Case Study of The Town of Plainfield: How Workplace Empathy Changed Their Benefits.

There are many different leadership styles in business today, but a quality that is becoming fundamental to the workplace is empathy. This has been especially true since Covid-19.

When employees feel heard, understood, and appreciated by their employers they are eager to work, are happier, and genuinely enjoy being at their workplace. This helps to lower employee turnover and improves employee retainment.

The Town of Plainfield, a local town on the west side of Indianapolis has done just that. They methodically implemented NextGen benefits into their business. Their goal — to increase savings and improve the quality of life for their people.

The Town’s total plan spend has an average trend over the last 6 years of 1.9%, and they are self-funded. They have been able to keep their average trend basically flat over the last 6 years, and this trend would probably be negative, but all of the savings they receive from any of the programs they put in place they reinvest back in their workplace.

They keep giving back.

This client has always had a really attractive benefits program. Low premiums, low deductibles, low out of pockets. They have been self-funded for over 15 years but it was 6 years ago when they decided to begin adding NextGen strategies to their healthcare plan, using the management side of their self-funding approach, and that’s when they were able to achieve some really exciting savings!

Their strategic plan included implementing the following protocols:

• They created a relationship with a local hospital that has resulted in a strong partnership between the town, the hospital, and their employees. This has also provided savings and benefits to their employees. By making this hospital the In-Network provider, they have a direct contract where they receive lower rates.
• This hospital also provides an employer-sponsored clinic in multiple locations to provide free wellcare, sick care, and generic medications to their employees and their employees dependents. These clinics are also directly contracted at a negotiated lower rate of care than traditional national provider networks (who take their cut), saving the town money.
• They have a transparent pharmacy benefit manager that offers pass-through pricing and returns any manufacturer rebates back to clients.
• The town also implemented a specialty RX sourcing program that sources expensive specialty drugs for the member and the plan for free.

These strategies have provided significant savings to the Town and its employees. By using NextGen strategies, they are improving the quality of care for their people and reducing costs.

But what is most satisfying is what they have done with those savings.

With the savings they gained, they have given their employees:

• $1250 for single coverage and $2250 for family coverage in HSA contributions.
• A robust wellness program, focused on health, well-being, and culture. The program includes many different options that are offered to improve employee’s overall well-being. And by participating in those programs, employees can earn an additional $750 for themselves and their spouses in HSA contributions. Between this program and the general HSA contributions, the Town almost completely funds the HDHP deductible.
• They hired a well-being Manager whose job is to focus solely on the well-being and mental health of the Town’s employees.
• They were able to reduce employee and dependent premiums by 50%, which were very low to begin with.
• All of these benefits are on top of the free care that the Town is providing members through the NextGen strategies with the Employer-Sponsored Clinic and Specialty RX sourcing programs.

Use cost savings where you need them most.

The benefits of using NextGen strategies don’t have to be used in this way. Each business is unique, these savings could be used to keep the doors open, control costs because the long-term forecast is sustainable and later used to unlock big returns from reinvestment like we just described.

All of the strategic moves made by the Town have had a positive effect on employee retention, employee wellbeing, and their culture.

We can help you take your healthcare plan to the next level. Learn strategies that will help you through the Great Resignation, and set yourself apart in the delivery of healthcare to your employees. Let’s chat!