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.
Pharmaceutical pricing and fees have become the health care industry’s best kept secret. The cost of prescription drugs are increasing at an unsustainable rate, and to make matters worse the revenue sources aren’t transparent to the patient or employer.
2016 was the first year in which more physicians were employed by hospitals (53%) than were self-employed or working in a privately owned practice.
When hospital systems own the primary care centers, they can put pressure on physicians to refer patients to specialists within their network (which tend to be higher in cost).
Over the past few years, we've all witnessed the unchecked rise of health care costs in America.
Some employers have been sitting back hoping things will get better. Others have been desperately trying everything to regain control.
But one thing is clear: we aren't winning.
THE SYSTEM KEEPS WINNING
Every incentive in the health care system has been built to work against you: the employer.
Insurance companies make more when the cost of claims goes up.
Hospitals are buying primary care centers and referring patients to treatment options with higher profit margins.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers get paid more when drug costs increase.
Insurance Brokers have delivered ideas and tactics. But they often fail to deliver their clients a multi-year strategy that can move the needle.
That being said, the impact on the fringe benefit programs is less drastic that what was contained in earlier drafts of proposed tax bills that were being considered.
It’s easy to criticize from the sideline. And employee benefits provides a lot of fodder for complaints directed at HR folks.
Why do peanut gallery comments hurt so much?
Peanut-gallery-style commentary isn’t just unpleasant to receive, but it’s also unhelpful.
As stated above, the peanut gallery is defined as people who focus on insignificant details. And this is what makes it so frustrating.
Only 50% of employees understand their employee benefits1. And with the price of healthcare services varying by up to 1,000%2 depending on when and where you receive your care, poor communication is costing employers big bucks.
SHRM recently released their 2017 Employee Benefits Survey that examines the prevalence of benefits over the past five years. It tracks trends and helps employers understand the benefits landscape while also providing insight into what other companies are doing with their benefits program. We've pulled out the top statistics employers should pay attention to.
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.