Market Check Survey: 2023 Employer Health & Well-Being Strategies

Employers looking ahead to 2023 continue to explore ways to expand and enhance their benefits program while balancing healthcare costs. Employee engagement and total well-being remain a top priority for employers across the country. Thus, many continue to adopt additional products, limit financial burdens, and expand access to resources necessary to support their workforce and ensure they remain an employer of choice.

We conducted a poll during a webcast on August 25 to see employers’ plans for the following year.

We compare these results against responses taken from the same poll in August 2020 and 2021. The results are in the
charts below.

Employer Medical Strategies

Employer Non-Medical Strategies

Key Findings

The top priority around the medical offering is focused on limiting the employee’s financial exposure, either through the payroll contribution or by reducing the plan’s cost-sharing requirements. This trend appears to be a direct response to the inflationary issues impacting most workers today and for the foreseeable future. It may also be a function of the labor market. Employers are concerned with affordability, but to continue bearing much of the premium, employers will need other strategies to help bend the cost curve. On the non-medical side, over half of respondents indicated they intend to add voluntary products to the benefits plan to fill gaps in their current benefits offering and meet employees in their various life stages. Interestingly, the focus on access to financial wellness programs dropped from the prior two years. Given the issues with medical debt, budgeting, and saving, employers may want to revisit their approach in this field.

Certainly, there are other strategies that employers should review. Please contact your local Assurex Global adviser if you have any questions regarding this information or other avenues to explore.