John Zabasky, CEO of WorXsiteHR Insurance Solutions, Inc., is urging small employers to make a free annual review of their benefits setup a standard part of their yearly routine. The review, which Zabasky describes as a plain look at how a plan is working rather than a sales pitch, examines how the plan is being used, where workers are encountering friction, and whether the employer is still getting a fair deal on cost.
Zabasky frames the checkup as a standing habit rather than a one-time favor. He recommends employers schedule the review automatically each year instead of waiting until something goes wrong to request one.
“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 idea grew out of Zabasky’s experience working with lower income, part-time, and seasonal workforces through the HealthWorX Plan, for which WorXsiteHR is the exclusive third-party administrator. He noted that with seasonal and part-time workforces, conditions change quickly—turnover shifts, hours fluctuate, and a plan that fit in January can be a poor fit by September without anyone noticing until renewal.
A good annual checkup, according to Zabasky, should walk through enrollment numbers, claims patterns, and worker feedback directly with the employer. It should yield 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,” Zabasky said.
The checkup habit fits the HealthWorX model. HealthWorX is a no-cost medical plan, subsidized by a non-profit, built 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 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 get value from the review. Zabasky recommends keeping the format simple: 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.”
The implications for small employers are significant. Benefits represent a major expense, and plans that go unused or misaligned with a workforce can waste money and leave workers without needed care. By institutionalizing an annual review, employers can identify enrollment declines, claims anomalies, or worker dissatisfaction early, potentially avoiding costly mid-year changes or unpleasant surprises at renewal. For industries reliant on part-time and seasonal labor, where turnover and hours can shift rapidly, the checkup offers a structured way to keep benefits relevant and cost-effective.
Zabasky started 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.
