Denis Storey, Editor, Benefits Selling

Playing the numbers game

I love surveys.

Buried in the numbers and charts, there's almost always something interesting to be mined from the data.

This latest one, from Colonial Life and Harris Interactive, is a little on the scary side. Not that we don't have enough to be worried about right now.

A whopping 86 percent of employees express concern over unexpected health care expenses ­ and how it would be paid for ­ over the next 12 months. And 83 percent are worried about premiums over the next year (actually thought this number would be higher; I mean, who isn't worried about higher premiums, right?).

'Course, that's probably because nearly half of employees reported changes in their insurance plans, with 65 percent of them reporting higher premiums.

The important thing here to keep in mind is that articulating plan changes (of any type) is paramount. Colonial's Tom Gilligan, senior vice president of marketing and branding, actually says it best.

"When employers make changes to their benefits plans as so many are being forced to today, it's important to clearly communicate these changes to employees," he said in the company's press release. "Otherwise, employees are left confused and ill-prepared to make smart benefits decisions. Never before has benefits communication been so important."

 

Obama donors footing health care reform campaign bill

So, I got an e-mail from the president last week.

Now I know that’s not nearly as glamorous as it sounds since the administration’s tech team is as savvy as a gaggle of texting teens when it comes to getting their message out.

But here’s the thing – and yeah, I know, I’ve been beating this dead horse more than the tabloids have been hammering poor Jon and Kate and their clueless kids – they are getting their message out. And pretty damn effectively.

In fact, David Plouffe (Obama’s campaign manager) fired off this latest e-mail to tout the flood of responses they’ve received. Get this: More than 100,000 people donated some of their hard-earned, recessionary-squeezed cash to Obama’s health care campaign.

So if you think this isn’t going to be an uphill battle, you’d better think again.

The natural follow-up question, then, is how much have you given? And, no, I’m not just talking about a writing a $20 check or calling your congressman to make your case heard. (Although you can bet Obama’s well-oiled campaign machine is doing just that.)

The thing is, we’re not only battling a finely tuned operation and rising public sentiment, we’re also faced with the uphill battle of getting our message out to a mainstream media that doesn’t have much of a clue about what any of us do.

And if you’re still kidding yourself into thinking the odds aren’t against us, how 'bout I remind you how things turned out for the senior senator from Arizona last year.

Taxing times for health care

So I stumbled into the office this morning determined to forget about the looming health care reboot for at least a week. (And the stumbling stemmed from a rough basketball practice yesterday. Besides, I’m not as young as I used to be.)

I meant to riff on retirement today, but I just got an e-mail from my friends over at the American Benefits Council and I couldn’t help myself.

See, the council got together with Miller & Chevalier Chartered for their second annual Corporate Health Care Policy Forecast Survey, which checks the pulse of benefits pros on where they think the nation’s health care policy is headed.

Bottom line: While an overwhelming number of employers support the president and the idea of reforming health care in this country, most of them are very concerned about taxing health benefits, mandates and the public plan option. In fact, 82 percent of those surveyed want to maintain the status quo on the health benefit tax exclusion. And, honestly, their primary concerns remain rising costs and quality issues.

Look for a lot more on this in our August issue.

Oh, and one more thing: We’re putting a twist on our fifth annual employer survey this year, by teaming up with the Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters to gauge employers attitudes about health care reform, among other things. So help us out and pass this link along to your clients today: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2ise44hfuzshayy/start.

Or don’t. But I don’t want to hear a word from you later after the rug’s pulled out from under you.
 

Kennedy rolls out his own reform bill

Better late than never.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, a longtime health care doomsayer, unveiled his own plan for reform this week, to something far less than trumpeting fanfare.

You almost feel bad for the guy. He’s been clamoring about health care for everyone – even campaign workers – for decades, and here comes this young upstart from Illinois who swoops into Washington and steals his pet cause in less time than it takes to buy a Senate seat.

And, of course, Kennedy, not to be outdone, wants more (for less, of course). Now, I haven’t had time to peruse the entire bill (not sure I’m gonna make this deadline as it is), but among other highlights, it looks like his bill would extend coverage for children until they turn 26 (taking yet another decision from state regulators and costing who knows how many billions).

He also wants to extend long term care insurance to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. A noble cause, no doubt, but again, an expensive one.

We’ll revisit this later, but the most troubling thing to me is the wealth of new regulations this bill comes packaged with, including carrier profit caps.

This bill is clearly a worst-case scenario option that actually manages to make the bill coming out of the Finance Committee look pretty good.

But, then again, maybe that’s the point.

You're still not doing enough

In case you were wondering, no, you're still not doing enough.

Based on the lack of an organized, effective outcry against proposed government-run health care, you're not doing enough to fight for your jobs. And given the lack of phone calls and e-mails I've received lately, you're not doing enough to get the word out, and share your success (and failures) with your colleagues.

Looking at the numbers in this latest Guardian study that rolled into my inbox this morning, I'd say not nearly enough of you are actually talking to your clients. I mean, aside from the annual meet and greet.

See, it seems employees (remember them?) still don't have a clue when it comes to consumer-driven health care products. In fact, the survey revealed that, half a dozen years after HSAs hit the mainstream, "only 59 percent of consumers know about them and more than half of those who are aware do not understand key features" of the products.

It gets worse. As we all know HSA remains low, with only one in seven employees owning one, based on the survey, but even among those with some level of awareness, 52 percent of survey participants didn't know HSA contributions are not subject to tax and 55 percent think they must pay taxes on withdrawals even when they are used for qualified medical expenses.

Ouch. And before you shake your head, lamenting the state of the American consumer, remember this: they only know what you've told them. So, maybe you should share some of that blame. And start sharing. Because, would you rather your clients hear about these products from the mainstream press (who still can't get the real number of uninsured right) or the feds (who still struggle with math)?

Didn't think so.

Who do you (anti-)trust?

It looks like we might get some help in the fight against Obama’s so-called health care reform from an unlikely source.

The New York Times is reporting today that the president’s plan to slash $2 trillion in health care costs will run into a briar patch of antitrust laws.

The objections have come from lawyers across the board (and, honestly, have any of them ever met a lawsuit they didn’t like?) who say everyone from doctors to the carriers and pharmaceutical companies will run into trouble if they all get together to put a lid on health care prices.

In fact, a former Federal Trade Commission official told the Times that, “Any agreement among competitors with regard to prices or price increases — even if they set a maximum — would raise legal concerns.”

Check out the whole story on www.nytimes.com.

Now, while the fight is far from over (hell, it’s hardly even begun), I feel a little bit better. In fact, I think I can take the afternoon off now and go catch the rest of the Manchester United- Barcelona Champions League final match.

Taxes cost more than death - or health care

The hits just keep on coming … and not in a Beatles kinda way, either. Although the tax man is coming. Again.

In a ham-handed attempt to pick up the tab for health care reform, the Senate Finance Committee just suggested another tax, this time on, ahem, health care.

Now, while the irony (or is it absurdity?) is not lost on me, I can’t help but wonder what they’re putting in the water up there in the District.

Oh, and it gets better. Not only does the committee want to levy a new tax on employer-paid health care, they want to come up with a new “sin” tax, as well. Seems they want to tax any drinks sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. The Kool-Aid man referred all questions to Mrs. Butterworth. (And, yeah, I know it’s not that kind of syrup, but you try telling my son not to drink it.)

Jokes aside, the worst trial balloon of the bunch, though, is the proposed new limits or outright elimination of flexible savings accounts, because, you know, we can’t have the private sector running around providing real solutions.

Committee Chairman Max Baucus and his gang of 12 are meeting today. And I’ll bet you a copay we haven’t heard the last great idea from this bunch.

Obama's required reading

Walked into the office this morning determined to write about Medicare. Compelling stuff, I know, but as the staggering economy takes its toll on every other aspect of our lives, I thought it might be time to highlight the beating Medicare is taking because of the precipitous plunge in payroll taxes.

(The latest estimate has Medicare running dry by 2017, nearly two decades sooner than Social Security, which seems to get all the press.)

But before I could make my second trip to Starbucks this morning, a broker friend called me, a little freaked out by an e-mail she’d just received. Talk about your wake-up call; this thing was more jarring than an Eminem lyric.

She found a PDF of tomorrow’s Senate Finance Committee report, quietly dubbed, “Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans.” Oxymoronic titles aside, this threatens to be this summer’s real blockbuster.

What should you be worried about most? How about this proposed Health Insurance Exchange? You should look into it — especially since this federal entity’s role is designed to replace you, the broker. Scared yet? You should be.

I know it’s not exactly summer beach reading, but do us all a favor and click on this link, download the PDF, read it and pass it on. It's time to get informed and get into the fray.

Look for a more in-depth examination of this in the July issue of Benefits Selling. Until then, keep reading.

Get face-to-Face(book)

Remember when this business ran on fax machines? (Actually, I bet there are plenty of you who remember a time before that.)

Or when direct mail drove your new business? (Who buys stamps anymore?)

Or how about that pesky gatekeeper, whether it be someone who simply answers the phone or the actual human resources chief? Remember when that was your only channel of communication with employees?

Well, those days are over. At least they can be.

There’s no reason you can’t speak directly to your clients and their employees. Whether it’s to educate them about their current benefits, upcoming changes or maybe enlighten them about a particular voluntary offering, there are a number of resources out there at your disposal.

Just read a great example this morning. United Benefit Advisors, one of the industry’s heavyweights, is showing the agility of a smaller shop with the introduction of its online Compliance Solutions Program, which they’re making available to all employers through its Web site. According to the press release, this portal is designed “to help owners, C-level management, HR officers and staff, benefits managers, compensation management and corporate health and wellness officers address the increasing challenges posed by more complex compliance regulations and rapidly shifting benefits programs.”

Another part of this outreach is the company’s monthly webinar series addressing various compliance issues.

So what are you waiting for? You don’t have to waste your time wading through Facebook of wrestling with Twitter’s limitations (both space and server-related).

Get out there. The guy down the block already is.

Pearls before swine

As the mainstream media continues to whip itself into a frothing, swine flu frenzy, there are a few other things we should worry about even more.

Like U.S. Sen. Max Baucus. Consider yourselves warned: Late last week, the Montana Democrat told reporters at the National Press Club that “everything is on the table” for health care reform. Somehow I doubt that includes a realistic way to pay for it. The suddenly vocal chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is clearly trying to rip out a page from President Obama’s “change” playbook. Obviously, he was referring to the “public option,” which sounds so much more benign than the nuclear option the Senate threatened last year, but far more frightening. Expect lawmakers to hit this hard in June.

And there’s our new Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. From what I hear, she’s a sound pick, but I know her stance on abortion (and her questionable campaign accounting) has a few of you worried. (Well, at least she wasn’t on Air Force One during that Top Gun fly-by stunt.) Jokes aside, her confirmation is the last of the president’s top posts, and we’re already sitting on the 100-day threshold. So, while this flu strain bleeds across borders despite citywide lockdowns and more facemasks than Michael Jackson’s Neverland, we find ourselves listening to the Homeland Security Secretary, during a health crisis. What’s next, Somali pirate briefings from the FDA chief? Oh right, that position’s vacant, too.

Let’s not forget Sen. Arlen Specter, this year’s Joe Lieberman, whose switch tips Congress even further left — well, if you believe it’s more than a political play to stay in office. I had a lot more to say about this, but I changed my mind.