WASHINGTON, May 25, 2006 - Companies that are best at controlling health
care costs are more likely than their poorer performing counterparts to
offer multifaceted Internet tools that help employees model health care
options, a study by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health
has found.
A majority (58 percent) of the 585 companies surveyed provide Internet
resources that allow employees to compare health care insurance options
side by side, but companies that are best at controlling costs offer
additional Web tools. They are 38 percent more likely to provide quality
comparison tools and 36 percent more likely to provide tools to model the
tax impact of health care decisions, such as signing up for a flexible
spending account. In addition, while only a small number of companies
offer Internet resources for provider pricing, those best at controlling
costs are 108 percent more likely to do so.
Internet resources offered
Percentage of companies offering
Percentage by which best performers are more likely to offer
Side-by-side comparison of insurance options
58%
16%
Tax impact modeling
34%
36%
Provider quality comparison
26%
38%
Provider pricing comparison
15%
108%
"The Web can be a great help in effectively delivering health care
information to employees and is especially important for companies making
significant plan design changes," said Jeri Stepman, Watson Wyatt´s
national leader for health and welfare administration. "Companies adopting
a consumerism approach to health care are finding that employees need more
than financial incentives to become better health care consumers - they
need information as well. Tools that allow employees to consider many
facets of their health care can make a significant difference in the health
care options employees choose."
Although many companies are providing Web resources that help employees
model their health care options, most are not yet offering the information
on provider quality and pricing that employees need to make more
cost-effective choices.
"Providing information on the cost-effectiveness of providers is key to
directing employees to lower-cost, higher-quality health care," Stepman
said. "Employers can harness the Internet to help provide this data and
encourage employees to use health care providers with the best treatment
outcomes."
Information on BenefitConnectTM, Watson Wyatt´s Web-based benefits
administration system, is available at www.watsonwyatt.com/benefitconnect.
About Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) is a leading global human capital and financial
management consulting firm. The firm specializes in employee benefits,
human capital strategies, technology solutions, investment consulting, and
insurance and financial services. The firm has 6,000 associates in 30
countries and is located on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.
Ed Emerman, 609/452-5967, eemerman[at]eaglepr.com
Emily Rieger, 703/258-7634, emily.rieger[at]watsonwyatt.com