Action, Not Inaction, Needed Despite Possibility of Health Care Reform
Nov. / Dec. 2009Nov. / Dec. 2009
With the specter of health care reform front and center on the minds of consumers and employers alike, this is a time of much confusion in the industry.
Depending on what the federal government decides (or does not decide) to do, the consensus opinion is that some sort of change is coming that will transform the insurance industry. Taxes on high-dollar plans are on the table. So is a possible cap on FSA set asides. Cuts in Medicaid could threaten access to care from physicians who refuse to accept low payments for services to older Americans.
Regardless of how the industry is changed by the U.S. House bill that was passed in early November and the Senate bill that was unveiled two weeks later, this is not the time for employers to stand still.
Even if a health care reform bill is signed into law tomorrow, implementation likely would not occur until 2013. How much will health care premiums rise in the meantime? How much more would employers pay for claims related to chronic conditions that could be assuaged by comprehensive disease management? How much money would be wasted without a pharmacy benefits management program?
In this issue, we’ve assembled several success stories about companies large and small that have met the challenge of curbing runaway health care costs head on. Unum, a leading provider of employee benefits products and services, implemented a long-term health care strategy in 2004 that combines on-site health programs, with educational tools and resources to help get workers healthy and keep them that way.
Claims from those with chronic conditions who used the company’s health resource centers at least twice rose just 2% between 2005 and 2008, compared with double-digit growth in claims for one-time or non users of this valuable resource. [Read it here]
Meet Cathy Finn, a Unum employee in Portland, ME, who has transformed her life, thanks to the help of wellness coordinators who helped her pick an exercise routine and gave her much-needed encouragement on a lifelong journey toward better health.
Georgia-based Claxton Poultry saved nearly $1 million in the first year after launching an on-site medical clinic that not only provides medical and laboratory services to employees, but also education opportunities that allow those with chronic conditions to stay compliant with best-practice treatment and maintenance options. [Read it here].
Johnson & Johnson introduced a digital coaching solution from HealthMedia in 2003 that transformed the health and well-being of its employees so much that Johnson & Johnson acquired the company five years later. [Read it here].
And in a web exclusive, read about the benefits of a clinically intelligent personal health record, which combines sophisticated technology to analyze an individual’s health information and provide individualized feedback, including health alerts and personalized health reports.
Regardless of what form health care reform may ultimately take, innovative companies are taking steps now to cut health care costs and improve workers’ lives at the same time.
It’s not time for inaction. The time to act is now.
Sincerely,
Doug Field
Publisher
Matt Bolch
Editor
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Letters
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