To help your clients match their needs – and those of their employees – to an employer-sponsored health plan that’s a good fit, it’s important to ask the right questions.
Here are seven questions to consider in your owner/manager interview and discussion about the needs of employees – and dependents if they are to be insured.
1: What is your budget for health insurance? This will help guide the selection of plans, so it is within your client’s financial reach. Is an HMO the right choice? Or maybe an EPO or PPO? What about the CaliforniaChoice private exchange? CalChoice offers employees a broad array of coverage options, while still controlling costs for clients.
2: What are the company’s employee and group demographics? Is there an ethnically diverse workforce? Are there different aged employees? Are there dependents? In some organizations, there may be multiple generations represented among employees, managers, and owners. This diversity could be another factor to consider in potential health plan choice(s).
3: How would you rate your client’s employees’ current health status? Do any members of your client’s team members have pre-existing health conditions? In larger organizations, this may be harder to answer. In smaller organizations, there may a lot that co-workers know about one another. The answer to this question may help you determine whether an HMO, PPO, EPO, or other coverage (like the CaliforniaChoice exchange) is the right solution to address diverse employees’ (and dependents’) needs.
4: Does your client have specific doctors or hospitals they prefer? What about employees? Some insurance plans may limit the health care providers members can use. Ask about “access” considerations, so you can look for health plans that include desired facilities and providers. Word & Brown’s proprietary technology allows you to instantly search, confirm, and build quotes with the doctors, medical groups, and hospitals your clients want.
5: Are there any particular health services your client needs? What about their employees? How about prescription medications that need to be included in the plans being considered? Are there employees or dependents who may need future maternity care services? What about other specialized care? Each of these, too, could influence the range of plans to discuss with your client.
6: How frequently do your clients’ team members typically visit medical professionals? Are dependents included in the proposed coverage? Again, demographics may be a factor in answering this question. If your clients, family members, and enrolling employees have a need for frequent medical attention, that should be weighed in selecting plans for quoting.
7: What is your client’s level of understanding and comfort with health insurance terms and processes? Your client’s answer will help you gauge how much guidance he/she/they might need in understanding the proposed health policy and its benefits.
When you’re working with clients, to the extent possible, it’s best to avoid a lot of health care and insurance jargon. It’s a good best practice to explain technical or jargon terms when you first encounter them in your conversations with clients.
Put your clients at ease by incorporating Word & Brown’s series of Health Care Quick Flicks to educate them about various aspects of health insurance and employee benefits. You can access these videos through the Word & Brown website. In addition, through the Word & Brown Insurance Forms Library, we offer the Uniform Glossary of Health Coverage and Medical Terms in both English and Spanish. A pdf of Common Health Insurance Topics and Medical Terms is also available.
Our quote includes side-by-side plan comparisons with highlighted differences, so it’s easier to zero in on what’s important for your clients. Once committed, your client will also appreciate the onsite support we offer for enrollment. We can be there to review benefits, explain carrier perks, and collect and submit applications and related paperwork. If you need multilingual support, we offer that, too, in California.
Contact your Word & Brown representative if have questions. If you’re not already doing business with us, it’s easy to get started. Call 800-869-6989 or fill out our online form.
