What the Summary of Benefits and Coverage tells you that you shouldn’t already know … very little

I spent nearly fifty years communicating employee benefits and during that time I learned several things. Getting people to pay attention to this communication even in their self interest is a virtual impossibility. To make any progress you must communicate continuously, you must seek feedback and you must keep the communication as light as possible, even fun to read … I occasionally used limericks, you know, There once was a man from Nantucket … Legalese is out!

But what do I know.

The government knows more about effective communications because it believes that the new Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) will instantly make you comprehend your health benefits. HHS apparently doesn’t hold the average person in very high esteem.

Read more about the SBC in my recent blog post on the Health Insurance Illuminated blog.

One thing is very clear, this new regulatory requirement is costing employers and insurers a great deal of money for very limited benefit, very limited.