How to Improve Your Firms Extended Health Claim Experience
Living in Canada provides us with a healthcare system designed to take care of our core healthcare needs. An Extended Health Care Insurance plan is meant to cover a wide range of medical expenses not covered by the government-run public insurance plan. This allows your firm’s employees the ability to not dip into their savings for many common health-related expenses.
Many firms provide an Extended Health benefit in their group benefits package. Typical costs not covered by the public system can include:
- prescription eyewear
- dental care
- massage therapy
- physiotherapy
- acupuncture
- important medications
- semi-private or private hospital accommodations
- ambulance services
- medical expenses incurred outside of Canada
- wheelchair and other medical mobility devices
A plan will typically have claim limits, these amounts can vary greatly, depending on the firm’s plan. It’s important that your firm’s employees have a strong understanding of their Extended Health claim amounts in a calendar year to have a better experience.
The goal of any Extended Health Care Insurance plan is to provide a firm’s employees with an enhanced level of health coverage, which also increases the company’s productivity over the long term. Plans will cover both the employee and their dependents. Typically, there is an age cut-off for employees wishing to enroll in an Extended Health plan.
Each Extended Health Care Insurance plan will cover different percentages of a treatment of medication. For example, one plan may reimburse the insured 80 percent of a dental expense, while another may cover the full amount. An experienced insurance advisor will walk you and your firm through all the benefits in your plan and each components coverage amounts.
Improving your claims experience is a byproduct of good plan design. While all these features may seem confusing, your advisor is compensated and should be able to walk you through the decisions. Having 100% coverage may seem like a good idea but having employees participate a little in the cost gets them to better manage their own options. Limits that dovetail with government programs can also provide safety from claims exposure on items such as high cost drugs.
In households with two working adults, it is common that both people have their own individual Extended Health Insurance plans. A coordination of benefits can greatly reduce out-of-pocket expenses by combining the coverage of both plans. Rules will vary from plan-to-plan, but coordinating benefits can reduce claim costs.
Most group insurance providers will have an online submission tool for employees to submit their covered claims. Many insurance companies utilize mobile technology to provide easy-to-use mobile applications. Encourage your employees to submit receipts right away. This provides a better Extended Health claim experience for the employee and allows your firm the ability to track overall claim amounts. Many members of an Extended Health plan pay with their credit cards, earning points during the process. This an excellent way to offset out-of-pocket money not covered by your firm’s plan.
An Extended Health Insurance plan is one of the most common components of a group benefit plan and it’s also one of the most important. Ensure that your firm partners with an experienced group insurance advisor to design an Extended Health plan that matches both the needs of your employees and stays within your firm’s budget.
At Tanner Financial we have been helping Toronto and area firms create effective Extended Health Insurance plans since 1999. We have relationships with some of the top insurance companies in the country and we leverage these connections to get your firm the best possible group insurance benefit plan. Want to learn more about how you can improve your firms Extended Health claim experience; speak with one of our experts today.
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