Dear Readers,
You, more than anyone, know that consumer-driven health care is here to stay. In the land of consumerism, why would health care be exempt from consumers´ watchful eyes? In the land of innovation, why would creative people not seize an opportunity to start a health care business?
CDHC is not just about consumer-directed health plans and health savings accounts. CDHC is much more than deciding if and how to offer a high-deductible health plan with an HSA. Sure, there´s a lot of frustration with the rising cost of health insurance for both the employer and the employee. When employers or employees complain about health care, they usually are complaining about their insurer, but there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. When Alison Amoroso, our recently promoted editorial director, went for a physical this year, one of the largest hospitals in the country incorrectly billed one of the largest insurers. Despite repeated calls, the hospital still sent her bill to collections.
I am sure you have experienced or heard similar situations. Why can any of us contact a credit card company or retail store and get a faulty transaction resolved in a minute-but not with health care services? We propose that the industry has grown out of control and into an unwieldy mess, lightyears behind other industries, due to a lack of consumer involvement. There is some hope on the horizon for real change now that employers are banding together and throwing their weight around, provider-innovators are entering the market like rapid-fire, and pop culture icons like Michael Moore are motivating individual consumers.
CDHC Solutions will be at the forefront of shining some light on these changes that involve and benefit consumers—from the perspective of both the employer and employee-consumer. Many of you will respond with, "Well, it´s about time," to programs such as those that address behavioral health (page 29), or ideas for employer bargaining and action (pages 10 and 13). Many health benefit design changes have been coalescing for some time between large players: for example, a coordinated effort between disease management, wellness initiatives and large employers, culminating in an unveiling at the DMAA Integrated Care Summit Sept. 17–19 in Las Vegas. You undoubtedly are concerned about the growing chronic disease reality or potential in your work force; this summit is a great way to find information to lead your
company in new, cost-saving benefit redesign. An overview of the topics and speakers starts on page 33. The consumer-driven movement of health care is about the whole realm of health care benefits and benefits design. It spans the entire gamut, including what benefits you offer to your employees and how you do it.
We want to hear your ideas for health care benefit design changes, as well as your reflections on current events that may be driving system-wide health care changes. Send us an email or join a CDHC Solutions online forum at www.cdhcsolutionsmag.com. Stay tuned for our new Web site launch this fall-it offers you many ways to join in discussions about CDHC with our staff and your peers, as well as professional networking opportunities so that you can communicate directly with other health care benefit executives.
Thanks for reading. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Doug Field
CEO/Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
dfield[at]fieldmedia.com
Alison Amoroso, M.Ed.
Editorial Director
aamoroso[at]fieldmedia.com
