Re-scratching the 7-year itch

Most of us are e-packrats. The amount of “stuff” we save seems to be limited only to the amount of available storage space. Sometimes the saved files and photos are useful; others, less so. Often, these electronic bits and bytes come full circle.

Seven years ago, I was based in South Florida and working for a national carrier. Today, I am a proud resident of South Carolina, and I am part of the senior management team for a dynamic benefits administration firm. Clearly, these are two very different gigs, in different places and with different colleagues.

On a conference call with my new team this morning, a client name was raised, and lo and behold, it was a client with whom I had worked during my tenure in South Florida. They were such a great client that when then-Governor Jeb Bush asked our company to participate in a panel on a new plan design known as an “HSA,” we brought this particular client with us to share their experience with the audience.

I found the photos of the meeting among the detritus on my computer and was shocked to realize that the meeting was seven years ago. Today, HSAs have been widely adopted and are a part of the conversation that brokers have with clients every day. Coincidentally, today’s email also brought news of a survey conducted by Corporate Synergies Group and the Financial Executive Research Foundation.

While much has changed in those seven years, some things have not. The survey reveals that many executives believe their employees would not accept a qualified high- deductible/HSA plan design. Their conclusion echoes something we said in that meeting with the governor: employee communication is the key to successful adoption of any consumer-based plan design. Companies who give short shrift to that communication also short change their employees.