Today, the majority of employers provide needed health benefits for their employees. An estimate from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey reveals that about 155 million Americans under age 65 are covered by employer-provided plans. Those healthcare costs most times are too high for lots of small businesses and organizations. Hence there’s a need for employers to seek strategies to reduce healthcare costs, as it is crucial to both employers and employees. Here are five tips on how employers can reduce healthcare costs.

Use cost tools to your advantage

To ensure that healthcare costs are reduced in an organization, employers should be certain that Health care costs are clear to their employees. Employees should be provided with the tools and resources needed to research the cost of healthcare services before receiving them. The Cost Estimator tool is an example of such tools that gives users access to the cost of various routine procedures, tests, and services at different medical facilities. With these tools, employees can select healthcare services specific to their health plan, and then save cost in the process. The provision of these cost tools should be through the organization’s health insurance provider.

Make use of health plan reward program

Depending on who your health insurance provider is, there are various reward programs offered by them to employees for using a cost-effective procedure or facility. These reward systems can serve as strategies to reduce healthcare costs. When an employee chooses a fair-priced healthcare service using the Cost Estimator tool, they can be rewarded for that. The price difference in these services can be in hundreds or even in thousands of dollars depending on the facility. So with a healthcare cost tool, your employees are saved a great deal of money. They can as well be rewarded financially when the service is completed if they chose a cost-effective service. As an employer, find out if your health plan has any reward system attached, and then ensure your employees participate in it.

Design wellness programs for employees

An important tip on how employers can reduce healthcare costs in the development of wellness programs in the organization. The essence of wellness programs is to get your employees motivated to improve their health. These programs should be designed to suit the needs of your company, as there are no fit-for-all programs.  These fitness programs are amazing ways to reduce employee benefits costs. The programs contribute to the overall health of your staff and ensure an increase in productivity.

Wellness programs can be designed to include education classes for employees about health risks and behavioral improvement. Another part of the program can be health coaching, gym membership discounts, and online health assessments. With these programs, your employees achieve better health and get to visit the doctor less often.

Get preventive care

For every health plan your company subscribes to, there is always a preventive care benefit included in it. This Preventive care is given free to you and your employees, as the insurance company pays the full cost for it. Give a proper check to the Preventive Health Care Guidelines; because it’s an important tool on how employers can reduce healthcare costs. Some of these preventive cares include immunizations, lab tests, physical exams, and other prescriptions. Aside from the cost-efficient side of it, preventive care is integral to staying healthy.

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