Why Double-Digit Premium Increases Might Be Good For Employers
A funny thing happens when crude costs rise. Drivers pay more attention to pump prices, postpone road trips, leverage public transportation and clamor for teleworking benefits. Affected businesses also get active, pumping money into R&D and looking for more sustainable sources of energy. When prices fall, however, the reverse happens. People stop caring. No pain no gain is how economists describe it.
Do the same "rules" apply to health care? And, if so, does the recent slowing of annual premium increases mean the big brains who brought us such broad innovations as consumer-driven health and prescription drug reform, as well as more focused items like health savings accounts
and MinuteClinics, will turn their attention elsewhere? It depends on whom you ask.
"Yes, if [cost] comes down a little bit, you take a little pressure off. And when it jumps up, you see more people running around and looking," says Thomas Getzen, professor of risk insurance and health management at Temple University and executive director for the International Health Economics Association.
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Employee Benefit News.
Generics May Save Health Plans Bllions
Consumers and health plans could save more than $26.4 billion over the next five years by using cheaper generic versions of 14 brand-name drugs that are scheduled to lose their patent protection by 2009, according to a study released Tuesday.
Copycat versions of those drugs, which older Americans commonly use, could help Medicare shave $23.3 billion off its prescription-drug spending over the same period, the study by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association indicates.
The association's study looked at 14 of the top 100 drugs that older consumers use, including the cholesterol medications Zocor and Pravachol, heart disease medications Norvasc and Lotrel, mental health drugs Zoloft and Risperdal, the allergy medication Zyrtec and the hypertension drug Coreg. Seniors account for about half the sales for the drugs in the study.
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HealthCare.
Low-Carb (High-Protein) Diets
Popular "fad" diets have been around for decades and are appealing because they often result in rapid, seemingly effortless weight loss, at least initially, owing to loss of body water.
Recently, there has been an enormous resurgence in the popularity of low-carbohydrate (high-protein) diets. Such diets promote the same basic idea that was put forth in the 1960s: Eat high-protein foods (such as meat and eggs), and restrict carbohydrate-rich foods (such as potatoes, pasta, fruits, and certain vegetables).
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U.S. News & World Report.
Wellness Programs Getting A Boost From Employers
Juli Gomez always wanted a healthier lifestyle, but had a hard time getting motivated. Now, working out and eating healthier are putting money in her pocket.
Her employer, Sabre Holdings Corp., recently began offering $10 monthly discounts on health insurance premiums to employees who participate in the travel technology firm's wellness program. There's an extra $10-a-month discount if employees' spouses participate.
''Initially, it was the incentives that got me into it," said the 39-year-old executive assistant, a one-time college volleyball player who had grown sedentary in the working world.
As part of a strategy to rein in ballooning healthcare expenses, more employers are offering discounts on health insurance to workers who participate in wellness programs.
The tactic comes as corporate America scrambles to find more creative approaches to the burgeoning crisis in healthcare costs.
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Wellness Programs.
Health Plans Target Physicians and Patients Who Still Shun Generic Drugs
While generic drug usage has soared in recent years, lingering resistance on the part of patients and physicians still prevent health plans from tapping the full potential of the low-cost products, according to a top executive at Caremark Rx, Inc.
Breaking down these barriers requires targeted generic-drug awareness programs, said Jan Berger, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer of Caremark.
Generic drug utilization has grown from roughly 30% of total prescriptions dispensed in the late 1990s to about 50% in 2005, she told an April 25 session of the National Managed Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. But despite the fact generics are roughly 60% to 70% cheaper than brands, two major barriers still hamper more extensive generic prescribing, she said.
First, many patients still believe that generics have a lower quality, or are not as safe and effective, Berger said. Second, many doctors are not comfortable prescribing generics, Berger said.
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Drug Benefit News.
Sleep Deprivation Brings Lower Productivity, Higher Health Care Costs
Sleep deprivation increases people's risk of serious health problems and costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, medical costs and other expenses, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report also finds that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders that adversely affect daily functioning, health and longevity.
The study, Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprevation: An Unmet Public Health Problem, confirms links between sleep deprivation and a wide range of health consequences, such as "an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack and stroke." Despite such huge societal consequences and costs, the IOM finds that the cumulative effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders are "under-recognized" and "awareness among the general public and health care professionals is low given the magnitude of the burden." The same could be said about employers, who bear the brunt of lower productivity and higher health care costs.
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SHRM.
Many Offer Basic Wellness Initiatives, Few Track Results
The majority of organizations surveyed by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans do offer some type of wellness initiative, at least basic education programs, but many don't know if the efforts are paying off.
Organizations tend to start with "almost informal programs," says foundation senior information specialist Kelli Kolsrud. "They start modest, almost patchwork, then evolve into more formal, integrated programs."
The most prevalent initiative offered by employers, according to the survey, is wellness education/resources at 80%, followed by health screenings (74%), subsidized flu shots (70%), health risk assessments/appraisals (68%) and smoking cessation programs (60%).
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Wellness Programs.
Employers Eye New Fitness Carrot
Until now, most employers have had to settle for an employee's word that he is actually working out at the gym, thereby earning a wellness bonus or discounted membership rate. But new technology enables employers to better manage their health and wellness programs.
With MyTrak, employers can know how many machines employees used, how many reps they did and at what weight. This is made possible through sensors and electronics attached to treadmills, weight stack machines, bikes and hydraulic circuit stations.
The technology guides users to train at the right intensity, while continuously providing feedback to keep them motivated and on track for their entire workout. Employers can access the exercise performance information and start rewarding the workers who are really cutting today's fat and tomorrow's medical costs.
"After all, it's not that plastic membership card that impedes disease, it's the regular participation in exercise at a precise level of exertion that gives off the benefit," Reed Hanoun, president and inventor of MyTrak Health, says. "It's important that the industry shed the old image of taking the money and not producing results, if they want to gain stature with employers and health insurance carriers," he says.
Article provided by BenefitNews, April 18, 2006.
Decision Time
Mary Favale is a woman on a mission. The 67-year-old resident of Willimantic, Conn., is talking to neighbors in her senior citizens apartment building, hoping to get them to enroll in Medicare's new prescription drug benefit.
Fail to sign up for Part D within the next couple weeks, she says, and you might really regret it.
After all, most of the costs of Favale's prescriptions now are covered; she thinks she'll save about $600 this year. And those who miss the May 15 deadline will have to wait months to change their minds--and then pay extra. Still, she says, people tell her, "It's too confusing. I'm not going to deal with it."
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Medicare D.
Research Documents Weight Problems
Two new studies lend weight to the already hefty argument that medical problems associated with obesity take a bite out of businesses' bottom lines.
Medical costs for obese employees outweigh those of healthy weight employees by 77%, according to a new white paper by Michigan-based health coaching company Leade Health. Medical costs associated with obesity cost U.S. businesses about $8,720 per patient per year.
Obese workers also experience more work limitations due to their condition. Nearly 7% of obese employees reported difficulties doing their work, as opposed to just 3% of workers with a healthy weight.
A recent obesity study by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ranked obesity as No. 1 on a list of 10 major health risks.
The analysis of five years' worth of medical data from 61 health plans attributed 2% to 3% of all health claims dollars to medical issues associated with obesity. For men, obesity generated 14% of lifestyle-related health costs; for women the percentage rose to a full quarter, the ACOEM study found.
Both studies suggest weight management programs offer the best course of action for employers.
Article provided by BenefitNews 4-18-06.
The Doctor Is In-House
Tom Hopkins was at work when he felt the pain in his chest and abdomen. It seemed minor, but the health professionals at his company’s on-site wellness center urged him to go to the hospital, where doctors found problems with his heart.
Two days later, Hopkins underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Now enjoying a healthy recovery, he credits the worksite clinic with saving his life.
Stories like Hopkins’ are becoming more common as businesses increasingly adopt a new approach to the old model of employer-sponsored health benefits. Reminiscent of the “company doctor” of years past, today’s trend of providing on-site medical care is building rapidly, experts say, spurred largely by the fact that these on-site facilities enable employers to better manage—and even scale back the growth rate of—their health care expenses.
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HR Magazine.
