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In the spring, healthcare plan renewal season seems so far off in the distance. But a little bit of advance preparation goes a long way in getting ready for employee benefits renewal, the most important, and stressful, time of the year for healthcare insurance brokers.
Brokers, it's time to take a look at what's trending for this year's renewal season
Data Mastery: The best brokers are leaning into analytics to differentiate themselves. Instead of just showing employers a few renewal options, they’re prepared with real performance comparisons between networks and carriers. This shift is reshaping how employers evaluate their advisors. Yes, in some cases, this type of data has even become table stakes, so be prepared to really offer meaningful information backed by forward-looking insight.
Impeccable Execution: Strategy is great, but not if you struggle on the operational side. From managing direct contracts to implementing transparency tools and driving member engagement – it's all crucial to designing healthcare plans that have a true impact for consumers. It’s no longer about only having the best ideas; you have to actually turn those ideas into reality.
Continual Evaluation: Waiting until renewal to judge the effectiveness of healthcare plans? That’s a strategy from the past. As the cost of healthcare continues to grow, employers are laser-focused on in-season analysis. They need to know if a plan is still meeting the needs of their employees, and if it’s not, how to fix it. Brokers are being pushed to provide in-year insights on spend, utilization and outcomes. This helps their clients identify and act on cost drivers before they become end-of-year surprises.
With the help of a third party, brokers can effectively use healthcare pricing transparency data to design cost-effective employee health plans. By analyzing publicly available medical pricing information, brokers will be able to track trends, spot efficiencies and provide clients with better designed insurance plans.
Parsing the data effectively will help health insurance brokers understand that negotiated insurance rates vary widely. To illustrate this, Handl Health recently looked at the average rates negotiated by Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and Aetna at major facilities for two different procedures.
For a Diagnostic Colonoscopy, Handl examined negotiated rates from these hospitals and ASCs: Endoscopy Center of Bergen County (NJ), Endoscopy Center of New York, Kips Bay Endoscopy Center, Manhattan Endoscopy Center, and NYU Langone Health.
At those facilities, prices for the procedure run between $1,588 and $2,128.
Casting a wider regional net, Handl priced out a Total Knee Arthroplasty at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hospital for Special Surgery (NY), Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center (NJ), and Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.
Again, the healthcare pricing reflects a very wide range. The average cost for the procedure at these facilities is anywhere from $12,667 to nearly $23,000.
Appropriately weighing data regarding negotiated health insurance rates empowers brokers to make optimal insurance pricing decisions for their employer clients. But mere data transparency isn’t enough; you need an expert guide to help you through the information, separating the data that truly makes an impact from all the white noise.
Site-of-care differentials are frequently discussed as a driver of healthcare spend, but the data show that its not as cut and dried as weighing the cost of an ACS versus a hospital. Brokers need help to dig deeper than the surface-level data to truly create an actionable plan design that enables employers to deliver the most-effective healthcare plans for their employees. This protects not only clients from unnecessary costs but also helps reduce the overall burden of healthcare costs in this country.
Handl Health can help brokers create healthcare plans that promote cheaper fees for the same level of care, empowering them to become advocates for a more sustainable healthcare future.
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