Confused about what you owe after a doctor’s visit? Understanding your medical expenses and your health insurance isn’t always easy at first, but once you break everything down, it’s a fairly simple process. One part of the process that you should know about is insurance reimbursement and what it means for your wallet.
You’ve probably seen a movie or two where the big reveal at the end is that the bad guy was committing some sort of fraud for a big payout. Maybe they were orchestrating a giant scheme to swindle people or faking some sort of injury for a big healthcare payout. Either way, the root of their devious plot was probably some kind of insurance fraud. But insurance fraud isn’t just something from the fictional media—there are real forms of insurance fraud that are punishable by law and that do occur in real life.
So what is insurance fraud really? Insurance fraud is a deliberate action to deceive done by either the buyer or seller of an insurance policy. Insurance fraud is illegal and punishable by law. Insurance fraud perpetrated by the seller could include selling fake policies, churning policies for higher commissions, or failing to submit premiums. Buyers or third-party claimants can commit fraud by exaggerating or padding claims, falsifying history or claims, or faking payout events like a kidnapping. While those may sound like a movie plot, these types of fraud can happen and can have very serious consequences. The most common type of fraud is a policyholder exaggerating a claim while faking a dramatic kidnapping is rare.
What’s one word that sets off warning bells for most of us? Fraud, especially in the insurance world. For both policyholders and brokers, insurance fraud is a stressful and high-alert concern—unfortunately, fraudulent insurance activity steals at least $80 billion every year.
An especially challenging part of insurance fraud is understanding the different sources of fraud and the ways it’s committed. Insurance fraud includes organized crime activity that steals money via business dealings, insurance provider professionals who inflate, overcharge, or don’t actually provide insurance protection, and average citizens who see an opportunity to illegally make money with a faulty insurance claim.
Both policyholders and insurance brokers can both be victims of fraud, which is why there are more and more efforts being put into preventing fraud. The first step for anyone who wants to be prepared for fraud is to learn about the potential risks and fraud vulnerabilities. So, without further ado, here are the most common insurance frauds and how insurance companies mitigate risk.
We’ve all heard it in the business industry: “no risk, no reward!” But we hear it for good reason—business efforts are never totally risk-free. Still, companies are constantly working on minimizing risk and maximizing their profit, which can really only be done through intentional, data-driven decisions. Finding new ways to predict and manage risk is a big part of an overall business strategy.
The real question is how do business leaders and decision-makers measure, evaluate, and minimize risk? Industries like finance, transportation, manufacturing, and construction are finding more success by using a better and more reliable tool called a risk model.
Creating a great workplace isn’t just about getting work done anymore. As an employer, you also need to make sure that you’re taking care of your employees and providing them with the support they need. Taking care of your employees isn’t just a nice thing to do anymore. Employee wellbeing is something that HR departments all over the country are ranking as one of the top priorities for companies, and the employee wellbeing industry is expected to boom. Employee wellbeing is both a way to create a great place to work and a way to keep up with the ever-shifting work landscape.
There are a lot of things that might set a great employer apart from a mediocre one, but one that’s extremely hard to overlook is health insurance. After all, the cost of healthcare in the US is on the rise, even outpacing the record inflation of the past few years. Employees want to know that their employers have them and their dependents covered before they’ll be willing to sign any contracts.
But providing healthcare isn’t cheap. And, as we addressed in a previous blog post, simply spending more money on health and other employee benefits won’t necessarily bring in the kind of ROI you might expect.
You might think that the more you spend on health care, the more your employees will value your contributions. But surprisingly, simply spending more doesn't get you a lot of additional recognition.
What matters more than how much you're spending is how your benefits are perceived by your employees.
With employee benefits being such a large investment for most companies and recruitment and retention on the line, it is critical that employees understand the value of their healthcare. So, what steps should you take to evaluate and accomplish this?
What Is COVID-19?
The new coronavirus was first encountered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It is believed that it originated with animals and spread to humans at a live animal market in Wuhan. In February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) named it COVID-19. As of March 2, the outbreak has affected an estimated 87,000 people around the globe, causing over 2,900 deaths.
HHS recently released “100 Days of Action on the President’s American Patients First Blueprint.”
Some of the information looks great, such as 60% fewer brand-drug price increases than the same period in 2017 and a record breaking 126 generics approved in July. Additionally, 4 drug companies canceled planned price increases and 13 committed to price freezes for the rest of 2018.
HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE RISING 4X FASTER THAN WAGES
Over the last 18 years, the cost of family premiums and worker contributions have risen by a total of 270% and 224%, respectively. That compares to worker earnings growth of 64% and inflation of 47%. The result: every year health care is consumes a larger percentage of Americans' paychecks.
HNI works with high-performing companies to help them address the hidden risks in their business and avoid The Insurance Dependency Trap. This is done by proactively DE-RISKING their business so they can be less dependent on insurance.
HNI also offers the basic services of insurance and employee benefits. HNI has offices in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis.