Impress your clients at your renewal meetings by being up to date on these two trends we are seeing in Employee Group Benefits for 2016.

TREND #1: New High Cost Specialty Drugs
The increased development of high cost specialty drugs will continue to be the largest and most unpredictable group benefit cost for 2016. This will require insurance carriers and advisors to get more creative with plan designs and coverage options. Watch the claiming trends for your groups and arm yourself with options.

1. Reduce Co-pay & add an HSA
Provincial programs require that the plan member reaches a certain out-of-pocket deductible. This is impossible to do with a 100% prescription drug co-pay. Consider reducing the co-pay to 80% and subsidizing plan members with an HSA. Employees can use the HSA to contribute to the provincial deductible, off-set the co-pay or use it for services that aren’t covered at all.

2. Analyze Target Loss Ratios
Review how much lost premiums went to unused benefits. Suggest plan design changes that remove unused benefits and/or suggest adding an HSA, which provides more flexibility for employees and a fixed cost for employers.

3. Drug Management Programs
Review your clients’ drug management programs to ensure they are maximizing the benefits of pay direct cards, maintenance medication dispensing, preferred provider networks, tiered formularies and more.

Did you know that the Express Scripts Online Prescription Manager is a free service available for all Benecaid clients?  Employees can take advantage of free home/office medication delivery, access to knowledgeable pharmacists, and an online prescription management program for their entire family. Click here to learn more about the program and how your groups can register.

For more information on the impact of specialty drugs on group benefits plans, reach out to your Benecaid Benefits Consultant, send us an email directly advisors@benecaid.com, or check out the webinar we recently hosted on the topic available on your Access Benecaid portal, www.accessbenecaid.com.

TREND #2: Using Technology to Increase Efficiency
Technology will continue to play a large part in employee benefit plans. 2016 will see an overall increase in self-service capabilities for employers and employees along with more apps and integrations. Make sure you stay ahead of the curve by knowing which carriers offer which features and how your clients can benefit.

Sign up or view online demos to ensure you’re able to support clients. Click here to schedule a demo of our Access Benecaid portal today with one of our benefits consultants.

Did you know Benecaid offers online enrolment and claim submission? Employees can easily submit claims by simply uploading a picture through their smartphone, tablet or computer. Online enrolment provides a secure online portal for new employees to register for their benefits plan. A step by step wizard guides them through the process with helpful hints and validation rules to ensure the information is correct and employee is enrolled quickly!

Looking for a plan that keeps your clients happy year over year? Benecaid’s flexStyle results speak for themselves. Check out highlights from our 2015 client renewals:

• 1 out of 3 Benecaid clients benefited from a rate decrease or no change in rates
• 30% of our clients had a DECREASE in their rates – with the average rate decrease of 10%
• 2 out of 3 clients had an increase of less than 5%

Click here to watch a quick video highlighting our unique renewal approach with flexStyle.