Small business owners providing health insurance to their employees is a crucial part to running any business. Mike Telesky, Vice President of Sales at UnitedHealthcare, has made it his mission to help small business owners with navigating the sometimes intimidating world of insurance.
“The biggest thing small business owners need to think about when it comes to insurance is they need to have options,” Telesky said. “Every employee’s insurance needs are different, so if an employer has options that can offer different benefits that fit each individual employee’s needs, then we did our job.”
Telesky, who’s been at UnitedHealthcare for nearly 15 years, cited the fifth annual United Healthcare Consumer Sentiment Study when discussing how people are looking at insurance. The survey, which has been conducted since 2015, asks consumers exactly what their preferences are during open enrollment.
“We’ve noticed that many people are looking for lower out-of-pocket costs for insurance policies. COVID-19 has really shaken the healthcare industry,” Telesky said. “Sixteen percent of consumers are looking for policies that cost them less out-of-pocket. Almost 50% of consumers were influenced by COVID-19 when looking for a health plan they intend to select for 2021.”
One of the many benefits UnitedHealthcare offers is network optionality, where customers can offer a choice of networks for their members to choose from that’s covered.
“The main thing a lot of people look for when shopping for insurance is network choice,” Telesky said. “People want to be able to have their doctor’s appointments be covered in their insurance. That’s usually a big thing people are concerned about.”
The main source of information Telesky offered for small business owners is https://smallbusiness.uhc.com/. On the site, small business owners can simply type in how many employees they have and their zip code to help find a plan that works for the business. Telesky and his peers at UnitedHealthcare strive to provide information to customers in a way that anyone, regardless of knowledge on insurance, can understand.
“We make sure our customers understand what plans will best fit the needs they have,” Telesky said. “We want to make sure that our clients remain healthy, and that they are covered whenever they need to go see a doctor. Insurance is such an important part of people’s lives, we always want to make sure whatever benefits a customer needs, they get.”
To learn more about UnitedHealthcare’s plans for small business owners, go to https://smallbusiness.uhc.com/. For more resources on how UnitedHealthcare is handling the COVID-19 pandemic, go to https://www.uhc.com/health-and-wellness/health-topics/covid-19. The data cited from the 2020 Consumer Sentiment Study can be found at https://newsroom.uhc.com/2020-consumer-survey.html.
