Attracting and retaining talent while managing health care and benefits costs is a more significant priority now than ever.
Additionally, many business leaders are considering how to leverage their benefits and total rewards package as an asset that can help accomplish their business goals amid rising inflation and a challenging economic environment. Meanwhile, there is a growing list of new benefits and perks flooding the employer market, making it impossible for benefits managers to stay up to date on all the latest and greatest offerings available.
Despite what you may think, many of these benefits are not exclusively available to Fortune 500 companies. In fact, they are available to smaller businesses as well and can help their benefits package stand out from the crowd.
Here are five of the most innovative, affordable, and inclusive benefits organizations are introducing to help differentiate their benefits programs.
Fertility benefits
Employees benefit from access to guidance, counseling, and support as they navigate the path of parenthood. Fertility benefits provide a wide range of resources, such as egg freezing, drug therapy, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and surrogacy. Fertility benefits also support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives and help employees during one of the most important events of their lives.
Early detection programs
There are genetic testing programs that can help identify the most appropriate medications based on an individual’s genetic makeup. For example, pharmacogenomics (PGx) can be utilized by a patient and their physician to identify the medications likely to metabolize most efficiently for the patient. PGx itself is not treatment—it’s a simple genetic test via a saliva sample that may help identify the most effective medication as well as medications that the individual may not metabolize effectively and therefore should avoid. Furthermore, there are new multi-cancer early-detection tests that can identify more than 50 different cancers. Helping to catch cancer sooner rather than later can improve survival and reduce the overall cost of treatment.
Disease reversal solutions
The U.S. health care system was designed to treat symptoms, not determine the root cause of disease. However, this paradigm is beginning to shift. While they are cutting-edge and very new, there are now solutions available to help address and reverse conditions such as migraines and autoimmune diseases for employees and their family members.
Alternative regenerative medicine
Orthopedic surgery is not always the right choice for people and there are alternatives. Stem cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are two non-surgical options that have been clinically validated as potential alternatives to orthopedic surgery. Even better, they’re also cost-effective. Musculoskeletal conditions are one of the top health care expenses and adding access to stem cell therapy and PRP via a self-funded plan can be done at no cost.
Personalized coaching and upskilling
Employees want—and need—more support than ever. Employers now have the opportunity to provide their employees access to certified development coaches who can provide guidance on an array of relevant topics. This type of employee resource has been shown to enhance leadership skills, relationships within an organization, and emotional well-being for employees.
Interested in seeing how your organization could integrate these innovative benefit offerings into your plan? Reach out to your Marsh McLennan Agency representative today and learn how we combine the innovative with the tried and tested to bring you and your organization a superior benefits package.
