How Innovative Employee Health Benefits Maximize Affordability and Engagement

On Tuesday, July 16, Matt Cook, Chief Commercial Officer at Firefly Health, invited Debra Tierney, Senior Benefits Manager at IDEXX Laboratories, a leader in pet healthcare innovation and Firefly Health client, for a conversation about her experience offering employees an alternative health plan, plus tactics for an effective rollout driving plan adoption. Debra discussed meeting employee needs, allowing members to live their healthiest lives, and attracting and retaining top talent.

Key takeaways from the webinar included:

• Not all alternative plans offer the same features. Matt presented a buyers’ guide and key questions to ask when vetting various alternative health plan options.
• Alternative health plans that have embedded advanced primary care and navigation show the most promise in driving engagement, better health outcomes, and downstream savings.
• Unique, innovative benefits packages can help your organization retain top talent, offer more affordable plans, and improve access to care for employees.

Benefits managers such as Debra always seek to unlock value for employees and prioritize care that promotes convenience, longevity, and efficiency. An alternative health plan can help address employee needs that traditional plans offered by major insurance corporations can’t accommodate. Consider the following questions Matt and Debra explored Tuesday about whether an alternative health plan can maximize value, convenience, and employee wellness.

Can an alternative health plan maximize employee and business needs?

IDEXX employees work in locations across the country, so Debra found it important to work with a national healthcare provider in offering an alternative plan. A national provider allowed IDEXX to sidestep complicated intricacies involved in setting up plans with companies in each state where IDEXX employees live.

An alternative health plan allows companies such as IDEXX to be flexible in finding a plan that offers exactly what employees need without the complex web of contracts, pricing inefficiency and lack of transparency, and fragmentation often experienced by employers and employees with the benefits packages offered by major corporations.

Health plans tailored to employee needs can save money and make care more accessible. Overall cost of care proved to be the most important aspect of a new employee benefits package following a survey of IDEXX employees¹. This finding allowed Debra’s team to position Firefly Health’s plan as a convenient and affordable option. Aside from insurance premiums, Debra also addressed the cost of copayments in finding an alternative plan, as lower copays allowed employees to save in another way.

How can virtual healthcare combine convenience with effective care?

Many people became more comfortable with telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for virtual care will surely continue.

More than 80% of US counties are considered ‘medical deserts,’ where medical infrastructure is inadequate². Virtual healthcare solutions can help members access care from anywhere.

However, telehealth done well doesn’t mean cursory, one-off appointments. Firefly Health’s health plan allows members to connect with a dedicated, readily available care team. “They understand you, and they’re going to be there when you need them most,” Matt said, explaining that an ongoing care team relationship helps members meaningfully address health goals and concerns while benefiting from the convenience of virtual modality.

This care team consistently meets with the patient, and navigates patients toward specialists with cost efficiency in mind and upfront price transparency.

How can an alternative health plan improve employee engagement?

Some employees may not fully engage with their present health plan, presenting inefficiencies and opportunities for employers to rethink plan offerings. Alternative options can be a good fit for employees of certain age groups or other demographics. For example, younger employees may be more comfortable with virtual care.

In Debra’s case, many frontline employees seldom booked primary care appointments. Many found it difficult to schedule and time-consuming to attend primary care appointments, but an alternative option allowed for convenient virtual care to take place of hours-long commutes to and from appointments.

Alternative health plans are new for employers and employees alike. IDEXX successfully encouraged a large cohort of employees to enroll in a new plan through a steady, consistent communications strategy that was carried out well before enrollment.

Introduce yourself to set up a conversation with Matt Cook, Chief Commercial Officer at Firefly Health, and learn more about how virtual care solutions geared toward meeting employee and financial needs can transform your organization’s employee wellness.