Company Benefits Selection

Q: When are these plans effective?

A: All Nextep medical and supplemental plans have an effective date of October 1. Open enrollment will be held August 1 - 15.

We will notify you and your employees as the time approaches. To avoid delays to open enrollment, please sign your company's benefit selections by the due date.

New Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) documents for the coming plan year will be available online at go.nextep.com/sbc. We will also provide you with updated benefit summaries customized to your company.

Your deductibles, FSA, and HSA accounts will continue to run on the calendar year.

Q: What factors into costs?

A: Health plan costs are comprised of multiple factors, including your group’s health conditions, demographics, location, and even the economy in general.

The annual change in healthcare cost is known as “trend.” It is the sum of all changes in cost throughout the healthcare industry. The cost to provide healthcare is always changing. Some expenses, such as surgical costs, increase because of better, more expensive medical technologies. Healthcare trend impacts employers, healthcare providers, insurance companies, and policyholders, playing a significant roll in your plan's costs.

This study by PricewaterhouseCoopers provides more insight into current conditions that could impact benefit costs.

Q: What opportunities do I have during benefit renewal?

A: Although your annual company benefit selection is heavily focused on your medical plans, you may review and change your company’s entire benefits portfolio, including:

• Change your employer contributions to ancillary benefits
• Add benefits your company may not be offering, such as telehealth or pet insurance
• Add benefit classes for different levels of employees

Q: What if my company’s medical costs increase?

A: Unfortunately, this does happen from time to time. Fortunately, our experts are on hand to walk you through your options.

Money-saving solutions may include plans with higher deductibles paired with an HSA account, different plan design types, and company contribution strategies. We’ll do everything we can to help make the numbers work for you and your people.