NextGen Strategies- If It Was Easy Everyone Would Be Doing It

NextGen strategies has become a buzzword in benefits. There are a lot of advisors talking about these strategies and a lot of employers are eager to hear about them. Yet, while these strategies do bring lower costs and better, higher quality care to plan members, we aren’t seeing these strategies come to fruition a lot of the time.

These strategies, like aggressive medical management, reference-based pricing, specialty prescription sourcing programs and dialysis carve out, are fantastic strategies. They can dramatically lower the cost of healthcare for not only employers but for plan members as well.

This all sounds great, and the end game is. But the reality is that it takes hard work and dedication to successfully implement and operate these programs.

Your advisor needs to take the time to dive into every single detail of their implementation process with you. How the programs are designed, how they’re written into the plan documents, and how they’re communicated with HR, executives, and other members of your benefits team.

This takes time.

When you talk to an advisor or potential partner you need to properly understand their process to make the change smooth and meaningful. These amazing strategies can fail due to lack of support and understanding. Be honest about your concerns and get the answers you need.

• Are your CEO, CFO, and HR department incorporated into the process?
• Has there been enough education given to employees on how to use new NextGen tools?
• Does your advisor have a Member Experience Coordinator to help address problems and friction that may develop?
• Has there been enough time and thought put into choosing the right partner for reference-based pricing or pharmacy vendor?

Asking questions and working with your advisor is important, not only for your benefits team but for your plan members as well. NextGen benefits strategies completely change the idea of how we implement and manage employee benefits packages.

The message goes from “here’s your deductible or premium increase” to “here’s access to the highest quality, lowest cost healthcare available”.

This is the best outcome, but changing our way of thinking can be difficult.

These complex strategies take a lot of work and a lot of time to carry out. They are very impactful, but they aren’t plug-and-play. These are customized solutions tailored to the business, and since they require change, you need to think in terms of change management and implementation to really see the strategies succeed.

When done correctly the outcome is amazing, but work has to be put in.

At Conner Insurance, we don’t use NextGen strategies as a buzzword. We have spent, and continue to spend, the time and effort needed to understand every detail of these strategies. We know the challenges that can come with them and how to address them.

We don’t just talk about NextGen strategies, we have successfully implemented them for years.

We have a Member Experience Coordinator to help HR and plan members get the best experience from their health plan. We know the importance of communicating information to plan members and having an advocate to help them through the process.

If you have had a bad experience with NextGen strategies, the strategies may not be to blame. The problem could have been caused by a lack of planning, and the inability to implement these complex strategies successfully. You need employee training and ongoing support.

Big changes are not mindless, they are thoughtful, well-planned, and well-managed. We know that these strategies take work, but that work is well worth it, for your business and your people.