jasmine f slaughter - day&zimmerman.fall2011

8/2/2019 Jasmine f Slaughter - Day&Zimmerman.fall2011

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BENEFITS ANALYSIS:DAY & ZIMMERMAN

PART 1: BENEFITS MATRIX

PART 2: INVENTORY OF BENEFITS

JASMINE SLAUGHTER912011648

RMI 3501FALL 2011

DR. DRENNAN

Exposure Analysis for Day and Zimmerman

Loss Exposure

Provided

(Y/N) Coverage/Benefits Provided


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Benefits Analysis: Day and ZimmermanPage 1 of11

Loss of Income: Medical Expenses

Overall Medical Expenses Yes

HDHP, PPO, Health SavingsAccount, Limited FSA,Healthcare FSA

Dental Yes Aetna Dental PPO

Vision YesBundled with medical throughIBC

Prescription Yes

Bundled with medical throughIBC for the HDH Plan andthrough Medco for the PPO

Long Term Care No Not offered

Retiree Health Care No Not offered

Loss of Income: Death

Non-Accidental & Non-Occupational Yes

Basic for employee, supplemental

life for employee/spouse-partner,dependent children, 401(k),OASDI

Accidental Yes

Basic for employee, supplementallife for employee/spouse-partner,dependent children, PersonalAccident Insurance, 401(k),OASDI

Occupational Yes

Basic for employee, supplementallife for employee/spouse-partner,

dependent children, 401(k),OASDI, Workers' Compensation

Loss of Income: Unemployment

Unemployment Yes

Unemployment comp for allstates in which we haveemployees

Loss of Income: Disability

Non-Occupational; Short-Term Yes

Sick days, STD, State STDbenefits where applicable (suchas NJ, CA), vacation time,Hardship withdrawal for medicalexpenses (not for lost wages),FMLA for job protection


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Non-Occupational; Long-Term Yes

LTD (if purchased by employee),OASDI, Hardship withdrawal formedical expenses (not for lostwages)

Occupational; Short-Term Yes Workers' Compensation, OASDI,

Loss of Income: Retirement

Retirement Yes 401(k)

Other Exposures

Educational Assistance Yes

Available to the employee only,$4,000/year for job related coursework

Work/Life Benefits Yes

Employee Assistance Plan (EAP),

commuter Benefits (Parking andTransit), AD&D, STD and LTD,Wellness program, EmployeeResource Groups (diversity andinclusion), Safety Program, ethicsand compliance Programs

Dependent Care YesDependent Care FSA, child careresources through EAP

Property-Liability Yes Company paid

Legal Expense Yes Basic legal benefit through EAP

Inventory of Benefits

Introduction


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Day and Zimmerman is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA and it currently

employs 29,000 people. The company specializes in industrial, defense, and workforce

solutions for a range of commercial and government entities. Day and Zimmerman offers

benefits through its Wellness Works program in order to attract and retain employees

while also trying to reduce the overall cost of healthcare for the firm.

The majority of Day and Zimmermans health care plan is self-funded and are

administered through ASO contracts.The firm offers two types of health plans, a HighDeductible Health Plan (HDHP) and a PPO plan. The traditional PPO plan and the

HDHP are both administered through Independence Blue Cross and the dental PPO is

administered through Aetna. Day and Zimmerman offers its Wellness Program so that

employees make more informed decisions about their health plan, share in the cost of

their health care, and so they will be better healthcare consumers. For 2012 contributions

will be a flat premium based on three salary tiers, which are up to $50,000, between

$50,000 and $80,000, and over $80,000. The contribution level for employees is based on

annualized pay, but it is deducted on a per paycheck basis. Day and Zimmerman pays

about 2/3 of the cost for the PPO plan and about 84% of the HDHP plan. Stop loss

coverage is provided by HM Life Insurance and the specific deductible is $250,000 per

policy year and the max is $4,750,000. Open enrollment for the firm was Monday,

November 7 - Wednesday, November 23rd.

Medical Expenses

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plan


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Day and Zimmerman offers a self-funded PPO plan that is administered by

Independence Blue Cross (IBC) through an ASO contract. All full time employees, part-

time employees, and their dependents are eligible for this plan on a contributory basis.

Part-time employees are defined as employees who work 20-39 hours per week. The

definition of eligible dependents includes spouses, domestic partners,the employees

child, stepchild, or a child of their domestic partner or adopted or child in guardianship.

For medical, vision, and prescription drug coverage, children are covered up to age 26.

Employees must contribute an annual deductible of $500 for individual coverage and

$1,000 for family coverage before the plan begins paying for services. After employees

satisfy the deductible, the plan covers most in-network services at 90% for the rest of the

plan year. The PPO plan has a $25 copay for primary care visits and a $35 copay for

visits to specialists. For emergency room visits under the traditional PPO plan, the fee is

$100, but that can be waived if the employee or dependent is admitted. For hospital

services, surgery, and X-rays, the out-of-pocket maximum is $1,500 for individuals and

$3,000 for families. The out-of-pocket maximums do not include copays or deductibles.

High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with Health Savings Account (HSA)

Day and Zimmermans HDHP is called the Choice Care plan. Healthcare

coverage under the HDHP and prescription drug benefits are provided by IBC through

Future Scripts. Before the plan starts paying for services, employees must satisfy an

annual deductible of $1,750 for individuals and $3,500 for families. After employees

satisfy the deductible, the plan covers most in-network services at 80% for the remainder

of the calendar year. The Choice Care plan allows employees and their dependents to be


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covered 100% in network and the deductible does not apply. The deductible includes

both medical and prescription drug benefits. After employees reach the deductible the

plan pays 80% of in-network expenses. The out-of-pocket maximums for the Choice

Care plan are $5,600 for individuals and $11,200 for families for in-network services.

The out-of pocket maximum includes the deductible, copays and coinsurance. The plan

pays 100% of expenses after the out-of pocket maximum is reached. Employees under

the Choice Care plan pay nothing in terms of deductibles, copays, and coinsurance for

preventative care. Employees must pay 20% coinsurance after the deductible for a

doctors office visit, they pay 80% coinsurance for emergency room visits, 20%

coinsurance for hospital services, surgery, and X-ray, and vision is included in this plan.

Employees are eligible to establish and contribute to an Heath Savings Account (HAS) if

they are not covered by any other health insurance, if they are not enrolled in Medicare,

and they also must not be claimed as a dependent on anyone elses tax return. Day and

Zimmerman has partnered with OptumHealth bank to offer the HSA as a payroll

deduction. If employees enroll in the Choice Care plan individuals can contribute up

$3,100 in 2012 into their HSA, and families can contribute up $6,250.

Prescription Drug

Employees are immediately enrolled in prescription drug coverage under either

the traditional PPO plan through Medco or the Choice Care plan through IBC. The plan

covers supplies of generic formulary, preferred brand name formulary, and non-brand

name formulary drugs. For prescription drug coverage under the Choice Care plan,

employees pay a copay of $5, $ 20, or $45, and they use their IBC card. The prescription

copays are reimbursed after the deductible. Prescription drug benefits are offered


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through Medco under the IBC PPO plan. Employees must use a separate Medco card for

prescription drugs, the copays can either be, $10, 30, or $50.

Vision

Employees are also automatically enrolled in vision benefits when they enroll in

either the traditional PPO through IBC or the Choice Care Plan. When employees get

exams at participating Davis Vision providers they receive comprehensive eye testing,

including glaucoma, and there are no claim forms to complete. The copay is $20, and

lenses are paid in full. Frames are only covered in full if they are chosen from the Tower

Collection, or there is a $65 allowance for frames chosen from the non-Tower

Collection. Contacts are also provided with a $100 allowance credited at the time of

purchase. If employees choose to obtain eyeglasses from a non-participating provider,

there is reimbursement for covered eyewear purchases up to $100, and employees must

complete a claim form.

Dental

Day and Zimmermans dental plan is also self-funded, is administered through

Aetna, and is offered on a contributory basis. The contributions are deducted over 24

pays on a pre-tax basis. There is an annual deductible of $25 for individuals and $75 for

families. Children are covered up to age 19 unless they are a full time student; otherwise

the age limit is 23. Preventive care is covered at 100%, basic services are covered at 80%

coinsurance after the deductible, and major services are covered at 50% coinsurance after

the deductible. The annual maximum per member of the plan is $1,200, while the lifetime

maximum for orthodontics is $1,500. Employees receive the same coverage for either in-

network or out-of-network dentists. Employees have the ability to choose any dentist they


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want and they also have the option to send Aetna the name of their dentist to solicit them

to enter the network. However, using a participating Aetna PPO dentist will result in

lower costs because the fees are discounted.

Payroll Deductions

Enrollment Tier Employee Dental per

month

Total Premium

Single $20.81 $31.06

Employee Plus One $38.54 $57.52

Family $63.20 $94.33

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Day and Zimmerman allows their employees to enroll in an FSA in conjunction

with the traditional PPO plan which is administered through Trion. Employees have the

opportunity to enroll in the healthcare FSA only if employees are not already contributing

to an HSA. The FSA allows employees to pay for out-of-pocket medical, dental, and

vision expenses for the enrollees on a pre-tax basis. If an employee is enrolled in the

FSA they may contribute $3,000 in 2012.

Limited Flexible Spending Account

Day and Zimmerman offers a limited FSA if employees elect the Choice Care

plan. The limited FSA may be utilized for out-of-pocket dental and vision expenses and

employees can contribute up to $3,000.

Parking and Transit FSA


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Employees can contribute the legal limit of $125 for transit and $240 for parking

FSAs in 2012, the benefits are offered through Benefit Resources, Inc. Funds in the FSAs

cannot be rolled over from year to year, but they are allowed to be rolled over from

month to month. Employees parking expenses include parking on or near the premises of

the employers location. Expenses for transit passes and other commuter expenses are

covered.

Loss of IncomeLife Insurance

Basic Life, Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance, Supplemental

Life, Supplemental Dependent Life Insurance

Day and Zimmerman also offers basic life insurance coverage on a non-

contributory basis up to $50,000 to cover loss of income due to death from CIGNA.

Employees may purchase supplemental life insurance on a contributory basis. Employees

may also purchase supplemental life insurance on a contributory basis for their spouse,

domestic partners, and eligible dependents. Employees are eligible for coverage whether

they are full-time or part-time. There is no waiting period for this coverage. Employee

contribution rates are locked for four more years. Enrollment for employees at current

level will continue automatically. New enrollees must complete an evidence of

insurability form which will be reviewed by the carrier (CIGNA).

Short-Term Disability (STD) Insurance/ Paid Time Off (PTO)

Day and Zimmerman provides its employees with Short Term Disability (STD)

Insurance through Cigna which is non-contributory, fully insured, and paid out of a

General Asset fund and is based on salary continuance after the first five sick days. The


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short-term disability pays 60% of wages for four weeks up to 26 weeks and Family

Medical Leave Act (FMLA) runs concurrently. Employees are eligible for STD insurance

if they work at least 20 hours per week. STD insurance provides protection against injury

sickness, or pregnancy.

Employees receive 3 weeks paid time off (PTO) at the beginning of employment,

and employees PTO increases with each year of employment. Employees are also allotted

five sick days, which they can also use toward their short term disability.

Long Term Disability (LTD) Insurance

Day and Zimmerman offers LTD insurance on a voluntary basis through Cigna to

cover loss of income due to a covered injury or sickness. Employees are eligible if they

work at least 20 hours per week. There is no eligibility waiting period to receive this

benefit. LTD insurance provides 60% of wages while the employee is not working.

Retirement Day and Zimmerman provides employees with a 401(k) plan for retirement.

Eligible employees must be at least 21 years old in order to participate in the plan.

Participants can choose to defer a part of their salary on a pre-tax basis up to $17,000 for

2012; this deferral limit does not apply to highly compensated employees. Eligibility is

immediate, the vesting is on a 5 year schedule, and the company match begins at 6

months, and the catch up limit for those 55 and older in 2012 is $5,500.

The 401(k) plan provides benefits for a loss of income due to retirement,

disability, or death. The account balance can be paid to a legal spouse or beneficiary in

the event that the employee dies. Unmarried employees must name a beneficiary for their

401(k).


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Other Exposures

Educational AssistanceDay and Zimmerman offers educational assistance to employees only. This

benefit is for $4,000 per year for job related course work.

Work/Life Benefits

The company sponsors a wellness program, called Wellness Works that offers a

number of benefits, including education campaigns, activities, and incentives. Day &

Zimmermann provides employees with resources and information on its plansto helpemployees make better, more informed decisions about their healthcare and retirement

planning, like the WellnessWorksWonders newsletters, their annual enrollment materials

and benefits information online. The wellness program is available to all staff employees.

Day and Zimmerman also offers a program named Health Advocate; the program

gives employees assistance with their healthcare needs and questions. The program also

gives employees access to a personal health advocate who is a registered nurse. Health

Advocate is available to the employees entire family. Employees can use Health

Advocate to find the best doctors and hospitals help with scheduling appointments,

assistance with complex healthcare claims and billing issues, and obtain services for their

elderly parents and eldercare services in general.

Property/Liability

Day and Zimmermans property/liability is a contributory benefit. Employees

must go through individual underwriting for their home and auto insurance.


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Legal Expenses

The firm offers employees a basic legal benefit through its Employee Assistance

Program (EAP). This legal benefit does not have to be work related in order for

employees to take advantage of it. These legal issues may be divorce or adoption along

with other legal subjects.

Part IIIDecision Making and Benefits Plan Design Analysis

Introduction

Day and Zimmerman is a company that delivers industrial, defense and workforce

solutions to commercial and government customers. It is one of the largest privately held,

family owned companies in the United States. Day and Zimmerman currently has a

global workforce of about 24,000.

While reviewing Day and Zimmermans benefits package, much of the insight

from the plan came from Anne Hoban, who is the Director of Benefits at Day and

Zimmerman. Anne has extensive experience is benefit plans; she used to work as an

employee benefits consultant. She has described Day and Zimmermans benefit plan as

an attempt to reduce the rate of growth in healthcare costs.

Overall Design Considerations in Employee Benefits

Goals

As with many firms Day and Zimmerman offers its employee benefits package

as a strategic plan. In order to attract and retain qualified and capable employees, Day

and Zimmerman offers competitive benefits to appease employees. The firm can also use


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its benefits package to attract more qualified employees to the firm. By offering

competitive benefits, Day and Zimmerman can ensure that its employees will be happier

and more productive while working.

Although the firm wants to attract and retain capable employees with their benefit

plan, it must also make sure that the benefit plan does not place too much financial stress

on the company. When designing the employee benefit plan, decision makers were

concerned with the cost of the plan from the firms standpoint, but the firm must also

make sure that the cost associated with the benefit plan doesnt put too much of a burden

on the employees. To adhere to the cost restrictions, Day and Zimmerman has decided to

offer most of its healthcare benefits on a contributory basis. Benefits other than

healthcare are offered on a contributory and a non-contributory basis.

Day and Zimmerman wants to share some of the costs of healthcare benefits with

its employees and by doing this it feels as though it can shift the cost of healthcare

somewhat to the employees. By offering healthcare benefits to its employees on a

contributory basis, the firm still retains the majority of the cost of providing healthcare,

but it also shares in the cost of the healthcare premium. Day and Zimmerman is

attempting to control the number of units of healthcare utilized.

The firm is aware of the different types of healthcare consumers that are

employed at its firm, thats why it offers a High Deductible Health plan (HDHP) and a

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan. The firm offers a HDHP to individuals

when a family rarely uses their healthcare plan, but they still would like to make sure

they have access to preventive care visits and access to care in the event of a major illness

or injury. If an employees family uses their healthcare plan frequently to receive care for


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a chronic condition, the PPO may be better suited for them. Those are the types of cost

considerations that Day and Zimmerman uses when deciding what type of healthcare

benefits to offer to its employees.

In regards to other benefits that the firm offers the goals are still the same.

Benefits such as legal services, parking services, and gym membership, among others

serve to increase employee morale and productivity. By offering these benefits the firm

allows employees to worry less about problems outside the workplace, and therefore

attempts at making employees more concerned about their job. These benefits are

valuable to the employee and consequently serve to attract and retain top talent.

Demographics

Day and Zimmerman has a significant proportion of baby boomers in their

workforce, so many of its employees are retiring or using a great deal of healthcare

benefits. But, there is a rising proportion of younger employees in its workforce.

Although the firm has many older employees, it does not offer retiree healthcare therefore

it does not have as many employees using retiree benefits. Many of the older employees

use the PPO plan, while the younger employees are using the HDHP. This dynamic will

generally be the same for the company going forward.

Funding and Financing Considerations

Day and Zimmerman currently offers some self-insured benefits and some fully

insured benefits. Since the company is so large, it self-insures its medical plans because it

has experience and can accurately predict its claims from year-to-year. By self-insuring

its medical plan, the firm saves money that would have been spent on a fully insured


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plan. The firm can accurately calculate expected losses on a year-to-year basis and

therefore it can self-insure and avoid overpaying in a fully insured contract. In order to

fund its self-insured plan, Day and Zimmerman uses a General Asset Plan as its funding

vehicle.

The self-funded plan budget uses the expected losses to plan for its losses and if

losses exceed the expected loss, Day and Zimmerman has stop loss coverage for its

medical plan to mitigate the loss. Day and Zimmerman has stop-loss coverage with a

specific deductible of $250,000 per year. The firm has to pay the first $250,000 of the

loss, and the stop-loss insurance will cover the rest up to $4,750,000. The stop-loss

insurance provides a safeguard if actual losses are greater than expected losses in a given

year.

Some of the fully insured benefits that the firm provides are life insurance, short-

term disability (STD), and long-term disability (LTD). These benefits are fully insured

because these types of losses can often times be catastrophic. If the losses were

catastrophic it would negatively affect the firms financial position.

The medical plan is offered on a contributory basis, so as to share rising medical

costs with the employees. The firm pays about 84% of the HDHP plan and the employee

pays the remaining 16%. For the PPO, the firm pays about 66%, and the employee pays

the remaining 34%. Day and Zimmerman pays more of the cost for the HDHP to provide

an incentive for employees to join the HDHP, also known as the Choice Care Plan. The

use of a HDHP makes healthcare consumers to act more like normal consumers and

reduce moral hazard to discourage overutilization. The overutilization of healthcare

goods and services significantly contributes to steep rising costs in healthcare.


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Benefits such as life insurance, LTD, and STD, are offered on a non-contributory

basis. The disability benefits are offered on a non-contributory basis because they need to

be consistent with federal and state laws regarding disability; especially since Day and

Zimmerman has employees throughout the country. Since the employees are spread out,

maintaining the same non-contributory disability benefits allows the firm to keep costs

low in terms of administration.

Problems, Issues, Concerns, and Considerations in the Design

of Health Benefits

Cost Containment

In order to maintain costs for healthcare, Day and Zimmerman offers two types of

health plans, one is a traditional PPO and the other is a HDHP. Both plans are

administered through Independence Blue Cross, which gives employees the same choice

of providers in either the HDHP or the PPO. The firm has about equal participation in the

PPO and HDHP and therefore it feels as though the benefits that are offered are sufficient

for the employees needs. The majority of employees that work for Day and Zimmerman

do not opt out of medical coverage, so the plans that are offered are adequate.

High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and Health Savings Account

(HSA)


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Day and Zimmerman offers a HDHP with an HSA, and it has significant

participation rates. Day and Zimmerman effectively communicates the significant

advantages of this plan to employees and therefore many employees choose to join. Since

the firm effectively communicated this plan to employees, both the firm and the

employee can enjoy cost savings in terms of the medical plan. One of the advantages that

the firm specified to its employees was that employees would pay lower premiums

compared to the PPO plan. Another advantage for using the HDHP is the HSA

advantages, like saving for future healthcare expenses on a pre-tax basis. If employees

prefer to spread their costs for healthcare more evenly over the year and pay less out-of-

pocket when they need care, then the PPO may be better for them. The HDHP appeals

more to younger employees and employees who do not expect to use much healthcare

other than preventative care.

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)

The PPO plan is more useful for the firms older population and the sicker

population. If a family uses healthcare goods and services more often, then the PPO

would allow for more of a cost savings even though the premium is higher for the PPO

plan. One of the setbacks of using the PPO is that employees are not eligible to use the

HSA, which has caused more employees to move toward the HDHP. Overall the choice

to offer both the HDHP and the PPO is good decision because of the varying degrees of

employees that work for the firm.

Health Advocate


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Day and Zimmerman has just introduced a new healthcare benefit that is offered

on a non-contributory basis to help employees with making healthcare decisions. Health

Advocate provides employees assistance with their healthcare needs and questions and

access to a personal health advocate, a registered nurse. This benefit is available to the

employees entire family. Some of the services that employees can benefit from are;

finding the best doctors and hospitals and scheduling appointments, assisting with

complex healthcare claims and billing issues, and obtaining services for employees

elderly parents and eldercare services. This benefit makes healthcare issues easier to deal

with for employees, and therefore increases employee satisfaction and productivity.

Funding Considerations

By self-insuring, Day and Zimmerman has a higher incentive to control the cost

of employees using healthcare goods and services. The firm wants to make sure that

employees do not overutilize their healthcare, which was one of the main reasons why the

HDHP was introduced. Day and Zimmerman also offers wellness programs to make sure

that employees are actively trying to take control of their health so that they will

eventually use less healthcare goods and services. By using less healthcare goods and

services the firm can keep costs steady. So, self-insurance provides an extra incentive to

take steps to lower healthcare utilization.

Cost Inflation

Day and Zimmerman is able to control the rising costs of healthcare more because

it self-insures its healthcare plan. Day and Zimmerman has taken a few steps to deal with

cost inflation. First, it introduced Wellness Works, which includes education campaigns,


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activities and incentives about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It also scaled back its PPO

program to offer just one type of PPO, and replaced one of the PPOs with a HDHP.

Therefore, employees have less of an incentive to use their healthcare benefits for

something minor such as a cold. Instead, the employee will take more steps to handle

minor health issues on their own. Another method to control cost inflation involves

steering employees to the HDHP by contributing more to the HDHP than the PPO. By

taking these steps to control cost inflation, both employees and the firm can avoid high

increases in premiums.

Problems, Issues, Concerns, and Considerations in the Design

of Other Non-Retirement Benefits

Flexible Benefits

Day and Zimmerman also offers several flexible benefits to its employees. It

offers a parking and transit FSA, a dependent care FSA, and a healthcare FSA. The

parking and transit FSA is important to employees because the company is headquartered

in Philadelphia, where employees must pay for parking and commuting to work. By

allowing employees to contribute to this FSA it drastically increases employee morale.

The dependent care FSA is important because many employees have families and need to

budget for dependent care expenses. The healthcare FSA is useful for employees enrolled

in the PPO plan because it allows employees to save for coinsurance, deductibles, copays,

and other eligible expenses. There is also a limited FSA option for employees enrolled in


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the HDHP to cover out-of-pocket dental and vision expenses. The option to offer FSAs

helps employee pay for important expenses on a payroll deduction basis.

Communication

Day and Zimmerman communicates most of its plans to employees through

electronic communication. Summary Plan Descriptions and open enrollment data are all

distributed electronically. In some other areas of the company where employees are not

constantly working at a computer, the company communicates through mail. During open

enrollment, the company holds open enrollment meetings, and has a human resources

representative verbally communicate different aspects of the benefits offered. Overall, the

company has been able to effectively communicate the advantages of benefits that is why

there is such high participation in both the PPO and the HDHP.

Regulatory Compliance

HIPAA

Day and Zimmerman provides employees with a privacy statement at the time of

hiring, to make sure that they comply with HIPAA. There is also substantial internal

training programs to make sure the firm is in compliance with HIPAA. Since the plan is

self-insured, the firm must make sure that the confidential information that it receives

about employees is handled properly. Compliance with HIPAA is extremely sensitive and

important.

COBRA


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In order to make sure that the firm is in compliance with COBRA, administration

sends out information to each employee through the new hire process as well as the

termination process. COBRA compliance at Day and Zimmerman is straightforward and

allows employees to be aware of their rights and their coverages. Human resources is

extensively trained in handling COBRA issues.

ERISA

The firms ERISA lawyers make sure that plan documents are consistent with

regulation and exclusively handle ERISA compliance. Anne Hoban has specifically

stated that she audits the plans to make sure that the execution of the plans are consistent.

She makes sure that the plans are actually administered in the method that the plan states.

ERISA compliance is extremely important, that is why the firm has lawyers to

specifically handle ERISA requirements and that the firm obeys its fiduciary

responsibility.

PPACA

Day and Zimmerman has taken steps to anticipate the changes associated with

PPACA. The firm has had to communicate the changes associated with over the counter

drugs and FSAs to employees. The firm also has anticipated the changing limits of FSAs

being $2,500 from $3,000. Currently Day and Zimmerman is waiting for guidance for

preventative care, contraceptives, and prescription drugs, but it feels as though it will

already be in compliance.


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Recommendations for the Future

Day and Zimmerman has a comprehensive plan that many employees are content

with. The company used to offer voluntary benefits for critical illness, but no longer offer

them due to inadequate participation. Because the company already offered voluntary

benefits, it may want to consider communicating the voluntary benefits differently to

increase participation.

Conclusion

Day and Zimmerman has taken a strategic approach to its benefits plan and has

effectively communicated the importance of taking active approach to rising healthcare

costs. By offering different plans to cater to employees, the firm has shown its

commitment to employees and its understanding of its employees. The firm has stated

that there will be some changes in 2014, but those changes will not have a drastic effect

on its current plan.

jasmine f slaughter - day&zimmerman.fall2011

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