HPCI News: Patients Becoming Customers
To: Members and Selected Others
David P. Lind Benchmark just released its 2016 Iowa Employer
Benefits Study. It is the 18th Annual Study. It contains many very
interesting and important facts and trends. For example, Iowa
employer health insurance premiums increased 8% - similar to 2015.
Also, costs have moderated since the Accountable Care Act took
effect in 2010.
It also described the various ways Iowa
employers have used to contain their health insurance costs. One of
these is passing some of the increased costs to their employees. The
average annual premium for family coverage this year is $15,743. Of
that amount, on average, the employer contribution is $10,902 and
the worker contribution is $4,840.
Many of these trends and
strategies parallel those nationally. Employers are adopting
strategies to stream costs and improve care for their employees.
Some are calibrating payment to the achievement of high-quality
care. Others are paying employees to seek out a second opinion or
explore a range of treatment options. Still others are offering
on-site clinics, telemedicine and other innovative programs to
increase preventive care. But, according to a September issue in
Forbes, the most dramatic cost control strategy is the one that
sparks the most controversy: shifting to high-deductible health
plans.
Deductibles have increased substantially in the past
decade. And many employers help employees by contributing to
tax-advantaged health saving accounts. These plans can do something
else: turn patients into shoppers. While healthcare consumerism is
still evolving it could drive a market for long-overdue
improvements.
The idea has already driven significant change
in the health care system itself. Most health plans now offer
decision-support tools. Hospitals are adopting principles of the
hospitality industry to attract and retain patients. Many employ
patient experience officers to monitor satisfaction in real time.
Slowly but surely health care providers are learning that the
patient in the bed is a customer, and that changes everything.
Note: A key to consumerism in health care is measurement and transparency of quality, patient safety and price. That is a HPCI priority. For more information go to www.hpci.org.
Paul M. Pietzsch, MPH
HPCI - IHBA Office
4430 Ashley Park Drive
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
(515) 778-6300