage at all. They were very upset.
Of course add to that the fact that we were cutting their PTO bank in half and it was darn near a riot situation!
I don't think that people understand that in some instances with all the copays and coinsurance they can have more out of pocket expense than with a CDHP. They just like the "fixed" costs of copays.
Anyway, now I'm venting. Good Luck!
Ginger
And as for being the target of criticism, my honest opinion is that it must be part of the job. I think there is a subliminal message somewhere in 'HR' that tells folks to attack. While it is easier said than done, just let it go, take a deep breath, tell yourself that you must be doing a fine job because you still have your job and you'll certainly get at least some of the credit when your company's claims hx drops, and remember that someone in your inner most circles of loved ones loves you.
By the way, in all of my experiences as HR Director in my company, my peers are my biggest challenge.
Best wishes.
Yep, take a breath.
By the way, give me some ideas on a wellness program. I have subscribed to a health newsletter. Any other suggestions that are cheap or free would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Elizabeth
Good luck!
We are a small company (<50) & went to a HDHP/HSA health option last year. We pushed our broker & provider to let us offer 2 plans (Traditional & HSA). On top of that, we matched HSA contributions 100%, which essentially means we're paying 1/2 of the deductibile - IF they contribute to the HSA account. We actually have about 85% of our employeess choose the HSA plan because of the match. After the 1st year, our renewal was amazing ... +4% for the Traditional premium & -4% (yes, minus) for the HSA premium. Already, we've got a 25% difference between cost of the premiums.
We obviously went into the switch with a long-term return outlook. We didn't expect to see huge savings right off the bat. BUT, we've obviously "stemmed the bleeding" with our health care costs & we expect another decrease on the HSA plan for next year!
Obviously, I'm a huge fan of these plans - it just takes a lot of employee education for them to see the light!