Avoid the Illusion of Choice — Keep it Simple

Imagine being in the hospital awaiting surgery. Your team of doctors presents you with two options. The surgeon explains each option with precise medical terminology, procedural protocol and possible outcomes. But what if you still don't understand what the options are and what they mean?

How do you actually make that decision?

That’s often how healthcare insurance can feel. You may be presented with ways to improve your plan, but when there isn’t enough context, you may not be able to weigh the evidence efficiently. This creates confusion and the reasons behind those changes and options can become lost.

Yet, this is what brokers often do in renewals and what HR departments do when they give employees options for their plan. Healthcare policies are presented with terms, conditions, strategy and objectives that can be confusing, even for a well-versed broker or HR manager.

We need to keep it simple.

To make decisions we generally gather information, identify alternatives, and weigh the evidence. If the needs of the decision are met or resolved, we can safely choose an appropriate action. But, when the alternatives become unclear and we can’t weigh the evidence appropriately, the decision becomes less of a choice and more of a defeated guess.

We take these same steps when we make decisions for our business. And sometimes there is no room for guessing.

These decisions can impact not only your bottom line, but your people. To help give you a real choice for your health insurance plan and avoid the illusion, consider these points:

• An in-depth approach to your benefits may not be an effective way to have your options presented to you. Your broker and HR Manager should be explaining options in a way that is easily understood.
• Pros, cons, and outcomes of each option should be highlighted only after a complete understanding of the proposed policy has been reached.
• Unlike a doctor, knowing what your broker is most comfortable with is valuable, but shouldn’t be the base of your health insurance decisions.
• Review your options carefully, ask questions and utilize any resources your provider has available.
• Getting technical is important, but going technical isn't helpful without first establishing an understanding of the strategy.
  

As experts, we need to make sure the information you receive is digestible. We need to make sure we ask the right questions, get the right insights and work with partners who take a consultative approach to make sure we are making wise recommendations.

So you can truly understand what your options are.

In-depth details won’t matter to someone who doesn’t comprehend the explanation. For most experts, no matter the profession, the desire to be transparent and run down all of the potential outcomes is strong, but if the scenarios don’t make sense, the depth just creates fear.

We need to break things into pieces. We don't need to know how to build a custom watch. Start by telling time. Then go deeper. We need to keep it simple.

As one of the biggest expenses for your company, understanding your healthcare insurance is important because only then will you know you are providing the best benefits for your people while staying within budget.

If you need help to truly understand your healthcare insurance policy, don’t hesitate to reach out. We can explain your options in a way that makes sense.

Getting all the information you need is important, getting all the information the right way is imperative.