Schools Employee Benefits Survey Insights

We’d like to share a few insights from our most recent Keenan’s Employee Benefits Survey with you. We believe it’s the most comprehensive survey of California public schools, with responses from 110 California school districts. It provides benchmarks and analysis to assist in planning employee benefit strategies for 2019 and beyond.

The 2018 survey includes an overview of existing benefits programs, costs and policies. Surveyed districts offered their views on strategic benefit decisions in the next several years. Among their most important concerns are:

• Balancing cost and plan design in the post Health Care Reform era
• The economic environment and financial impact of the ACA
• Transformation of health care delivery models and marketplace options
• Effects on upcoming collective bargaining
• New accounting standards affecting retiree benefits funding

Here are some of the interesting statewide findings. The most common methods survey participants used to address benefit costs were:

• Raising coinsurance or copays
• Increasing contributions
• Implementing a narrow provider network
• Offering a high-deductible plan with a Health Savings Account

Using technology for employee communication, self-service, eligibility, and enrollment is increasingly prevalent. Nearly half of the school districts in the survey have systems for one or more of those purposes. About half of the districts conduct manual benefits enrollment.

Telemedicine allows patients to talk with health care providers from their own homes by telephone or internet. It’s an affordable alternative to costly urgent care and ER visits. Just under 50% of districts surveyed offer telemedicine benefits, with about 90% of those districts subsidizing the services.

The 2018 Keenan Employee Benefits Survey highlights a range of additional programs including employee wellness, dental, vision care, life insurance, and retiree benefits. If you’d like to learn about the trends for school districts in your area, please contact me to discuss the survey together.