Hospitals and health systems are looking to do more to address financial stress among staff, especially those on lower wages.
In addition to wage increases, employers are implementing income-based benefits, including more voluntary health care insurance, to retain and recruit workers amid higher inflation and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 37% of the hospital system, the contribution to welfare for low-wage workers has decreased from 30% a year ago. Another 21% are considering more educational programs next year, up from 15% last year, according to an annual survey released this week by financial services firm Aon. The company surveyed 145 health systems representing more than 1,200 hospitals and 2.6 million employees.
Nearly 20% of the system is also adjusting the cost burden of deductions and copays with employee pay. Another 15% are considering a similar change, the report showed.
“If someone makes $150,000 versus $50,000, should they pay the same amount for healthcare costs,” said Sheena Singh, senior vice president of national healthcare at Aon. or not is a philosophical and organizational question. “It’s not that they haven’t done it before, it’s that the number of health systems that are doing it is increasing compared to previous years. Are they really looking at how we can modify our benefits to better support our employees’ finances and be more proactive in making those changes? “
Singh said there has been an increase in programs for low-wage employees who face additional financial barriers, such as travel and daycare costs. More voluntary options for life and disability insurance are being offered.
Aon sees efforts that can make a difference, especially for workers with support staff skills that are in high demand across many industries.
For example, 39% of hospital systems offer student loan forgiveness or refinancing programs, while 41% are considering them, according to the report. This compares to last year’s results of 31% and 30% respectively.
Employees at nonprofit hospitals may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, through which full-time workers may have outstanding debt on education loans. federal tax exempt after 10 years of monthly payments.
Singh says this is a necessary balancing act for hospitals to absorb the cost in terms of employee benefits as well as overall higher labor costs and rising cost of supplies. Many systems are forecasting negative operating margins for the year. She said hospital systems want to make changes that cause minimal disruption, such as virtual care, to shift care to lower-cost facilities while keeping the benefits package intact. strong benefits. Systems can use any savings from lower-cost strategies to reinvest in employees.
“All the top priorities are to focus on human capital and talent because without that asset, they wouldn’t be able to deliver the (core) services… around the management and care of patients. individual, and that can affect safety and other things,” Singh said.
Hospital systems are also looking at pharmacy benefits for their staff, looking for Singh said the network performs well to reduce drug costs and secure contracts that come with better discounts. More than 60% of the system offers lower copays for employees to fill prescriptions at in-house pharmacies. In some cases, employees are required to fill out certain prescriptions internally. The report found that fourteen percent of hospitals would only provide 90-day prescriptions through an in-house pharmacy.
