CHARLESTON, S.C., March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Benefitfocus,
Inc. (NASDAQ: BNFT), an industry-leading benefits technology
platform that simplifies benefits administration for employers,
health plans and brokers, has released The State of Employee
Benefits™ 2021 report, an analysis of employee benefit plan design
and participation highlighting key trends that are shaping the
future of the benefits ecosystem.
According to the report, enrollment in high-deductible health
plans (HDHPs) as well as voluntary benefits, specifically income
protection products, increased as employers continued to diversify
and enhance their benefit offerings for 2021. The report took its
findings from millions of actual enrollment transactions occurring
on the Benefitfocus platform.
"The State of Employee Benefits provides a clear picture of how
employers maintained their strategic focus on employee engagement
and controlling health care costs. It also highlights, in the midst
of the COVID-19 pandemic, how employers are approaching benefit
plan design, offering more consistency in workforce benefits
planning and better addressing employees' total wellbeing," said
John Thomas, Chief Data Officer of
Benefitfocus. "With the long-term impacts of the pandemic still
largely unknown, our unique data capabilities help us identify
enrollment and engagement trends that can help guide employers to
adapt their benefit strategies accordingly."
Based on its analysis of the compiled data, the report
concludes: "There was a clear trend upward for expanding benefit
offerings as a way to differentiate in a competitive job market
leading up to 2020. If anything, employers took a more
paternalistic approach in 2021, continuing to offer more benefits
and absorbing health plan cost increases to keep things consistent
for employees. At the same time, employees took more advantage of
savings opportunities and income protection."
Among the report's key findings:
- Employers are expanding benefit packages to address the
diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce. Nearly three
quarters of large employer groups offered a mix of traditional
health plans (PPOs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) for
2021, moving away from single health plan strategies. Voluntary
benefit offerings continued to expand, specifically income
protection benefits, as a way to supplement core coverage and
provide greater flexibility and choice.
- Employee health plan premiums saw moderate growth as
employers took on more of the cost burden in 2021. While
employee health plan premiums saw only a slight increase between
2020 and 2021, employers are paying more as a percentage of the
total premium in 2021.
- HDHPs are catching up to traditional PPOs in popularity
among employees. PPOs are still the health plan of choice
among employees, but HDHPs have grown in popularity across the
board, with participation up 30 percent since 2018.
- Consumer-directed health care accounts appeal to younger
employees. Since 2018, the percentage of Gen Zers with a health
savings account (HSA) has more than doubled. Gen Zers, millennials
and Gen Xers increased HSA contributions by 10 percent or more in
2021.
- Supplemental benefits gained significant traction among
employees. Over the last four years, employee
participation in hospital indemnity plans has more than doubled and
increased by 13 percent in 2021 alone. Participation in both
critical illness and accident plans has grown by 65 percent or more
since 2018 as well.
For the report, Benefitfocus aggregated, anonymized and analyzed
3.5 million actual enrollment records from nearly 350 large
employer customers (1,000+ employees). That analysis is illustrated
through graphs and appending tables and depicts trends for benefit
plan design and participation leading up to and following the onset
of COVID-19.
"Both the nature and scope of the data make this report a
one-of-a-kind look at employee benefit trends over the last four
years, with specific focus on the impacts of COVID-19," said Steve
Swad, president and CEO of Benefitfocus. "It is just one example of
how we leverage data to provide our customers the insights they
need to make more informed benefit decisions."
Connect with Benefitfocus
Click here to download the
full report.
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About Benefitfocus
Benefitfocus (NASDAQ: BNFT) unifies the entire benefits
industry through innovative technology solutions that bring
efficiency, cost savings and simplicity to employee benefits
administration. Our powerful cloud-based software, data-driven
insights and thoughtfully designed services help employers,
insurance brokers, health plans and suppliers address the
complexity of benefits enrollment and engagement, while bringing
easier access to health, wealth and lifestyle products
through a world-class benefits experience. Our mission is
simple: to improve lives with benefits. Learn more
at www.benefitfocus.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.
DISCLAIMER REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for historical information, all of the statements,
expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements. Actual results might differ materially
from those explicit or implicit in the forward-looking statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially include: volatility and uncertainty in the global
economy and financial markets in light of the evolving COVID-19
pandemic and uncertainties arising from the recent U.S. elections;
our continuing losses and need to achieve GAAP profitability;
fluctuations in our financial results; our ability to maintain our
culture, retain and motivate qualified personnel; the immature and
volatile market for our products and services; risks related to
changing healthcare and other applicable regulations; risks
associated with acquisitions; cyber-security risks; the need to
innovate and provide useful products and services; our ability to
compete effectively; privacy, security and other risks associated
with our business; and the other risk factors set forth from time
to time in our SEC filings, copies of which are available free of
charge within the Investor Relations section of the Benefitfocus
website at http://investor.benefitfocus.com/sec-filings or upon
request from our Investor Relations Department. Benefitfocus
assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these
forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Benefitfocus, Inc.