The forced delay in routine and elective dental, ortho and vision care caused by several months of COVID-19 lockdown was much more than an inconvenience for your employees. In many cases, the severity of unaddressed dental and vision problems has increased during that time, making the treatment needed now more extensive and expensive.

If your employees have dental insurance, chances are a routine checkup and cleaning is mostly or completely covered. But if putting off care during the lockdown allowed small problems to get bigger, they could be looking at a significant and unanticipated outlay of cash. What was a routine cavity might now require a crown, which can cost more than $1,000 and which many standard dental insurance policies cover at 50%.¹ With one in 20 adults aged 20-64 suffering from moderate or severe periodontal disease, there’s a good chance some of your employees did not receive the timely care they needed to prevent these more costly procedures.²

There’s another way COVID-19 has made paying for dental and vision care a bigger burden. Families with one or more children will often attempt to space out appointments over time so that the out-of-pocket costs fit within their budgets. Now, with dental, ortho and vision appointments “stacked up” and overdue, many families might find they have to overextend themselves financially or continue delaying care until they can afford it.

In the case of vision insurance and orthodontia, a delay in care might not have ramifications quite so drastic, unless an employee or family member suffers from cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration or the delay has caused an ortho patient to be “overcorrected,” which could extend the duration and expense of treatment. But here again, families with children might find themselves burdened with “stacked up” needs for eye glasses and contact lenses, and with ortho bills for broken brackets or dislodged wires at the same time they’re dealing with cavities.

We’ve concentrated to this point on the cost to employees. But there’s a cost to companies and organizations as well. Even before COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the United States economy was losing more than $45 billion a year in productivity due to oral diseases alone.³ The increase in the number and severity of procedures caused by this year’s delay in basic care is almost certain to damage productivity further—and the damage will only get worse if patients are forced to delay care for budgetary reasons.

There’s also the matter of controlling your company’s healthcare costs. As we now understand, inadequate dental care can lead to serious inflammation throughout the body, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes and increase the cost of your company’s insurance plan. There’s also evidence to suggest that the inflammation caused by dental issues might make someone more vulnerable to COVID-19 itself.⁴

What can you do to help? If you offer a Dental Reimbursement Account (DRA), Ortho Reimbursement Account (ORA) or Vision Reimbursement Account (VRA), it’s a good time to remind employees that they’re available and perfectly suited for the new normal. If you don’t, adding one or all of them to your benefits offerings now can be a great way to diminish the impact of the care delays for both your employees and your company.

All three accounts work in basically the same way. Your company contributes a set amount for employees to apply to eligible dental, ortho or vision expenses, including coinsurance and copays, orthodontia, eyewear, etc. You determine the extent of coverage. The employee must access the available funds within the plan year or the funds revert back to the company. The accounts can be offered as a supplement to existing insurance or as a stand-alone if no insurance coverage is offered.  

These accounts are especially attractive because they are tax-free for employees and tax deductible for your company. If you have a high-deductible dental insurance plan or are thinking of switching to one, a DRA can help ease the impact of that additional out-of-pocket expense. And since the availability of these funds generally means employees get the care they need before their health is seriously impacted, they can help keep your organization’s health care expenditures under control. Those are all benefits that will continue paying off once the immediate hardships caused by delayed dental and vision care are things of the past.

—

Editor’s Note: TASC offers a Dental Reimbursement Account (DRA), Ortho Reimbursement Account (ORA) or Vision Reimbursement Account (VRA) from more than 50 benefit offerings that can be configured into custom plans that meet employee needs – where they are in life.

—

Sources:

1. “Is Dental Insurance Worth It?” Money Under Thirty, June 2020: https://www.moneyunder30.com/is-dental-insurance-worth-it
2. “The Challenges of Pandemic Dental Care,” New York Times, June 8, 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/well/live/dental-care-dentistry-teeth-coronavirus.html
3. “The high cost of oral diseases,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, July 2020: https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/programs-impact/pop/oral-disease.htm
4. “The Challenges of Pandemic Dental Care”, New York Times, June 8, 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/well/live/dental-care-dentistry-teeth-coronavirus.html

In the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses scrambled to adjust to what many expected would be a short-term disruption in the workplace. For companies, the early challenges included setting up remote workers and establishing new safety protocols for workers who remained on-site or in the field. Employee challenges included setting up a functional home “office,” adjusting to video conference meetings, and, in many cases, trying to do their jobs at the same time they were parenting and homeschooling their at-home children.

Now, nearly half a year later, COVID-19 is still disrupting business, and the cumulative effects of the health emergency on the economy have created new and even greater challenges for companies and employees. Many businesses have been forced to reduce their workforce, furlough employees or cut back hours. Affected employees find themselves in a financial crisis. Even if your company has been able to maintain a full workforce without cutbacks, your employees could be feeling significant financial pressure because the income of a spouse or partner has been affected. In addition to concerns about paying bills, parents are contending with another round of daycare and schooling challenges. As the new school year begins, many communities are making homeschooling mandatory or optional—and others have yet to decide. That uncertainty, and the fact that many workers who had the latitude to stay home at the end of the previous school year are now being called back to the office, the plant, the shop or the field, makes the situation even more difficult. And as COVID-19 continues to spread, there’s also the possibility that employees or family members could become ill, which might mean weeks of missed work or school and perhaps unanticipated medical expenses.

If helping your employees cope was important in March, it’s even more important now. Some companies are responding by offering direct medical assistance—such as free telemedicine consults, coverage for virtual doctor visits, and new or expanded offerings to support physical and emotional wellness—and free paid caregiver leave for relatives of persons ill with the coronavirus caregiver assistance. Others are providing employees with emergency funds. Among the 301 largest companies in the United States, 31% have instituted or increased sick leave and 14% have begun or supplemented backup dependent care.¹ Another 29% are offering some kind of special financial assistance.² (Among the top 100 largest public employers, that figure goes up to 38%.³)

Financial help can take several forms. Some companies have increased compensation, either as a one-time cash bonus or as a temporary hourly wage increase or hazard pay. A few, including AT&T, Chipotle, and Target, have offered both bonuses and hourly wage increases.⁴ Sixteen percent of businesses have improved or supplemented employee financial hardship and grant programs.⁵ TIAA is offering 100% COVID-19 medical coverage, including a waiver of deductibles and coinsurance costs for testing, doctor visits, and hospitalization.⁶

With a new school year beginning, one of the most pressing employee needs is help with childcare and homeschooling for the approximately 48 million American children aged 12 and under.⁷ TIAA has enhanced its backup care benefits by $35 per day through the end of the year.⁸ Another company, Ally, now offers to cover the cost of emergency childcare and eldercare support in the event an employee’s usual provider becomes unavailable.⁹

An Emergency Expense Reimbursement Account (EERA) can help your company help its employees with these challenges. Your company funds the account at a level of its choosing. It also can decide what kinds of emergencies the fund covers. Among the options are financial assistance to furloughed employees, helping employees pay for unexpected daycare needs, helping fund tutoring for employees’ children, and money for COVID-19 health care.

Helping employees in their time of need isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a great way to build loyalty and dedication and reduce turnover. An EERA lets you do it with maximum flexibility, since you decide how much money to commit and how employees can use it, and because the account can be modified or discontinued, if you wish, at the end of the plan period.

—

Editor’s Note: TASC offers an Emergency Expense Reimbursement Account (EERA) benefit from more than 50 benefit offerings that can be instantly configured into custom plans that meet employee needs – where they are in life. Talk with TASC to set one up.

—

1 “The COVID-19 Corporate Response Tracker,” JUST Capital, July 2020: https://justcapital.com/reports/the-covid-19-corporate-response-tracker-how-americas-largest-employers-are-treating-stakeholders-amid-the-coronavirus-crisis/#the-covid-19-response-tracker
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 “Here’s What Companies are Doing to Protect the Financial Security of their Workers…,” JUST Capital, July 2020: https://justcapital.com/reports/heres-what-companies-are-doing-to-protect-the-financial-security-of-their-workers-during-coronavirus-and-what-good-looks-like-in-the-long-term/
5 Ibid.
6 “8 Employers Supporting Mental Health During COVID-19,” Mental Health America, May 2020: https://www.mhanational.org/blog/8-employers-supporting-employee-mental-health-during-covid-19
7 “Many schools aren’t reopening in the fall. Now what?” Vox, July 2020: https://www.vox.com/2020/7/18/21324068/covid-schools-reopening-open-science-coronavirus-pandemic
8 “8 Employers Supporting Mental Health During COVID-19,” Mental Health America, May 2020: https://www.mhanational.org/blog/8-employers-supporting-employee-mental-health-during-covid-19
9 “How One Company is Taking Care of Employees During COVID-19,” Forbes, April 2020: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2020/04/06/how-one-company-is-taking-care-of-employees-during-covid-19/#7ba0fd0c488d

Have you thought about how your company would react if a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, flood or wildfire struck your community or region? The events of the past few weeks serve as a reminder that it can happen. Hurricane Laura and the California wildfires have affected thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of the people who live and work in the areas of the destruction.

In 2019, 14 disasters caused at least $1 billion each in damage, the fourth highest number of billion-dollar storms in the United States since 1980.¹ And there were many more events that affected a smaller geographical area but were just as devastating to communities, individuals, and businesses. So far this year, we’ve seen more than 600 tornadoes, including a particularly deadly and devastating outbreak in Tennessee in early March.²

Usually when we think of disaster preparedness it’s in the context of keeping our employees safe and our businesses resilient. But having a planned charitable giving response is also important. In the aftermath of a disaster, businesses have an opportunity to help employees whose personal property might have been lost or damaged, to help the community that serves as their home, and to express generosity in a way that many employees, present and future, will respond to. Nor does helping have to be restricted to local disasters. In this digital age, when employees can experience far-off disasters in real time, a neighbor in need can be down the street or a thousand miles away.

How can your organization get involved? Short of providing relevantly skilled employee volunteers or donating requested supplies and equipment, your company is uniquely equipped to offer, the best way to help, experts say, is by raising funds to benefit those affected.³

One of the most efficient mechanisms for donating funds in the event of a disaster, either local or in another state or country, is a Disaster Relief Fund Account. This benefit makes it easy to create an ongoing reserve (with contributions from both the company and employees) to be used toward disaster relief in the future or, if you’d prefer, to pull together a limited-time fundraising effort in response to a specific disaster. Donations made to the account are tax deductible.

Of course, collecting the money is only one challenge. Making sure the money goes where it can do the most good is another. Unfortunately, there are some people and organizations ready to exploit generosity and defraud donors. Fortunately, there are also a number of organizations and websites on the lookout for these scam artists. They analyze charitable organizations for their honesty, effectiveness, and for the amount of funding that goes to those in need versus for the organization’s own operating expenses.

Check out Charity Navigator, Great Nonprofits, BBB Wise Giving, CharityWatch and GuideStar. If the organization is too small or new to be rated, look at their website and ask questions before making or sponsoring a donation.

Here are a few rules of thumb when evaluating a charity. CharityWatch recommends funding organizations that spend 75% or more of their budget on program services rather than administration.⁴ BBB Wise Giving suggests funding established groups, since upstarts, no matter how well intended, might not have the experience and infrastructure to be effective in the near term⁵. Take a hard look at what a crowdfunding campaign such as GoFundMe is actually funding before you contribute. Whether the organization is big or small, The Federal Trade Commission suggests doing an online search by combining the charitable cause with words like “highly rated charity” or “best charity” and another search combining the charity’s name along with words like “review,” “rating,” or “complaint.”⁶

But don’t let your concerns about fraud keep you from helping. By giving your employees the opportunity to help others, you’ll be helping your company, too, especially in recruiting a segment of the workforce that is expected this year to become its largest demographic—Millennials.⁷ Research indicates they place a high value on social and community outreach and are drawn to companies that share that value.⁸

—

Editor’s Note: TASC offers a Disaster Relief Fund Account benefit from more than 50 benefit offerings that can be instantly configured into custom plans that meet employee needs – where they are in life.

—

Sources:

1. ”2010-2019: A landmark decade of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters,” Climate.gov, January 2020: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2010-2019-landmark-decade-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate
2. “Facts + Statistics: Tornadoes and Thunderstorms,” Insurance Information Institute, 2020: https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-tornadoes-and-thunderstorms#:~:text=2019%20Tornadoes%3A%20Preliminary%20NOAA%20reports,with%2010%20people%20in%202018.
3. “Avoiding the Second Disaster: How (Not) to Donate during a Crisis,” Good360, May 2020: https://good360.org/blog-posts/avoiding-the-second-disaster-how-not-to-donate-during-a-crisis/
4. “How to help those affected by Hurricane Laura,” CNBC, August 2020: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/28/how-to-help-those-affected-by-hurricane-laura.html
5.  
6. “How to donate wisely and avoid charity scams,” United States Federal Trade Commission, September 2020: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/how-donate-wisely-and-avoid-charity-scams
7. “How Millennials are Changing Philanthropy,” Forbes, August 2018: https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/08/15/how-millennials-are-changing-philanthropy/#51cab7107c68
8. Ibid.