Guest Blog Provided by Brad Dumke, EquityHealth
Pre-COVID, the US healthcare insurance and delivery model had been very inconsistent. High-value, patient centric providers and plans are out there. But avoidable harm and waste, overtreatment, overspending, and surprise medical bills have become accepted as the norm.
When you see the numbers, they’re absolutely staggering. Virtually all the other stakeholders (hospitals, insurance carriers, specialty physicians, pharma and medical device vendors, and the big brokerage houses) profit from this, so you can’t count on any of them to initiate meaningful change on behalf of employers or consumers. In an emerging and post-COVID world, what should we expect? We should expect every stakeholder to pursue self-interest. That usually means maximizing shareholder value (yes – even the nonprofits!). Post-COVID behavior is not likely to include improving quality or value for employers or consumers.
Employers and the families they represent can find and use high value services. They can win. Even in this time of crisis and change. Maybe even better during these times of crisis and change. The path to achieving high-value care – and refusing to accept avoidable harm, waste, overtreatment, overspending, and surprise medical bills – are accessible, proven, and reproducible.
But let’s admit it; we are talking about changing human behaviors. We’re talking about doing things different than what we’ve always done to create a better future. Talk is cheap. Change is hard. Really, really hard. But it is worth it.
The reality is that Employers and consumers both fall into one of three categories:
Those who just don’t want to think about health benefits and healthcare services, and choose to go with the flow and hope for the best. This group will emerge from COVID thinking survival.
- Those who aren’t sure whether they are getting high-value care or not; and want to understand more, act differently, and improve. This group demands value and will emerge from COVID determined to be stronger, more competitive, and more resilient than before.
- Those who are intimately familiar with high-value benefits and care, and are getting it consistently and reliably. This group was doing great pre-COVID, and will bounce back faster than the other groups.
If you’re in the second group, we’ve got a lot to share and we hope you’ll consider joining us on September 8, 2020 to be part of the conversation, by registering for a one hour webinar to discuss this topic. Speakers include: Brad Dumke, EquityHealth; David Contorno, E Powered Benefits and Bill Miller, Drexi
No promises, and no silver bullets. Just a lot of understanding about how the system works and how to make it work for you and your Employees.
