Creating a Culture of Innovation with Employee Health Care - BoardSource

This article from BoardSource, written by Mike Wurtsmith, discusses the importance of nonprofit boards playing a role in employee healthcare purchasing.

Read the full original article from BoardSource.

Human Resources departments typically have too much on their plates to explore alternative healthcare plans when it's time to renew, and renew the same plans year-after-year. Boards are missing a significant opportunity to take part in a huge financial decision, and cannot leave HR departments to work in a silo on healthcare decisions.

Healthcare needs to become a purchasing priority for boards, and Wurtsmith suggests the following questions members can ask to make that happen:

• As a board member, do I understand my role and authority with regard to making decisions about employee health care, and do I go beyond simply “rubber stamping” approval of this annual spend?
• What do I believe my financial and ethical responsibility is regarding employee health care purchasing?
• Are our employee benefits robust enough for what we are spending, or are we simply spending a large amount of money for lackluster services that don’t meet employee needs?
• What have we done to better understand employee needs when it comes to health care, and have we explored all possible insurance options that will meet these needs?
• How has our broker encouraged us to think “out of the box” when it comes to meeting our employee health care needs, and what options have they presented beyond the status quo?

There are many options the board can consider when making healthcare purchasing decisions. Download our Best Practices for Employee Healthcare Purchasing to learn more about those options: