Acrisure's 2024 Benefits Benchmark Survey is open for response! And More in Issue 49

Benefits become a competitive advantage once you can differentiate from your peers. How do you know what the market is offering so you can stand out?

Benchmark your benefits

And to that end, we've opened up responses for Acrisure's 2024 Benefits Benchmark Survey for responses.

Why should you take part in this year's survey?

• This survey will provide accurate benchmarking data on a national level with the ability to sort results based on specific results ie "Can you benchmark us against larger employers because we're growing?"
• Data will be aligned by industry, employee count, geography, and more
• Free benefits second opinion on what you're currently doing
• Only those who participate in the survey will receive a copy

You will learn things like:

• Are other groups like us self-funding their benefits?
• How much are other groups contributing towards premiums?
• What are standard maternal and paternal leave policies like among our peers?
• Are our competitors offering fertility benefits?

Responses are due by April 19th, and you'll receive a copy of the report once analysis is completed.

Click here to start your response!

??Healthcare News

Healthcare nerd out: My buddy Russell Pekala popped up on my feed this week when he appeared on ??Spencer Smith, CSFS? 's podcast.

Russell and the Yuzu Health team are bringing a differentiated approach to helping employers manage their health plan in a couple particular ways:

1. Direct Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) are playing a big role in growing Yuzu by helping design and sell health plans to employers, rather than just being add-ons like is usually the case
2. Provider Networks are completely detached from their original purpose decades ago and are completely warping how we offer quality and affordable healthcare to employees and we need to seriously rethink the idea of a "provider network"

My favorite moonshot that Russell brought up is reverting to indemnity plans, where employees receive reimbursements from the plan, rather those going to providers. By reducing billing costs at providers and more directly connecting members to healthcare costs through transparency tools, plans save and members have a more affordable and quality healthcare journey.

Nikhil on Healthcare "Tarpit" Ideas: "Tarpit Ideas" is such a good term, I'm filing that away for the future. My buddy Nikhil Krishnan wrote about one such idea, Medical Tourism, last week on his newsletter .

TL;DR Yes, you might see some cost arbitrage in other countries, but you're also going to run into issues with quality, legal recourse, access, and economics of the business

Mental health urgent care centers are expanding across the US to meet rising demand and provider shortages: Urgent care centers for mental health provide an alternative to the emergency department in order to meet the compounding issues of high demand and shortages of therapists. There are now 77 clinics across the country , as of a 2021 report, and more to come. This is an example of how motivated plan sponsors can drive better mental health care for employees and their families.

LGBTQ Americans experience discrimination in health care at twice the rate of others: KFF conducted a survey that found 33 percent of LGBTQ adults reported negative experiences with the healthcare system over the last 3 years, compared to 15 percent of non-LGBTQ adults. Those issues include challenges accessing physical and mental healthcare, providers ignoring requests and questions, refusal to prescribe pain medications, and more. Proactive plan management can prevent these disparities and better care for all employees.

?? Compliance

Accenture Report Finds Organizations with Disability-Inclusive Policies More Financially Successful: Organizations implementing disability-inclusive policies and practices often have better financial performance than similar organizations. Examples of disability-inclusive practices include using videos with captions and seeking regular input on improvements from employees with disabilities. Read More

A Four-Day Workweek? What Employers Can Expect from Congress’ Newest Fight for a 32-Hour Workweek: A new piece of legislation introduced in Congress, if enacted, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to establish 32-hour workweek for non-exempt employees, with no loss in pay. While the bill is unlikely to gain steam, it might trigger movement throughout the country to revisit what a “standard” workweek means for American employees. Read More

Employers Offering DEI Training Need To Monitor Both Pro- and Anti-DEI Court Challenges and Legislative Proposals: In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision on consideration of race in university admissions, litigants have begun to challenge some DEI training programs, alleging that they constitute racial discrimination and compelled speech, and/or cultivate a hostile work environment. Read More

Department of Labor, Including OFCCP, Continues Work on Guidance and “Promising Practices” Regarding Artificial Intelligence: The Acting Director of OFCCP and the Solicitor of Labor indicated that they are moving full speed ahead on developing guidance regarding employers' use of artificial intelligence, and that the Department of Labor is working on a ‘broader value-based document’ that contains “principles and best practices” for both employers using AI and developers of the AI tools. OFCCP is working on ‘promising practices’ regarding AI selection tools. Read More

New Lie-detecting AI in the Hiring Process: How Will This Case Unfold? A leading health solutions company in the U.S. is facing claims that they are violating prohibitions against the use of lie detectors through use of an AI screening tool in its interview process. This case raises concerns over whether AI Screening Tools to evaluate job applicants’ integrity and honesty violates laws prohibiting lie detector tests in employment. Read More

You Know That Destroying Evidence Can Get You in Trouble, Right? An employer destroyed evidence that could have proved his new employee stole source code from his former employer that was used to create a “functionally equivalent” product by the new employer. Because of this bad behavior, a federal trial court entered a default judgment against the new employer (meaning that the employer lost the case without any consideration of the merits). But our admonition against destroying (bad) evidence goes both ways –as shown in a recent case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Read More

California Pay Data Reporting Is Due May 8, 2024 (Now With New Requirements!) As readers may know, California requires private employers of 100 or more employees and/or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors to annually report pay, demographic, and other workforce data to the Civil Rights Department (“CRD”). That data is due May 8th 2024. Read More

That's it for this week's Competitive Advantages! Let's put time on the calendar if you have any questions.