Total Rewards Shares Collegewide Health Insurance and Benefits Survey Results
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A message from Tom Keller, Director of Benefits
In June 2015, the Organizational Development and Human Resources advisory team recommended UnitedHealthcare as Valencia’s new health insurance provider. On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, Valencia’s District Board of Trustees approved the selection.
Following the approval, from Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 24, 2015, the Office of Total Rewards and Workforce Planning invited benefits-eligible employees to complete a brief anonymous survey to help us understand what is important to you as our department develops the health insurance plans.
A total of 1,613 surveys were sent and 1,113 were returned, providing a 70.2 percent response rate.
We were pleased to see the tremendous response rate, as it demonstrates that many of you want to have your voices heard on this topic, which is important. The survey results have been reviewed and analyzed by the Organizational Development and Human Resources advisory team and will be used to assist us with health plan design and options, help us identify areas of concern for employees during the transition and will aid us with better communication and education for our employees about their healthcare and other benefits.
The main findings and themes of the survey results are the following:
Health Plan Options and Costs
Two-thirds of employees either want different options in health plans or an increase in the number of plans available to choose from.
Important features in the new health plan are physician choice, prescription drug coverage and out-of-pocket costs that will be incurred.
Regarding dependent coverage, respondents wanted plan options with lower premium costs, and there were many who were willing to have a plan option with a smaller network if it meant lower premium costs.
Access to Preferred Providers – “Is my doctor in network?”
As for the specific concerns about the transition to UnitedHealthcare, the biggest was whether a preferred doctor was in the network. This was followed by the choice of providers available in the UnitedHealthcare network, transition issues with the new coverage because of current health concerns and out-of-pocket costs that will be incurred.
Communication Channel Preferences
Usage is low for the tools in myCigna.com to help estimate/compare health care and prescription drug costs. This is in conflict with the concerns employees have about the out-of-pocket costs they incur. This demonstrates that we need to provide additional education on how employees may use these tools to help with potential cost savings.
Comparative Value of Benefits Package
Employees only slightly agreed that their overall benefits package is competitive with other colleges/universities and organizations/companies. This shows us that we must better explain how our benefits package compares to other organizations’ plans.
For more information, be sure to attend one of the upcoming 2016 Benefits Tours from Monday, October 5 – Friday, October 16, 2015. You may also reach me at tkeller8@valenciacollege.edu or extension 3888.
LMHC said:
Would we have the same mental health benefits as we did with Cigna (which were amazing by the way but not many people knew about them)?
AMWed, 23 Sep 2015 08:26:21 +0000Wed, 23 Sep 2015 08:26:21 +0000am15,8:26 am
Tom Keller said:
Thank you for your feedback. We are in the process of finalizing our health plan details at this time. We'll be releasing the details of our plan offerings during the 2016 Benefits Tour meetings to be held on the campuses October 5-16. Please keep an eye out on The Grove next week for the dates, times, and locations so you can be sure to attend. We look forward to seeing you on the Tour!
PMWed, 23 Sep 2015 21:27:05 +0000Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:27:05 +0000pm15,9:27 pm