2024 marks the 27th anniversary of the Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey — Canada’s premier survey on workplace health benefits plans. This month we'll cover Section 2 – Health Benefit Plans – Excerpts Part I.
While many plan sponsors consider their health benefits plan a key component of attraction and retention and agreed it’s more important today than before the pandemic, costs and sustainability are significant concerns. Plan members generally rated the quality of their health benefits plan highly and their plan also factors heavily into their decision to stay with their organization. Fewer members understand their plan very well and the majority will stop or reduce treatments when coverage runs out.
Importance of group benefit plans
- When asked to rank the importance of eight listed factors in their decision to stay with their current employer, 41% ranked their health benefits plan as first, second or third, ahead of flexible work hours (37%) and flexibility of work setting (34%) (see chart for full list).
- The fact that health benefits come second after wages as one of the top three reasons why plan members are staying at their current organization indicates that plans are doing their job as an attraction and retention tool.
Perceptions
- Three in four plan members rated their employer-sponsored benefits plan highly, but plan members in poor personal or mental health were less likely to appreciate it.
- Plan members were almost twice as likely to view their plan as something to be used only to take care of their own or their family’s health rather than as extra compensation to be used as much as possible.
- Plan sponsors seem to primarily view the benefits plan as a reactive tool. The #1 reason cited for their plan’s importance was protecting employees from a health-related financial burden. The advisory board suggested a shift in mindset, toward treating the benefits plan as a preventative wellness tool.
Challenges
- After seeing plan sponsors add coverage during the pandemic, plan members have higher expectations of their plans and are making more requests for additional coverage and new and innovative benefits. Plan sponsors now have to manage those expectations against what is financially feasible.
- Overall costs, drug plan sustainability, and the impact of inflation topped plan sponsors’ list of challenges affecting their health benefits plans.
- In the year ahead, plan sponsors expect to focus their attention on reducing or controlling costs while also improving their offerings and getting a better understanding of benefits utilization.
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