During an Employee Benefits Network presentation in Chicago, Delia Vetter, senior director of benefits for EMC Corp, commented that healthcare is a “shared responsibility” between the employee and employer. I couldn’t agree more. Historically, however, the weight of this responsibility has been borne far more by the employer than by employees. Of the various reasons…
Seth Godin’s blog post yesterday,”Lousy Tomatoes and the Rare Search for Wonder” really hit home with me. In the staid but lucrative business of large company employee benefits consulting, I’ve often said, “Mediocrity is profitable”. Why is excellence so hard to find? Because excellence is expensive. I’m convinced that most of our competitors believe it’s…
In a previous blog, I introduced the idea that “preventive care” in healthplans is really a misnomer. The services we’re led to believe are preventive in nature (because that’s what they’re referred to) are nearly all screening or diagnostic – they don’t prevent disease. Of the following benefits typically covered under “preventive care”, only one…
It’s an old adage: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It’s certainly true in healthcare. And all benefit plans routinely feature coverage for “preventive care” (in fact, under Health Reform, it has to be free). But what’s considered “preventive care”?
The new paradigm for employers in healthcare cost management includes a refusal to abdicate responsibility to insurance companies and other vendors (think disease management, case management, wellness, health promotion, etc.). Employers need an independent assessment of health risks within their insured population and a partnership with a firm that will ensure that all healthplan members…