What problem does it solve? This will save the State money in not having to contribute to health care costs for many individuals. Employees who currently have other health insurance through their spouse, may find it beneficial to accept a bonus for not taking the State health insurance. The bonus would be much lower for the State to pay the employee, versus the cost of the healthcare. What is your solution and who does it apply to? The solution is to offer this option as an employee incentive to all employees State wide. What is the anticipated impact? Staff will have an end of the year bonus to look forward to, should they decline health care. It would help employees better evaluate their health care plans, and weigh the best option to them.
I would see this an annual bonus.
Would this be a one-time or annual bonus? I'm thinking one-time. This used to be the case at least for some entities under the SBHP. Mercer County Comm. College offered it. I'm not sure why it was discontinued. I want to say it was a trickle-down effect from the State discontinuing it (but don't quote me on that).
Next, grow the insured pool by creating additional carrots and sticks for county and local governments to join the state plan instead of having their own individually negotiated plans. I am not as familiar with teachers plans, but perhaps something similar can be done with those plans as well. 2 of 3
Expand the ambitions of this initiative significantly and save billions. Most state, county, and local government employees currently have platinum plans. Make gold plans standard, with the option to buy a platinum plan for a good price. 1 of 3
Finally, greatly expand the health and wellness incentives into major preventative and cost savings programs - the current program which provides a couple hundred bucks to get a few additional tests doesn’t really seem like it accomplishes much; but as with all these initiatives, data and evidence should rule the day. 3 of 3
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