|
|||
|
|
|
Deja Vu All Over Again
Best known as a Yogi Berra quotation, the phrase could also refer to the continuing healthcare-related trends, as employers continue to shift costs to workers, engage in tougher negotiations with health plans and increasingly focus on preventive care. Even as the reform debate rages on, some employers are attempting innovative ideas to engage their workers.
For all the bluster about healthcare reform this fall, it's deja vu for most employers as they now enter open enrollment season. With healthcare rates expected to continue to rise in 2010, organizations are taking familiar actions aimed at tempering costs, heightening employee involvement in healthcare decisions and promoting wellness programs. Meanwhile, most employees plan on maintaining or boosting their coverage, despite the tough economic times. "We are largely finding more of the same," says Cathy Tripp, principal in Hewitt's Health Care Consulting practice in Minneapolis. "There are not a lot of major changes with the shadow of healthcare reform out there, and not knowing what it all means. "Some employers think reform is happening this fall, but even if there is action, it's still out there a couple years," she says. And the Survey Says ...A slew of recently released surveys and studies highlight the trends that are occurring:* Hewitt's annual U.S. healthcare cost increase study projects a 6-percent average premium increase in 2010 -- similar to 2009. That would translate to an average healthcare premium per employee for large companies increasing to $9,120 in 2010, from $8,607 in 2009.* MetLife's 2009 Open Enrollment Poll of 1,000 full-time employees found nearly 9 in 10 employees are planning to maintain or increase the number of benefits they select and/or their coverage -- this despite the fact that more than one-third of all employees said their household's discretionary income decreased this year. Only 11 percent of workers plan to decrease their 2010 benefits coverage.* A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed that premiums have more than doubled in the last decade -- to $13,375 annually for family coverage -- for U.S. workers who get health insurance through their companies. Employees, on average, are paying $3,515, while employers are paying $9,860.Preventative Measures The Hewitt survey found that employers worked to offset rising healthcare costs through a range of actions in 2009. "Employers were able to successfully mitigate rising healthcare costs through one of the worst economic climates in history and they did so by taking some very simple steps -- cost shifting, tougher negotiations with health plans and an increased focus on preventive care," says Jim Winkler, Hewitt's U.S. Health Management Consulting practice leader. "Despite the possibility of extensive healthcare reform," he says, "employers are likely to continue their focus on short-term cost management in 2010." Indeed, the trend of rising costs in tough economic times has employers approaching healthcare "with an enormous amount of understanding that employees are not seeing wage increases or are facing wage reductions," says Randall Abbott, senior consultant with Watson Wyatt in Boston. "Employers are trying not to increase the percentage of premiums employees are paying," Abbott says. "Where we are seeing the increase is at the point-of-care. The mind-set is, 'If we have to raise costs on the individual, we will do it based on who is using it.'" The Hewitt survey found nearly two-thirds of employers are asking workers to bear a greater burden of health costs, with many companies "shifting from fixed-dollar co-payments to coinsurance models, where employees pay a percentage of the out-of-pocket costs for each healthcare service." Hewitt also identified the emerging trend of an increasing number of companies adopting salary-banded models, where higher-paid employees contribute more toward their health insurance than lower-paid employees. Get Well Soon The struggling economy has done little to curb employers' enthusiasm for wellness programs, Abbott says. Organizations continue to focus on incentive programs that reward healthy choices and behaviors. "I think employers recognize a healthy workforce is an asset," Abbott says. "If you're looking for optimal productivity, people need to be healthy and focused, not losing time because they are sick on the job. "Employers are encouraging employees to be more effective in using care wisely and taking better care of themselves," he says. Hewitt's Tripp says employers are also taking a tougher stance on employees about assuming responsibility for their own health, with higher rates for those workers who do not participate in designated wellness initiatives. She's seen an increased focus on organization's aligning health goals with business goals -- and then initiating some competitive aspect to encourage individuals or teams to lose weight, get fit or quit unhealthy habits. "Competition works great in wellness programs," Tripp says. "If you get plant manager versus plant manager, there is going to be motivation there to achieve the goals." Innovation Ahead Tripp also sees employers taking a more strategic approach to sharing information about health benefits and healthy behaviors.More HR departments are employing marketing techniques and engaging marketing departments in executing internal campaigns. "You don't communicate about healthcare, you market it," she says. "More companies are using marketing techniques that will motivate people to take action." Meanwhile, in a recent report, Mercer predicted that the economic slump would motivate companies to create and implement more innovative incentives aimed at lowering costs. Employers are venturing beyond many "tried and true" cost-containment strategies because some believe they have shifted as much cost as possible, while others are concerned that healthcare reform will lead to additional cost sharing not being a viable long-term option. "Past recessions gave rise to innovative, often untested new solutions such as point-of-service plans and managed care," according to Mercer. "The current recession appears to be following the familiar path." October 6, 2009 Copyright 2009© LRP Publications |
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
© Copyright 2012 LRP Publications. All rights reserved.
|
||||