Employers continue to revamp their health insurance plan just to be able to offer benefits to employees.  Health insurance cost per family is on average over $12,000 per year.  Employers of all sizes are changing their health insurance offerings to manage runaway health insurance costs.  Employers have done many things to keep health insurance affordable but are running out of options.

Still today many employers have not explored health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, health risk assessments, wellness programs and other programs designed to educate the health care consumer.

Health Risk Assessments are the gathering of health information about an employer's overall risks related to employees health care status.  Health Risk Assessments enable an employer to understand the overall risks within their company and introduce a strategy to manage these risks.  For example, an employer with 100 employees may learn through the Health Risk Assessment that there are 15 people who are obese, 12 smokers, 10 people with diabetes and a number of other conditions that are impacting health care costs.  The employer should never know precisely who these individual employees are but will have enough information to create a strategy to address the problem areas and improve the company health care situation.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements are an alternative financial vehicle that allow an employer to purchase a lower cost insurance plan while taking on some financial risk for employee claims.   Employees submit a form to their employer to get reimbursed for qualified medical expenses for medical care, dental services, deductibles and much more.   The employer has much flexibility to develop a health reimbursement arrangement to suit their needs.  The bottom line is that employers would be purchasing a higher deductible plan and then providing a means for employees to get reimbursed for expenses that they would likely have covered in their current plan.

Wellness plans also are a hot button where employers offer incentives for employees to participate in the form of lower employee contributions or incentives in to a health savings or health reimbursement account.   Wellness plans may include weight loss programs, smoking cessation incentives, exercise clubs or stress management groups to name a few.

We are nearing the end for employers to effectively manage health care costs.  Wellness programs, health savings plans and health reimbursement arrangements are part of a complex health care delivery system employers must navigate carefully to choose what is right for them.

Employers continue to revamp their health insurance plan just to be able to offer benefits to employees.  Health insurance cost per family is on average over $12,000 per year.  Employers of all sizes are changing their health insurance offerings to manage runaway health insurance costs.  Employers have done many things to keep health insurance affordable but are running out of options.

Still today many employers have not explored health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, health risk assessments, wellness programs and other programs designed to educate the health care consumer.

Health Risk Assessments are the gathering of health information about an employer's overall risks related to employees health care status.  Health Risk Assessments enable an employer to understand the overall risks within their company and introduce a strategy to manage these risks.  For example, an employer with 100 employees may learn through the Health Risk Assessment that there are 15 people who are obese, 12 smokers, 10 people with diabetes and a number of other conditions that are impacting health care costs.  The employer should never know precisely who these individual employees are but will have enough information to create a strategy to address the problem areas and improve the company health care situation.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements are an alternative financial vehicle that allow an employer to purchase a lower cost insurance plan while taking on some financial risk for employee claims.