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By William Grebenc

With a limited labor pool, today’s marketplace is pressuring employers to enhance their employee benefits offering in order to attract personnel while retaining current employees. Simultaneously, health care costs continue to increase, so upgrading benefit offerings appears unattainable.

It isn’t. Oswald Companies’ William Grebenc, an employee benefits advisor, sees consistent opportunities for employers, even with marketplace challenges.

Grebenc recounted a recent interaction to help explain, “Last month, a manufacturer approached us with over $3 million annual spend in medical and prescription drugs claims. After reviewing their program and walking through Oswald’s process, we saved the employer over $450,000 by implementing prescription drug carve out, our proprietary high-cost claimant management, network analysis, and year-round education and engagement.”

This is not an anomaly.

He accredits this client story to the Oswald LEAN process, an approach that removes unnecessary waste and inefficiencies within the employee benefit program without artificial suppression of costs, i.e., raising deductible levels or increasing employee contributions. The overall outcome results in equal or greater benefits at a lower cost.

Specifically, Oswald LEAN is comprised of 25 different waste and risk reduction tactics, none of which increase the deductible or employee contributions.

The LEAN analysis is run each year for existing clients, and the employer can choose to act on any findings at their convenience.

Seismic economic and health shifts require rethinking of how employers are managing their benefit program.

“Oswald’s process has consistently been focused on improving our clients’ experience, year over year,” Grebenc said. “As an employee-owned firm, we are able to prioritize our clients allowing us to continuously drive innovation in the marketplace.”

It is because of this consistency and foresight that Oswald Companies year one engagements with clients save employers, on average, more than $1,000 Per Employee Per Year, decreases the cost of inpatient and outpatient services using Medicare as a baseline, and reduces prescription drug spend by more than 20 percent.

The LEAN strategies offer insight into the driver of number of units used and the cost of those units within each employer’s benefit program. Once Oswald understands what variables are most affecting costs, targeted programs are put in place to better manage select cost drivers while mitigating future risk.

Oswald can assist companies seeking savings within the program to achieve improved benefits or reinvest in other benefit offerings for team members. Oswald leverages today’s challenges to outline opportunity for increased control, and transparency while rewarding clients that actively manage their risk.

Grebenc concluded, “The broker relationship is about identifying competitive advantages. We bring the ideas, constantly working for you throughout the plan year, without you having to ask.”

Employer’s health insurance spend is within a company’s top three highest expenses depending on industry. Implementing a three-to-five-year strategy around the current program and where it will be in the future provides a clear path forward for employers. There is a better way and Oswald Companies would welcome the opportunity help.

To learn more how other employers are taking greater control of their health care costs, visit our Employee Benefits page or contact me directly:

William Grebenc
Employee Benefits Advisor
412.218.1445
Email

Note: This communication is for informational purposes only. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Oswald makes no guarantees of any kind and cannot be held liable for any outdated or incorrect information. View our communications policy.