Fed Up Employers Crush Health Costs With Creativity
Employers have had it with outrageous health care expenses and many are ditching high-deductible employee health plans (the usual go-to option for lowering costs) in favor of innovative, bold and forward-thinking programs.
Rather than pay the unpredictable fees associated with care within hospital systems, the Wall Street Journal reports that General Motors, Boeing, Intel, Walt Disney and Walmart are all bypassing insurers and “cutting their own deals directly with hospital systems.” These deals dramatically reduce patient and employer bills.
Many companies are also reigning in health care budgets by offering their own clinics and launching efforts to change the way employees pay for drugs. The WSJ report explained how one company stopped dealing with U.S. pharmaceutical companies (drug companies), choosing instead to send employees to Mexico for three-month prescription refills. This move, while controversial, resulted in such significant cost savings that the company offers a cash incentive of $500 for every employee that makes the trip.
Even if your organization is not ready to open its own clinic, there are steps HR managers can take to lower health care costs. In a December 2018, Forbes.com report, Heather Halliburton offered three steps any size company can utilize to start saving right away.
Employers in search of health care savings should:
- LOOK at claims reports to discover the most common conditions among insured employees. Knowing what preventable conditions exist will help you fine-tune prevention strategies for max savings and healthier employees.
- EDUCATE employees on the information they need to utilize primary and preventive care. Emergency service costs are skyrocketing and employees who don’t use primary care resources tend to overuse the ER.
- SHOP around for preferred health care partners that are willing to offer transparent pricing and coordinate patient care, so patients can make “informed decisions based on price and value could go a long way in reducing costs.”