4 Health Benefits That Are Valuable to Small Businesses

June 25, 2020 - Business decision-makers on the small group health insurance market are prioritizing health insurance benefits and reconsidering plans with which they currently have contracts, a recent survey by Cigna and Oscar Health found.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy," said Chelsea Cooper, senior vice president of small group business at Oscar. "Cigna + Oscar was created with the purpose of addressing small businesses' unique challenges through solutions tailored to their budgets and care designed to prioritize their employees' health needs. Their top priority is our top priority, and right now that's recovery."

Cigna and Oscar surveyed more than 1,000 small business decision-makers about their health insurance choices for their companies. These participants on the small group health insurance market had from 11 to 50 employees and outlined which benefits they value.

Nearly nine out of ten participants (88 percent) said that employee health and wellbeing was a primary concern for them.

Second, respondents were more likely to be interested in benefits that fall outside of the traditional boundaries. For example, in northern California, 74 percent of these businesses on the small group health insurance market were interested in flexible support recovery options.

In Nashville, Tennessee, survey participants valued coverage for dependents while in Atlanta, Georgia, small businesses emphasized personalized member engagement.

That being said, small businesses still seek out more typical factors such as cost.

Small businesses have been seeing premium increases for years, with one study finding that small group health insurance market premiums rose by five percent from 2015 to 2018. Cigna and Oscar Health’s survey confirmed that keeping premiums and deductibles low remains a priority.

Fourth, the survey revealed an increased interest in telemedicine options and business recovery support.

Telehealth options play a significant role in the new small business health plan brand, Cigna + Oscar. The payers announced the brand in January 2020 with a particular emphasis on its use of integrated telehealth solutions. The payers are waiting for the brand and its products to undergo regulatory procedures.

“Companies across the U.S. have long recognized that investment in the health of employees and their families is critical, because they know that a healthy and productive workforce is a key driver of their business success," said Julie McCarter, vice president of product solutions at Cigna. "Through our partnership, we are providing more choices for affordable, predictable and simple health coverage to small businesses at a time when they need it most.”

Over half of the businesses were considering or potentially considering changing their payer in the new year. There were two main factors that small businesses named as key to that decision: whether the new insurer had a large and varied provider network and whether the new insurer demonstrated a stronger connection with the business and their employees—both functionally and relationally.

Small businesses clearly placed a high value on health insurance and related benefits, with the top two most important benefits that small businesses offer being wellness programming and health insurance. They even ranked these two benefits above financial and workplace flexibility benefits.

Businesses on the small group health insurance market in certain regions including Georgia, northern California, and Tennessee were dedicating more financial resources toward healthcare coverage. These three geographic areas were far more likely to be searching for a new payer.

As small businesses struggle to maintain health insurance for their employees, policymakers have tried to come up with options. The Trump Administration has pushed health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) as an alternative to investing in a full health insurance policy, but these plans came under fire as driving out-of-pocket healthcare spending for some populations.