Gen Z is changing the workplace. That includes what younger employees expect from their health benefits. For employers, attracting and retaining Gen Z talent isn’t just about salary and workplace culture anymore. Health insurance and employee benefits can play an important role in helping younger employees feel supported, especially as health care needs and financial pressures continue to change.
Research from the Health Action Council and UnitedHealthcare suggests that younger generations are experiencing significant health care challenges earlier in life. The research, which examined data from more than 225,000 Health Action Council members with UnitedHealthcare coverage, found that health care claims among Millennials and Gen Z are increasing faster than among older generations. Younger adults are also experiencing chronic health conditions earlier, using emergency room services more frequently, and engaging less often with primary care providers.
At the same time, financial stress can influence health care decisions. When employees are concerned about the cost of care, they may delay appointments, preventive care, or treatment. For employers, that creates an important benefits question. How can you offer health coverage that gives younger employees flexibility and choice while continuing to manage your benefits budget?
Because you offer CaliforniaChoice, you already have tools that can help.
What Sets CaliforniaChoice Apart?
One of the biggest advantages of CaliforniaChoice is the ability to offer employees multiple health plan options through one program. Instead of asking every employee to fit into the same health plan, CaliforniaChoice allows you to offer health care choices.
You can offer one, two, three. or all four metal tiers — Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum — giving employees different combinations of premiums and cost sharing to consider. That flexibility can be especially valuable for a multigenerational workforce.
A younger employee who rarely uses health care may have different priorities than an employee managing a chronic condition or supporting a family. Giving employees options allows them to consider their own health care needs, budget, and preferred providers when selecting coverage.
What Do Gen Z Employees Actually Want from Health Benefits?
It’s tempting to think that Gen Z employees simply want the lowest-cost health plan. But younger employees aren’t all the same. Some may prioritize affordable premiums. Others may want access to a specific provider or health system. Some may value telehealth and convenient care options, while others may be looking for an HSA-qualified plan that gives them a way to save for future health care expenses.
That’s why flexibility can matter more than trying to find one “perfect” plan for everyone. With CaliforniaChoice, your employees can choose from HMO, PPO, and HSA-qualified health plans offered through multiple health plan partners.
Your CaliforniaChoice Options Include:
Statewide health plans:
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Health Net
- Kaiser Permanente
- UnitedHealthcare
Regional health plans:
- Sharp Health Plan — San Diego and Riverside counties
- Sutter Health Plan — 16 counties in Northern and Central California
- Western Health Advantage — 11 counties in Northern California
How Can Employers Support a Multigenerational Workforce?
For employers competing for talent, employee benefits are an important part of the overall compensation package. Offering health insurance is expected. Offering employees choices in that coverage can help make your benefits package stronger for a diverse workforce. That’s particularly important as workplaces become more multigenerational.
Gen Z employees may be entering the workforce with different expectations around health care, technology, financial wellness, and convenience. At the same time, your more experienced employees may have very different health care priorities. You shouldn’t have to choose between benefits that appeal to younger employees and benefits that work for everyone else.
With an employee-choice approach, you can provide more options without giving up control of your benefits budget.
Your Benefits Can Evolve Without Starting Over
You don’t necessarily need an entirely new benefits strategy to better support a changing workforce. Since you’re a CaliforniaChoice group, you have a foundation built around choice, flexibility, and cost control. As your workforce evolves, your benefits strategy can evolve with it.
You can adjust the coverage options you make available, revisit your Defined Contribution, and give employees the opportunity to select coverage based on their individual needs. The goal isn’t to build a benefits package just for Gen Z. It’s to offer a benefits experience flexible enough to work for Gen Z and every generation working with them.
Review Your Program With a Broker
Your broker can help you review your current CaliforniaChoice program and determine whether your available plan options and contribution strategy continue to meet the needs of your employees. When your renewal comes up, it’s a good time to ask: Are we giving our team enough choice?
Because the right benefits strategy isn’t necessarily about offering more. It’s about offering options that give your employees more ways to find the coverage that’s right for them.