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Medicash chief commercial officer Paul Gambon tells Health & Protection why organisations are increasingly making cash plans a strategic part of their health and wellbeing plans.
He also explains some of the key issues driving demand including supporting regulatory and legal commitments and why in the end, every business has similar needs.
Are employers making cash plans a key part of their health and wellbeing strategy?
Absolutely. Cash plans were seen as a peripheral perk; now they are a key component of health and wellbeing strategies.
Our book grew by 160% between 2020 and the end of 2025. That’s quite phenomenal in a sector where many providers have been around for over a hundred years.
The other way we look at this is that only about 2.1 million people in the UK have an employer-funded cash plan when all employees will have a need, which means the opportunity for more growth is still vast.
Although more employers are using it strategically to support their wellbeing strategy, there are still plenty who are not, so even though we are seeing a huge increase, the potential is significantly higher.
Much of this is about the wide appeal; private medical insurance may not be affordable for every business, but there is still pressure on the NHS and employers have a duty of care to look after their workforce.
Providing a proactive range of tools to help employees get the treatment they need and get back to work as quickly as possible can only be positive.
The strategy also boils down to awareness of the benefits available and looking at what employers already offer then encompassing that within the umbrella of a cash plan. Companies can have more benefits, reduced administration and potentially lower cost as well.
How are employers structuring their cash plans and what are their main aims?
Most employers are paying for a core level cash plan for the whole workforce, rather than only senior people getting private medical insurance and no health benefits for everybody else.
That is where we have seen opportunity; everyone gains a common harmonised benefit, has easy access and they can then upgrade their cover and add their family.
In terms of main aims, increasingly we are getting questions around legal obligations.
Traditionally, organisations wanted to cover eye tests for VDU users and offer EAPs, but changes in legislation mean employers now have other requirements too.
Many employers may need menopause action plans and employees can now receive sick pay from their first full day of sickness, strengthening the case for cash plans as a tool to help prevent absences.
It is not just the cost of the sick pay, it is the cost of covering absent employees. There is more incentive for employers to be doing something about it and the business case has gained attention in many boardrooms across the UK.
Employers are also looking at accessibility and inclusion to make sure they cater for the needs of all people within their workforce. We are doing more in that space and looking at the opportunities ahead to help employers with these legislative changes.
What other workplace needs are organisations addressing?
Cash plans are not just a benefit to the employer; they are also for the individual who is suffering from a health problem or to help with their everyday health costs, it is giving them the tools to look after themselves and to support them financially in doing so.
We also offer bespoke schemes where an employer can choose whatever mix of benefits they want, but what is always remarkable is that bespoke benefits often end up being pretty much the same mix of benefits compared to our off-the-shelf plans, showing that every business has similar needs.
Although they have people doing slightly different jobs, their employees still have teeth, eyes, skin and muscles. There are common issues every employer will face and therefore a health cash plan will offer benefits which stretch across every employee’s needs.
No matter your age or sex, there is something in the plan that every individual will benefit from, and ultimately that appeal is driving growth.
Can using this strategic approach create other efficiencies for employers and make health and wellbeing programs more sustainable?
By having one place where all those separate benefits are housed, all the administration is done in one place, and costs are controlled so you are paying one amount instead of working with multiple providers.
It uses an umbrella approach and points everyone to the cash plan as a way of resolving a lot of common everyday issues, rather than having to build awareness on different sporadic services from different suppliers.
We have good data in terms of knowing how companies will use their policies so we can offer sustainable pricing for businesses, and this is easily offset against the reduced cost of people not being in work, and consolidating services.
We get a lot of requests for now usage insights as well – these help support the business case when putting these things in place.
HR teams want to see the figures to evidence to their board that the interventions they are taking are having a tangible and positive impact on the business.
That is where I see a trajectory and improvements across our whole industry going forward; the availability of management information data is going to inform the business case and the business strategy of what is working and what they need to do next.