The numbers are in: Decision Doc is still valuable after multiple years.
Decision support helps employees choose the health plan that’s right for their needs – the one that best protects their health while giving them the most value for every dollar they spend. Employees who use Decision Doc are three times more likely to choose their optimal plan, and they save over $1,300 on average. Those are big-impact numbers, but what happens after the first year? If employees used Decision Doc in the past, do they really need it every year and will it really positive affect their health and finances?
We crunched the numbers, and the answer was clear: By providing employees with Decision Doc each year, employers will help even more employees save money and optimize their plan selection. Here are five reasons to make Decision Support an annual part of your enrollment strategy.
More employees save more money.
Far too often, employees choose the wrong health plan. They choose a health plan that provides too little coverage or too much, and ultimately spend more on health care than they need to. Decision Doc matches employees to the plan that will best cover their specific needs, which results in significant cost savings. We’ve found that those savings increase the longer Decision Doc is available. With one client, we saw the average employee savings jump from $2,497 in one year, to $3,724 two years later – that’s a $1,227 increase in just two years.
Why the change? Having decision support available for multiple years lets employees get used to the tool, so more people are confident choosing their winning plan. And when employees are happy with their plan choice, they’ll be more satisfied with their benefits package, and more likely to spread the word.
Employees’ health and financial needs change every year.
Another reason for the savings? Employees’ financial and health circumstances are constantly changing. Making the tool available each year reminds employees to be active health care consumers, starting with identifying the optimal health plan for their current circumstances. Even though a certain plan may have been the most optimal in the past, that does not mean it will be optimal again. With one employer, we saw an 18 percent increase in employees choosing their optimal plan after multiple years with Decision Doc. By the fourth year, 78 percent of employees were in their optimal plan!
HSA education for employees.
Decision Doc helps employees learn more about the benefits of enrolling in an HSA, including how to use their employer contribution, make the most of the tax savings benefit, and recognize perks like investing opportunities. As a result, Decision Doc users contribute more frequently and at a higher amount than non-users (over a 2X increase).
Because of employees changing medical needs, this education is invaluable every year. And it helps employers save each year too – in a fourth-year client, our data showed savings upwards of $16,000 on taxes from HSA contributions made by their employees who used Decision Doc.
Get ahead of questions about plan design change.
After open enrollment is over, employers receive our Decision Doc Impact Report. The report shows employers important trends and insights, such as how many employees changed plans, how they used their HSA or FSA, and how often each plan option came out as optimal. By looking at data from previous years, employers can better understand how their plans are serving employees: is there a plan that is never optimal? Are employees more likely to choose the FSA than the HSA? These findings help employers update their plan design to better support employees year after year.
New features and continuous improvement.
Each year, new features are added to Decision Doc that help employees better understand their entire benefits package. In just the past year, we’ve rolled out modules to support dental and vision coverage guidance, enhanced HSA and FSA education, and the Decision Doc X Sherpa Score – a full coverage digital guide. These new features and future improvements can be easily utilized by employees if Decision Doc is offered every year.
Schedule a 30-minute demo and see the difference Decision Doc can make this open enrollment season.