The Rising Rate of Health Care

The rate of covering employees with health care insurance continues to rise at a rate into the double digits. The factors that drive this cost increase include the high rate of hospital charges, the increased cost of prescription drugs, the cost of new research technologies and treatments, the fact that the population is aging and of course the number of law suits filed each year against doctors and hospitals. And yet the increased demand for health care shows no sign of lessening-thereby nurturing this upward trend.

On the whole, there is little that employers can do to stop this rising trend and control what is driving the cost of health care higher and out of their reach.. Health insurance companies can and do negotiate discounts, and though these help, the underling costs continue to rise with no end in sight. The increase of these cost drivers eventually flow down to the employer resulting in higher insurance premiums for employees.

The economy is now getting soft and therefore declining revenue is causing a squeeze on company expenditures. Therefore, it is very likely that you will experience as much as a 15 to 20 percent increase in your group health insurance the next time you go to renew.

Can you raise the cost of your company’s product or service as quickly as your health insurance premiums are increasing? Probably not. However, there are steps you can take to gain some control over your health care costs.

Some Solutions

Searching for the best value from the health benefits provider can go along way to help reduce costs. The way in which you “shop” a health plan can impact the price. I’ll use an analogy. Your travel agent has a great deal for you – air, car, hotel and meals included. You tell your agent to book it.

Coincidently, your neighbors just booked that same trip for $1,000 less through their travel agent. One agent shopped for the best price, the other agent arranged the trip through his or her vendor of choice. Whether it’s a family vacation, buying a car or choosing a health benefits plan, how you shop can impact your cost. Make sure your insurance agent doesn’t “arrange” your health plan for you.

How many providers are enough? The more participating providers a health plan has, the more you’re likely to pay in premiums. If you are considering a health plan that doesn’t include a few desired physicians, request that the carrier add them to its network.

Physicians participate in many different health plans and are usually willing to participate in one more. Don’t get caught in the trap of paying 10 percent to 15 percent more for your health insurance premiums because one or two doctors are not participating in the plan. It’s reasonable that an employee can find another physician out of the thousands on the plan.

The Power of Marketing

We have the privilege of an exceptional number of choices in the United States .Along with that privilege comes a myriad of choices and communications designed to influence our decision making process. What we read in the papers, see on television, hear on the radio, see flashed across a billboard, get stuffed in our mailboxes or pops up on the Internet is designed to predispose us to a company or its product.

Marketing can be a very effective tool in giving you choices when it come to any business service. What marketing cannot do, however, no matter how much is spent, is replace what it takes to come up with an affordable health benefits solution that works for you. Be sure not to see the forest from the trees in this regard. Look for a health benefits company that is flexible, listens and is willing to roll up its sleeves to provide you with a package of health benefits that you can afford.