{"id":706,"date":"2020-11-19T15:22:08","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T15:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/?p=706"},"modified":"2022-08-23T14:21:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T14:21:11","slug":"new-survey-reveals-covid-19-impacts-on-employee-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/new-survey-reveals-covid-19-impacts-on-employee-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"New Survey Reveals COVID-19 Impacts on Employee Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Survey-1024x678.jpeg\" alt=\"A person holding a pen over data on a paper printout\" class=\"wp-image-707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Survey-1024x678.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Survey-300x199.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Survey-768x509.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Survey-1536x1017.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/Survey-2048x1356.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"leading\">Recently, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) published the results of an employer survey that sheds light on how COVID-19 has been affecting employee benefits. The <em>Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World: April 2020 Survey Report <\/em>revealed some interesting findings which can help plan sponsors better prepare for the year ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Employers Are Reducing or Suspending Matching Contributions to Employees\u2019 Defined Contribution Retirement Plans \u2013 <\/strong>It\u2019s not surprising given the financial burdens the pandemic has placed on many employers that 8% of those surveyed had suspended their matching contributions and 2% indicated had reduced them. The survey also found that 19% were considering a change to their matching contributions policy.<\/li><li><strong>The CARES Act Is Driving Plan Sponsors Defined Contribution Plans &#8211; <\/strong>Many employers are basing their plan changes based on stipulations in the CARES Act and in an effort to help their employees withstand the financial difficulties imposed the pandemic.<\/li><li><strong>Telehealth Is in Wide Use \u2013 <\/strong>While in the pre-pandemic period, 88% of employers had a telehealth service component in place, COVID-19 increased that percentage to 98%. Further, to promote its use, 49% of employers surveyed indicated they had reduced or suspended cost-sharing for telehealth as a result of the pandemic.<\/li><li><strong>Employers Are Increasing Their Mental Health Benefits <\/strong>\u2013 There has been widespread news reports of increasing incidences of anxiety, depression and stress stemming from the pandemic. &nbsp;In response, 12% of employers are now offering telepsychiatry services through which their employees can access mental health services virtually. &nbsp;To further support their employees\u2019 mental well-being, 9% of employers reduced or eliminated cost-sharing for their mental health benefits, while 6% have either eased or eliminated their eligibility requirements.<\/li><li><strong>Plan Sponsors Are Modifying Their Prescription Drug Plans <\/strong>\u2013 COVID-19 has caused 35% of employers to extend the time allowed under prior authorization periods for their members\u2019 prescription drugs, 30% have introduced higher quantity limits and 12% have waived prior authorization requirements.<\/li><li><strong>Furloughed and Laid-Off Employees Increasing \u2013 <\/strong>Based on the pandemic, 31% of employers have temporarily furloughed workers, 29% have reduced their workers\u2019 hours, and 21% have laid off workers or implemented a reduction in their workforce.<\/li><li><strong>Furloughed and Laid-Off Workers\u2019 Health Care Benefit Policies Vary \u2013 <\/strong>There are many ways employers are handling their furloughed and\/or laid-off workers\u2019 health care benefits ranging from COBRA to cost-sharing adjustments.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What is clear from the IFEBP survey is that employers have responded to the pandemic both to accommodate the needs and well-being of their employees, as well as to address their organizations\u2019 fiscal and operational needs. It will be interesting to see how policies are changed and\/or revert back to what they were prior to the pandemic when the pandemic period is over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) published the results of an employer survey that sheds light on how COVID-19 has been affecting employee benefits. The Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 World: April 2020 Survey Report revealed some interesting findings which can help plan sponsors better prepare for the year ahead. Employers Are&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":995,"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706\/revisions\/995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amalgamatedbenefits.com\/amalgamated-medical-care-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}