MADRID, October 28 (European press) –
The health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has heightened interest in workplace health insurance, to the point that 65 percent of managers believe offering this social benefit to the workforce is more necessary than it was before the pandemic, according to the Fourth Health Insurance Barometer, introduced this Thursday. SegurCaixa Adeslas conducted more than 700 interviews with decision makers and employees.
The study was presented at the 9th Health Insurance Forum, which was attended by more than 200 HR professionals and medical directors from major companies in the country.
According to the study, 81% of companies offer health insurance to their workers, while 38% of companies do not intend to hire it.
Users rated speed of access to health care, convenience, and flexibility in choosing center and occupation as key reasons for improving the perception of this social benefit during the pandemic. These strengths underpin health insurance in companies of all sizes. 78 percent of those offering it have fewer than 250 employees, which increases to 84 percent in the largest proportion, according to the survey by Kantar.
Insurance goes beyond the purely health care aspect to become a motivational tool. 49 percent of managers realize that it improves the work environment and the relationship with employees. It’s not the only benefit, as it also indicates increased loyalty, commitment and motivation (48 percent), improved company image (42 percent) and reduced absenteeism (40 percent). These benefits explain why the company bears the cost of insurance in 87 percent of cases, either partially (32 percent) or fully funded (55 percent) for all employees.
From a worker’s point of view, interest in a company providing private healthcare provision is also increasing in relation to the former metric and now reaches 60 percent of those surveyed. Health insurance is seen as part of a good environment for personal and professional development, which makes this feature a powerful tool for selecting and retaining talent.
In fact, if they change jobs, 62 percent of those surveyed say having private insurance will significantly influence their decision to join a company. In addition, those who do not take this aspect into account are down by four percentage points compared to the survey conducted in 2018.
Innovation and collaboration between the public and private sectors
Jobs such as electronic prescriptions, teleconsultation, or accessing services through chat, video call, mail or phone are among the services most interesting to those surveyed. 89 percent of executives also find the digital options provided by their insurance companies very attractive when it comes to the ease of performing common actions such as registering and canceling policies, ordering duplicate cards, monitoring orders, etc.
In many cases, digital services integrated by health insurance companies facilitate the development of a culture of prevention at the corporate level. About two-thirds of companies with health and wellness promotion services and programs have contracted employee health insurance. Employees share this greater sensitivity to prevention.
About 7 out of ten value plans for preventive medicine and chronic disease surveillance, through personal support services, alert systems, or websites with tips and tools to control their illnesses.
“Innovation is a factor facilitating a transition towards a new health paradigm in which, as defined by the World Health Organization, is critical to achieving a state of complete well-being, not just the absence of disease or disease,” the CEO explained. SegurCaixa Adeslas President, Javier Mera, at the opening of the 9th Health Insurance Forum.