{"id":5209,"date":"2022-03-23T19:23:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T19:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melodybenefits.com\/?p=5209"},"modified":"2022-06-08T20:47:26","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T20:47:26","slug":"empowering-employees-to-maximize-wage-parity-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melodybenefits.com\/empowering-employees-to-maximize-wage-parity-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Empower Your Employees to Maximize Wage Parity Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does it matter if your home healthcare aides use their wage parity benefits?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After all, if your agency offers benefits in compliance with wage parity law<\/a>, you did your part. It\u2019s up to the aides to decide whether or not to use them. As the clich<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can\u2019t make him drink.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which is true, but\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

a thirsty horse won\u2019t perform.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And neither will your HHAs if they don\u2019t understand (or worse, resent) their benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A successful wage parity program can offer multiple benefits over cash wages<\/a>, including significant ROI in employee loyalty and satisfaction. When employees maximize their benefits, you maximize your ROI.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But how?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To find out, we turned to one of our top clients, <\/span>Royal Care NYC<\/span><\/a>. More than 90% of Royal Care\u2019s employees use their benefits cards down to the last penny.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sarah Knoll<\/span><\/a>, Royal Care\u2019s Payroll\/Billing Supervisor, shared four Royal Care initiatives and policies that have worked for the Royal Care team of HHAs. Together they answer the question:<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How can you empower your employees to fully appreciate and use their wage parity benefits?<\/b><\/p>\n

1. Education and communication<\/b><\/h2>\n

Offering top benefits<\/a> is just the beginning. Without education, those benefits can remain unused.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sarah identifies two areas to address:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Explain how to use the benefits cards.<\/b> \u201cEmployees can have months\u2019 worth of benefits piled up on their card because they don\u2019t know how to use it,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Explain the benefits of benefits vs. cash wages.<\/b> \u201cThe aides don\u2019t realize that if they got wage parity in cash wages, they could lose their Medicaid eligibility. We have to explain that benefits are pre-tax and won\u2019t affect their reported income.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      During open enrollment, when they\u2019re sending other plan info to employees, Royal Care also sends a brochure clearly explaining:<\/span><\/p>\n