What Happens When You Purchase An Employee Benefits Plan

Congratulations! You’ve decided to purchase an employee benefits plan for your business (in industry parlance you have agreed to “sponsor” a benefits plan). Or maybe you already had an employee benefits plan but have agreed to switch to a new benefits provider.

An employee benefits plan needs to be set up properly, as there are a number of moving parts. When it’s done right, it should be straightforward and user-friendly for you and your employees.

The Initial Setup

At GroupHEALTH here are some of the things you can expect when you set up your new employee benefits plan:

1. Collaboration with the plan administrator – We start by arming the plan administrator with all the knowledge and tools they need to successfully administer the new plan. All of this is Paper Free, to free the Plan Administrator from confusing and annoying paperwork and filing. Along with an introduction to a service team at GroupHEALTH, plan administrators will be provided with access to resources that include:

• Billing information
• Administration and claim resources and forms
• A benefits handbook, and information on how to access handbooks online
• Information on the optional benefits available to employeesOne of the most important parts of any initial setup is giving plan administrators access to an online administration platform. GroupHEALTH’s online administration platform is called WEBS. It’s user friendly and powerful, meant to make plan administration much more efficient. Plan Administrators can choose to automate key tasks and day-to-day duties, saving time and money. WEBS also allows plan administrators to create custom reports to break down plan costs and usage in ways that make the most sense for your company. Divisional billing is also available, to help understand where benefit dollars are being spent.2. Employee sign up – Gone are the days when your only option was to use paper enrollment cards. Employees would fill out an enrollment card by hand, and then submit it to your plan administrator. Then, they would enter the information into the system. A considerable amount of time was spent deciphering their handwriting, following up missing information and keying their information into the computer system. This is still an available option, but there’s a much easier one these days: online enrollment.That’s why GroupHEALTH created Enrol-ME Online, Canada’s first online plan member enrollment platform. You’ll start by sending us an excel spreadsheet with the names, classes and personal e-mail addresses of your employees. Next, we send employees an e-mail invitation to sign up online. They are be given a username and password and are guided through the enrollment process. The system prompts for missing information (so plan administrators don’t have to!) and sends reminder e-mails. Your plan administrator can log on to check the status of enrollments during the sign-up period. Employees can even complete a digital signature for their enrollment and completely eliminate paper.3. Communications for employees – It’s essential that employees receive timely, clear communications about their new benefits plan. GroupHEALTH has a website for employees called the Member Solutions Center. It provides always up-to-date, easy to understand info for employees on using their new benefits card, adding family members to the plan, eligibility, virtual health care and many other topics. Employees will also receive instructions on how to download and install the myGroupHEALTH mobile app for benefits information on the go. These resources are meant to help employees get the most out of their new benefits plan.

Ongoing Support

Having support during the transition to a new benefits plan is important. Equally important is having ongoing support throughout the life of the plan. This helps ensure that you’re getting the most out of the resources available to you.

Along with a dedicated service and support team, GroupHEALTH provides ongoing training on WEBS online to make plan administration easier. Training is offered via webinars, demo videos or one-on-one training sessions. These can be accessed throughout the life of a plan. If a new plan administrator joins your organization, they have the opportunity to receive training directly from GroupHEALTH.

Plan administrators also have access 24/7 to an online knowledgebase about all aspects of plan administration.

Ongoing Communications

When you switch to a new benefits plan you don’t want to feel like you’re left in the dark after it’s all set up. At GroupHEALTH, we provide ongoing communications for both your Plan Administrator and your employees.

Plan Administrators receive a quarterly e-newsletter with articles and information relevant to Plan Administrators. They also receive notice of highlights or changes in the industry and yearly EI provincial plan updates, as well as online notices of new developments.

Employees have access to articles and resources online, and they can also receive something called a “total rewards statement.” Upon request by your plan administrator, GroupHEALTH will prepare confidential, personalized statements for each employee outlining the value of the benefits they receive, as part of their total compensation. This is a great way to remind employees of benefits as a component of their total compensation.

Future Renewals

If you’ve just signed on to a new benefits plan, your renewal may seem far away, but it really isn’t! At GroupHEALTH, we try to make renewals as transparent and straightforward as possible. We maintain a long-term approach and do a comprehensive evaluation with you to determine if your plan is still meeting your needs and your budget.

Good Advice is Key

Getting started with a new benefits provider is exciting, but it can also be a little unnerving if you don’t know what to expect. Make sure you’re choosing a provider that can help you through the transition and support you through the long term. Review your options with one of our licensed advisors on the phone, or contact us for a comparison quote.

Whether you’re looking for extended health and dental coverage , disability coverage , or life and critical illness coverage , GroupHEALTH has affordable benefits packages that work as hard as you do.