Benefits buyers at big companies are depending on their benefits advisors to help them understand congressional health care reform efforts.
Researchers at MetLife Inc., New York, have published data supporting that conclusion in a summary of results from a November telephone survey of 501 U.S. benefits decision-makers at companies with 10 or more employees.
About 83% of the employers said they have been paying close attention to federal health care legislation developments, and 57% of the decision-makers at companies with 500 or more workers said they are relying on benefits brokers or consultants for health leg updates, the MetLife researchers report.
Only 42% said they are getting their health leg information from the business media, and only 37% from general audience media, the researchers found.
The survey "reveals a tremendous opportunity for insurance brokers and benefits consultants to help better educate their clients," Dr. Ronald Leopold, a vice president at MetLife, says in a statement about the results.
The more employers know about what is happening in Washington, the more they can tell employees about how the proposed laws could affect their personal situations, Leopold says.
