In California, 45 percent of people are covered by an employer-provided health insurance policy. But of course, having a policy and actually accessing it are two very different things! As with anything else in life, using a tool fully correctly is the key to reaping the most benefit from it. And when you think of health insurance as a tool for good health, it’s easy to see how simply being covered by a policy might not be adequate to actually keep workers healthy.\r
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Last month, we blogged about how workers are actually using those benefits. We focused on one particular subset of workers, separated by income. This month, we’ll be discussing those who earn between $50,000 and $99,999 annually. We’re using stats gathered by Aflac, to understand how workers access their benefits, as well as how those benefits help you with employee recruitment and retention.\r
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Productivity. Fifty percent say that their healthcare benefits are very or extremely important to their overall work productivity.\r
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Retention. Still, though, 45 percent of these workers say they are “at least somewhat likely” to look for a new job in the coming year. How can you make them stay? Forty-one percent say that improving their health benefits package could make them want to stay at their current jobs.\r
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It is possible that, although this demographic does have health insurance, their deductibles or co-pays create an obstacle to fully accessing those benefits.. In fact, 61 percent said that they have less than $1,000 to pay out-of-pocket expenses associated with a serious illness or accident. That might explain why 71 percent of respondents said that they be “at least somewhat likely” to purchase voluntary insurance options, if offered by their employer, to help with these expenses.\r
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Other types of insurance. Since 88 percent of respondents reported that a benefits package is influential in helping them stay with their current employer, Aflac probed further to see which insurance benefits are most commonly offered.\r

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• 92 percent of these workers were offered a major medical insurance policy

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• 71 percent are offered life insurance

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• 56 percent are offered disability insurance

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• 22 percent are offered voluntary insurance

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What can we learn from these stats? We already know that a comprehensive benefits package is one of the most important components of employee retention. But which benefits are most important? In the $50,000-$99,999 earnings range, we can see that many workers are concerned with their out-of-pocket costs. Meanwhile, most employers are not offering voluntary insurance packages to help lower that burden. So, while the vast majority of these workers do have health insurance, they aren’t necessarily fully satisfied with their benefits package.\r
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For more information on health insurance, voluntary insurance, and other important components of a comprehensive benefits package, give us a call. We can identify ways to help your employees better access their healthcare policies, and promote a happier workplace for all.