Dean College Improves Faculty and Staff Health Benefits

Attracting and retaining talented faculty and staff is a top concern of many colleges and universities. Dean College recently joined edHEALTH, a purchasing collaborative of 22 colleges and universities, to improve its employee health benefits. The move halved employees' out-of-pocket deductible. 

“Offering robust healthcare benefits enables us to attract and retain quality employees,” said Daniel Modelane, Vice President of Financial Services and Treasurer of Dean College. “The previous deductible was a lot of exposure for our employees, and this enhancement will be a helpful recruiting tool.”

“Dean was looking to move to a self-insurance arrangement for staff healthcare costs,” said Sean Carney, Partner, 360 Corporate Benefit Advisors, the school’s benefits consultant. “Moving to edHEALTH is a long-term healthcare strategy. This group of edHEALTH schools provides a sense of community and camaraderie for the betterment of the higher education industry.” 

With the move to edHEALTH, Dean is expecting first year savings of up to $250,000. “The larger purchasing group protects Dean College in a bad claims year, while allowing it to share in the benefits of a good year,” said Mr. Modelane. 

“We’re so happy to have Dean College join our growing roster of colleges and universities,” said A. Tracy Hassett, edHEALTH’s President and CEO. “They’ve evaluated the option for a while, and liked the long-term results edHEALTH has provided its member schools.”

“Our employees are staying with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and the transition to edHEALTH has run very smoothly with weekly calls to be sure all of the implementation pieces remain on track,” said Mr. Modelane. Employees received their ID cards and plan materials. “There was no disruption to doctors and hospital access. For the few employees affected by the prescription drug formulary change, we communicated with them to help minimize any disruption. The feedback from employees about the changes is very positive.”

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