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As if employers didn’t already have enough on their plates, they now are under major pressure to balance their benefits spending amid record-high health care costs and growing employee demand for ever-expansive benefits. For some employers, according to a new report, this is “an unsustainable trajectory” that is further exacerbated by widespread financial insecurity and persistent benefits confusion.
The seventh annual “Benefits Insights Report” from SaaS-based human resources and benefits administration technology provider Businessolver® includes details about employee benefits preferences, behavioral insights, and trends data alongside AI technology adoption and effectiveness. The data is based on the 18 million individuals represented on Businessolver’s platform, as well as 740,000 annual enrollment surveys, 42,800 benefits preferences surveys, and feedback from nearly 1,400 HR decision makers.
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Here are three highlights of the report:
- Nearly half (48%) of employees would feel panicked by a $6,000 emergency room bill. That percentage spikes to 63% for Gen Z employees. Additionally, 20% of millennials say they would go into debt to pay for an unexpected medical expense.
- More than 8 in 10 (86%) employees say they are confused about their benefits, a statistic that has remained largely unchanged for seven years running.
- Seventy-nine percent of employees say they are “confident” or “extremely confident” in their enrollment decisions, with 84% rating their enrollment experience as “great” or “excellent,” despite confusion.
The survey also revealed that when given access to AI and advanced benefits technology tools, employees overwhelmingly engage — resulting in fast inquiry resolution and substantial time savings. AI-enabled automation, decision support, and hyper-personalized employee communications also are optimizing costs while ensuring employees receive superior and empathetic support. For example:
- More than two-thirds (69%) of employees use decision support to enroll in right-fit-benefits for them at enrollment when it’s available.
- The overwhelming majority (89%) of employees opt into using their claims data for a more personalized benefits experience; 45% likewise opt into text reminders about their benefits.
- Up to an average of $3 million was saved annually per employer with AI self-service and automation tools such as dependent verification and cognitive search.
“This year’s data demonstrates the real outcomes advanced technology is driving and the key performance indicators that HR should be considering to balance risings costs with employee wellbeing,” Dr. Kimberly Dunwoody, vice president of UX and Member Experience at Businessolver, said in a statement. “It’s clear: Achieving value requires both a willingness to disrupt the status quo and a more dimensional, data-driven approach to benefits management.”
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