Wellness Library : Company Wellness: Bottom Line Strategies For Effective Health Care Reform
Posted in Corporate Wellness, Wellness Library | By admin | Tags: Corporate Wellness, health, medical, Wellness Library
It is obvious to virtually every American (especially those of us in business) that healthcare costs are skyrocketing out of control. No one doubts that either the market will solve the problem OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective. Businesses have reached the point where the expense of offering health insurance is almost as burdensome as government regulation. It’s time for some new thinking on healthcare and its effect on business and vice versa. “Corporate wellness” as an operational perspective instead of merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising healthcare costs.
The Insurance Problem
The first step in fixing the concern is to realize that an employee’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting corporations to offer unlimited health insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable. It’s time for corporations (on a broad scale) to reconsider their role in providing health insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all workers through group plans, corporations should start to shift the burden of health coverage to those covered.
Here’s the approach. Provide catastrophic medical insurance as a group benefit to all employees with a large enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the cost affordable for the organization. Then, allow employees to buy their own medical insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings. There are numerous insurance companies that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Staff Members can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Corporations win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans. And when individuals become responsible for the cost of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health. Besides, if an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your organization offers great insurance benefits aren’t they telling you they’re going to cost you more money in the future?
Design a “Wellness Culture”
Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the health care crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By sickness culture, I mean our focus on health concerns instead of on having a healthy worksite and performance culture.
So, what would a “wellness culture” look like? First, rather than paid sick days, staff members might be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus. Employees would be reimbursed for successful completion of tobacco cessation and weight-loss programs. Organizations would invest in corporate memberships at local health clubs so every employee can take part. Employees would be offered in-house wellness programs on a variety of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, corporations would commit to hiring and retaining healthy staff members. Simply put, healthy staff members cost less and are more advantageous than unhealthy ones. Applicants ought to be screened for health habits and practices that limit their productivity and improve the likelihood of future expense. While this may seem harsh, it rewards those staff members whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the business committing to hire, train and pay them.
Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches
Research studies published in primary medical care journals reveal that individuals who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are generally healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the average American. Since these individuals look for ways to stay healthy without drugs and surgery, they end up being a net benefit in terms of attendance and work rate. Old prejudices in this area must be discarded in order for businesses to better work rate and boost profitability
Conclusion
Medical Care costs are growing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an abysmal failure. Organizations are buckling under the pressure of providing health coverage to their workers. American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for extraordinary solutions. It’s time for American corporations to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the medical care crisis. Employer wellness is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All options should be considered while we still have a chance.
Tags: Corporate Wellness, health, medical, Wellness Library