Are you a ‘helicopter’ employer? 3 potential warning signs | Segal Benz

(This article was originally published on Workforce.com on January 7, 2014 as a post in Benz Editorial Director Kelley Butler's recurring column, Butler on Benefits.)

I recently read a post on the Harvard Business Review blog, written by a health care marketing exec who asked, “Why do American employers act like helicopter parents when it comes to their employees’ health care?”

Just like helicopter parents “hover” over their children, she wrote, U.S. employers hover as well by offering “a very small number of health-plan options, with the result that workers don’t have to—and never learn to—make significant decisions about coverage.”

Hmmmm. While I don’t believe a helicopter employer is made or broken by the number of health plan options it provides, I do think the writer could be onto something.

Now, wait. Before you get upset and ask how dare anyone accuse you of helicoptering your employees, I think it’s important to point out and acknowledge that all helicoptering—whether by parents or employers—comes from a genuine place of caring. I have three children and constantly have to fight the urge to swoop in with my mommy propellers all the time.

But fight it I must, or my kids will never learn the resiliency and confidence they’ll need to navigate the world on their own—nor the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from doing so.

To keep myself from going full-on Black Hawk, I’ve learned to ID certain helicopter-parent warning signs. In that vein, if you’re concerned that you or someone you know might be a helicopter employer, I’ve thought up a short list of warning signs:

1. You still offer an HMO.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you jump head-first into a full-replacement high-deductible health plan, but let’s be honest: keeping an HMO in today’s high-cost environment is more about maintaining employees’ warm fuzzies than maintaining the bottom line. “Don’t worry about that scary HSA over there,” you soothe. “You still can have your copay and everything will be just fine.” Tsk, tsk. Start phasing out that HMO, I say, or start building the helipad.

2. You offer an incentive for everything.

T-shirts for taking a 10-minute health assessment! Water bottles for walking 10,000 steps! Gift cards for biometric screenings! One of the most important parts of parenting—and employer-ing—is instilling a sense personal responsibility and accountability. It’s tough, because you want to cheer every time your kids (or your employees) brush their teeth without being asked 12 times (or get a preventive care exam). However, the reality is that in life, there are just some things you have to do because you have to do them. You don’t get a treat; you just get it done and keep it moving. 

Incentives have their place in any successful wellness program, of course. Still, if it starts to feel like you’re giving away prizes like Oprah (“You get a car! You get a car!”), then it could be time to slow the propellers a bit. 

3. Your employees don’t understand the deductible of their current plan, let alone a high-deductible plan and/or HSA.

I’ve said before that helping employees master the basic workings of our health care system is a shared responsibility between employers and employees. Far too many Americans don’t know the difference between copay and coinsurance, never mind the one between HRA and HSA. Since the majority of Americans get their health coverage through their employers, it’s up to you to help them learn not only the terms but also the tactics for using their health benefits in the most effective and cost-efficient way possible. Tell them in plain-language what a deductible is; give them tip sheets on how to avoid unnecessary medical tests and procedures; offer them clear, concise decision-support tools.

Then—dun, dun, duuuuun—let them apply that knowledge in the real world.

Scary, I know. I’ve taught my two eldest children about “stranger danger” no less than a bazillion times. Eventually, I know they’ll be approached by someone they don’t know. When that time comes, I have to trust and pray that I’ve taught them well and given them the tools to effectively navigate the situation safely.

I dare you to tell me that anything you have to teach your employees to understand about managing a health savings account is scarier than that. If you can, then I’m afraid you might be a helicopter employer.

Read this article on Workforce.com—and keep an eye out for more of Kelley's thoughts on benefits in her recurring column!