Kent Bradley, a speaker at the marcus evans Corporate Benefits Summit 2014, on designing an employee health benefits package that can boost productivity and efficiency. Interview with: Dr. Kent Bradley, President, Safeway Health; and Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, Safeway Inc.

1. 5 Minutes with Safeway’s Kent Bradley:
Designing a Health Benefits Package that Drives Productivity
how to appropriately apply the law and
uncertainties around certain aspects of
it. In short, we are in the midst of
chaos. One approach is to freeze and
take a complete wait and see approach.
My experience has been that in the
midst of chaos you need to do the
opposite – you need to take action but
remain agile.
Interview with: Dr. Kent Bradley,
President, Safeway Health; and
Senior Vice President & Chief
Medical Officer, Safeway Inc.
“Corporate Benefits directors have
recognized the need to get healthcare
costs under control, but they should not
simply look at healthcare reform as
something being done to them but as a
clear call to action for internal
healthcare reform. The heightened
national dialogue about the growing
healthcare cost burden and the concern
about the overall health of our nation
provides opportunities for heightened
relevance of the Benefits director for
driving productivity and efficiency that
are meaningful to their organization’s
top and bottom line,” advises Dr. Kent
Bradley, President, Safeway Health; and
Senior Vice President & Chief Medical
Officer, Safeway Inc.
A speaker at the marcus evans
Corporate Benefits Summit 2014, in
Las Vegas, Nevada, January 26-28,
Bradley puts the spotlight on employee
benefits and the importance of
developing a sustainable health strategy
as a group.
How are healthcare reforms and
ObamaCare impacting the corporate
benefits function?
Organizations are recognizing that the
need to contain costs is very real,
especially with the possibility of
incurring the excise tax which comes
into play in 2018. There are concerns on
What must the plan of action
include?
How should it be
implemented?
Corporate Benefits directors should not
simply react to these laws. They need to
think about their strategy for the next
three to five years, and how best to
reshape the health benefits package to
make it more sustainable for the
organization. Everyone is now more
open to change but the issue is:
knowing how to change, doing it with a
clear plan of action, and understanding
how to integrate various programs to
get to the defined objectives all the
while working agility into your contracts
and your plans.
Does a package that is sustainable
for the organization mean fewer
benefits for the employees?
No, it does not have to. There is an
opportunity for greater responsibility on
the part of employees to become
informed healthcare consumers, but
that does not necessarily translate to
less. As people become wiser shoppers
of their own healthcare, they will get
true value out of the system and
become more responsible for their own
health outcomes.
A healthier starting point for any
organization is: How do we empower
individuals to make wiser choices and
frame our benefits package to
incentivize individuals on that journey?
What benefits are aligned with what
people really want? What is the best use
of company resources to provide the
most value to employees and the
business?
Why were these changes not done
before ObamaCare?
It is very easy to concentrate on
administering a program that is already
part of the organization, than on how it
is integrated throughout.
Corporate Benefits directors need to
break free from that thinking as health
touches every aspect of a business and
must be woven into the fabric of the
organization. They need to talk to the
business unit leaders who have the
greatest impact on the workforce to
effectively establish a culture of health
and get buy-in on various programs.
The conversation around health requires
group thinking and group answers that
could be led by the benefits folks in
partnership with other business units.
The conversation
around health
requires group
thinking and
group answers
Any final thoughts or advice?
The benefits package offerings and
opportunities must be communicated
thoughtfully. Some messages may or
may not work with a specific employee
population. At Safeway we know our
employees need access to their health
programs 24/7, online, in mobile apps,
that include built-in incentives, and
social networking features. A benefits
package design and communication
strategy should be targeted and aligned,
based on the organization’s behaviors
and desired engagement outcomes.

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About the Corporate Benefits Summit 2014
This unique forum will take place at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa, Las Vegas,
Nevada, January 26-28, 2014. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or
trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought
leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event.
The Summit includes presentations on complying with healthcare reform, engaging
staff to understand the full value of their benefits package, managing benefits
internationally and tapping into diversity.
www.corporatebenefitssummit.com
Please note that the Summit is a
closed
number
business
of
event
participants
and
the
strictly
limited.
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