Small employers should make an annual benefits checkup a standard part of their yearly routine, according to John Zabasky, CEO of WorXsiteHR Insurance Solutions, Inc. The review, which Zabasky says should be free, examines how a health plan is being used, where workers encounter friction, and whether the employer is still getting a fair deal on cost. Rather than waiting for a problem to arise, Zabasky recommends employers schedule the review automatically each year.
"Most employers only look hard at their benefits when something breaks," Zabasky said. "I want employers checking in every year, on purpose, whether anything is wrong or not." The checkup is intended as a plain assessment of plan performance, not a sales pitch for a new plan. It should involve a walkthrough of enrollment numbers, claims patterns, and direct worker feedback with the employer.
The concept grew out of Zabasky's experience working with lower income, part-time, and seasonal workforces through the HealthWorX Plan, where WorXsiteHR serves as the exclusive third-party administrator. "With seasonal and part-time workforces, things change fast," he said. "Turnover changes. Hours change. A plan that fit in January can be a bad fit by September, and nobody notices until renewal."
According to Zabasky, a good annual checkup delivers three things: a plain-language summary of how the plan performed, a short list of changes worth making, and a direct answer on whether costs remain in line with what similar employers are paying. The goal is to catch small problems before they become renewal-time surprises. "I would rather flag a problem in June than have an employer find out at renewal that their workers stopped using the plan months ago," he said.
HealthWorX is a no-cost medical plan subsidized by a non-profit, designed to give lower income, part-time, and seasonal workers access to healthcare they can actually use. WorXsiteHR administers the plan for employers who want it. Zabasky said an annual checkup habit helps employers ensure that access does not quietly erode over time. "A benefit only works if people use it," he said. "A checkup is how you make sure that stays true year after year, not just in the first year."
Employers do not need a complicated process to benefit from an annual review. Zabasky recommends a simple format: a short meeting, a plain summary, and a small number of recommendations an employer can act on right away. "You are not trying to hand someone a hundred-page report," he said. "You want them to walk away knowing three things: what is working, what is not, and what to do about it."
Zabasky founded WorXsiteHR in 2013 as the exclusive third-party administrator for the HealthWorX Plan. He holds a BA and an MA in History from UMBC, an MBA from Pepperdine, and a PhD in Information Systems from Concordia, and is currently a PhD candidate in Health Sciences at Liberty University.
