NEWS AND TRENDS
Small Businesses
Face Enrollment
Problems
More than half of small-business employers who offer employee benefits encounter challenges during the
enrollment process, according to a recent
study from The Guardian Life Insurance
Company of America.
The study, which examined small-business owners’ (one to 100 employees)
decisions about employee benefits, revealed that more than 40 percent of employers plan to take action to manage
benefit costs. About 22 percent said they
would absorb medical-benefit costs and 20
percent would absorb nonmedical-benefit
costs. Approximately the same percentage
said they would either shift more or all
costs to employees or cut back on medical employee benefits, while slightly fewer
would cut back on nonmedical benefits.
Thirty-three percent said they would use
a combination of the above approaches.
Nearly half ( 45 percent) of small-business
employers said they would offer benefits
on a voluntary basis.
More than half of small business
employers who offer employee benefits
also encounter obstacles during the enrollment process, the study revealed.
These include administrative challenges and obstacles in trying to get employees to take advantage of the offerings.
The most frequently cited administrative challenge was managing paperwork and administrative responsibilities
( 23 percent). Challenges with engaging
employees include getting employees to
submit completed forms on time ( 23 percent) and providing clear, easy-to-un-derstand information about options ( 20
percent). For more information, visit www.
guardianlife.com/. —Preeti Vasishtha
Health-Care
Coverage Costs
To Increase
Costs for the most popular types of
health-care coverage are projected to
increase at double-digit rates through the
remainder of 2008 and into 2009, according to a national survey of insurers and
administrators.
