Absence Matters Health Trust
Other
Absence Matters is part of Health Claims Bureau, which has been operating in the UK and Ireland for over 25 years. The Health Trust is a new arrangement that offers a tax efficient vehicle for getting people who would not normally receive income protection or private medical insurance back to work when it isn’t a work-related injury or medical condition.
The plan provides a nurse based case management system where employees are referred by HR or line managers. The nurse is trained to identify return to work barriers using the biopsychosocial model.
Employers get access to the Medical Disability Guidelines, which Absence Matters says is the world’s most comprehensive set of disability duration guidelines. Absence Matters then calculates the overall cost to the employer of NHS waiting times, sick pay, lost productivity, temporary cover, case managed private assessment and treatment (dovetailed with NHS facilities), through the quickest and most cost efficient route.
Any private treatment is through the Employer’s Medical Benefits Trust which is, in effect, like other health trusts, a tax efficient alternative to PMI. There is scope to design the system into an existing health trust too.
Legal guidance and advice on the trust, dispute resolutions and other legal matters is through business law firm Lawrence Graham LLP.
Cost depends on a range of factors but a typical scheme may include £12,500 set up costs, plus an annual fee of £5 per employee. Rehabilitation fees start at £155 for phone based help and go to £650 for a home visit. The plan will be marketed direct to employers as well as through employee benefits consultants and other intermediaries. The plan is aimed mainly at larger employers.
Comment: Although PMI or a PMI style health trust is the gold standard, many firms choose either not to have it or to limit it to senior executives only.
We know from research that too few firms monitor sickness absence, let alone analyse the true costs of say an employee needing a knee replacement. This scheme does just that, focusing on the cost to the firm of getting the right treatment in the most timely and cost-efficient manner to the worker in a properly controlled way.
It is hard to see a downside, although full PMI benefits will still offer wider cover (albeit at a much higher cost per employee). Set up costs preclude the use of this plan for smaller employers, but the exciting possibility is that the plan could open up PMI style benefits to a much bigger audience.
Plus points: New and highly innovative idea with little downside risk; Direct correlation between cost and benefit; Attractive to employers and employees; Can adapt over time to whatever the external situation is.
Not so plus points: HCB may not be as well known as many PMI/IP providers; Relatively complex to set up; Set up costs make it suitable for larger employers only.
Website: http://www.absencematters.co.uk
Rating (max 5): Innovation: 10. Overall: 9. Platinum.