A massive 83 per cent of Indian employees seem to be unaware of the healthcare benefits offered to them by their employers, according to a recent survey by Onsurity.
The survey involved 1,150 individuals across nine major Indian cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Chandigarh.
A little more than 63 per cent of the respondents were in the 30-39 age group. A little less than 20 per cent were in the 40-49 years age group and the rest 15 per cent were in the 20-29 years age group.
The Findings
A huge 60 per cent of respondents had no idea about their healthcare provider. Nine of 10 individuals had employer-provided healthcare coverage, but a miniscule two out of 10 or 20 per cent did not know their sum assured.
Further, less than 1 in 10, or less than 10 per cent of those surveyed had used their employer-provided healthcare plan to file a health insurance claim, even though nearly a third of them had reported having filed a claim.
According to Onsurity, the findings are worrisome, as without proper knowledge, employees are likely to make uninformed decisions that could hinder their access to crucial healthcare services.
Findings further revealed that 84 per cent of respondents had got a health check-up only when their doctor recommended it, despite the growing awareness about the importance of preventive healthcare.
Further, 83 per cent were unaware whether their healthcare plan covered preventive health check-ups.
According to Onsurity, this actually defeats the purpose of employers providing their employees with health benefits and also leaves employees at the risk of being unprepared for potential health emergencies.
An additional 71 per cent were also unsure whether the employer-offered healthcare plan covered their parents or not.
Onsurity said that the findings revealed four basic deficiencies namely, unawareness about healthcare benefits, underutilisation of preventive care, financial vulnerability, and unrealistic expectation from healthcare plan.
Recommendations
Onsurity said that employers can undertake a three-way approach to better sensitise their employees about the employer-provided healthcare benefits.
These include providing clear and comprehensive information about healthcare benefits available to the employees during the on-boarding process, providing information to the employees about the benefits at regular intervals through multiple communications channels, such as newsletters, emails, and dedicated helplines.
Lastly, employers can conduct regular workshops and training sessions on healthcare benefits for the employees to keep them informed and updated about any developments.
