Health Plan Decision Support Tool

[French]

We will be making significant changes in our health plans for 2011. We would like to provide employees with some kind of on-line tool that can be used to help them determine which plan would be the best choice. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[GMK]

I know nothing about on-line health plan decison tools (so I won't be any help to you),

but for those who might be able to give you an answer, can you narrow your question down to a list of the specific options from which your employees will be selecting a best choice? or do you mean to consider every option?

[French]

We have heard that there are on-line modeling tools that can help an employee determine an appropriate plan based on anticipated health care usage for the coming year. They can compare the total cost of coverage for each eligible plan and compare the major provisions of the plans.

[MARYMM]

We have heard that there are on-line modeling tools that can help an employee determine an appropriate plan based on anticipated health care usage for the coming year. They can compare the total cost of coverage for each eligible plan and compare the major provisions of the plans.

The benefits broker that I worked with when I was involved in benefits admin at a prior job has such a tool . not sure if it is proprietary

http://www.ovationdsc.com/moreinfo.php

[French]

Thanks for the info MARYMM. I am looking for any leads and/or organizations that are using tools like this. I understand that some are embedded within an outsourced environment but we are hoping to find a separate tool.

[oriecat]

We are currently looking at this thing called Liazon, which has a website called Bright Choices (I think), and they say that there is built in decision helping stuff in there, but we are too new to the process at this point to really know anything about it.

[French]

Update - we will be able to use a Plan Cost Estimator tool that is available through one of our medical plan vendors. The tool can be populated with all the medical plans that are being offered so it should work well for us.

[Guest marichu]

I'll be waiting for the updated and hopefully it would be more beneficial to the family members.

[Guest BellaVega]

I know certain carriers have tools to help people decide which plan works best for their family but I'm not aware of anything generic. I think United Health Care has a tool to help you. Hopefully with our medical records now being digitized, we can someday be able to pull up our medical history to determine how much we would pay according to each plan.