Blog Post: The Power of Sharing Ideas, Great and Small: The Annual Employer Benefits Survey Opens a Gateway to Better Understanding

As the pace of change accelerates in our time-starved society, and each of us faces increasing complexities and responsibilities in our work, networking and sharing best practices often falls by the wayside. A great story that emerged from the Feb. 21 Summit, however, tells me how hungry many of us are to reconnect and stretch our mental muscles.

One veteran Summit attendee arose at 4:15 a.m., piled on polar vortex-resistant layers of fleece and wool, powered up her trusty Toro, and blazed a blocks-long trail from her unplowed side street to the closest thoroughfare. All so she wouldn’t miss the chance to hear from, and share ideas with, leaders, entrepreneurs and peers. And she was joined by some 150 intellectually curious colleagues, despite the fact that the event occurred during the worst blizzard of the season.

The next great opportunity for members to share information is through the Annual Employer Benefits Survey. Each year, the Minnesota Health Action Group conducts this survey on behalf of members to:

• Encourage peer-to-peer information sharing;
• Illustrate how Minnesota employers stack up against other Minnesota employers, as well as nationally; and
• Share best practices.

Following the survey, a private debrief meeting is held for all participants. Highlights of last year’s survey include:

• The most important consideration in purchasing a health plan is innovative provider reimbursement arrangements.
• Over 68% offer account-based plans.
• About 80% of benefits eligible employees elect coverage.
• More employers are offering only one plan option, rather than multiple plan choices for employees; however, more employers are offering multiple coverage tiers (55 percent offering 4 tiers, 41 percent offering 3 tiers).
• Most employers are taking action now to manage their plan costs so they will not trigger excise tax on “Cadillac” plans in 2018.

To learn more about the survey, and to view an executive summary, click here. Members who participated in the survey receive a hard copy of the comprehensive results.