Employers Turn to Preventative Health
For years employers have kept down the cost of employee health insurance by shopping around for the best deals, but between medical inflation and current economic issues the cost of insurance continues to rise, causing employers to make hard decisions when it comes to their healthcare benefits.
“Each year employers are paying a little more for health insurance which has caused companies to cut some types of coverage, cut dependent coverage or some companies choose to drop coverage all together,” says Elizabeth Hammond, a spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.
Other employers have turned to consumer driven healthcare plans to avoid continually climbing premiums. These plans allow employees to use a personal health savings account or medical reimbursements to pay routine healthcare expenses while keeping a high-deductible health insurance policy in place to protect them from catastrophic medical expenses.
Pam Sawicki, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Business Coalition on Health (SCBCH), a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with employers and health care providers to improve health care in South Carolina, says that preventing costly catastrophic health issues for employees has become the main focus for many of its members.
To cut down on frivolous costs, companies have also started encouraging employees to be smarter about their healthcare, and often this means asking if certain treatments are medically necessary, says Sawicki. “This isn’t meant to discourage treatment, but it drives them to become more responsible and ensures they get the right care at the right time.”
The National Business of Coalition on Health argues that no matter the size of the company, it is within employers’ means and in their best interest to provide employees with education to help them make better choices regarding their health, including “choosing a healthy lifestyle, accessing cost-effective preventive services, selecting evidence-based medical and pharmaceutical interventions, managing their own conditions, complying with treatment regimens and selecting high-performing health plans, hospitals and physicians.”
Many larger companies have turned to adding preventative wellness programs to help cut the continually rising costs of healthcare.
T&S Brass and Bronze Works, Inc. in Travelers Rest recently implemented such a program. A nurse practitioner is on site ten hours a week to see to the medical needs of their employees at no cost to the employee.
“The nurse practitioner can work with the employee’s primary care physician to manage medication and chronic conditions,” says Mary Alice Bowers, VP of Human Resources.
“The number one reason people don’t adhere to health treatment is cost,” says Sawicki. In house healthcare options decrease the likelihood that employees ignore their health treatment plans. SCBCH recommends programs such as the one T&S has implemented because they remove barriers to keeping employees healthy and on the job.
Bowers says the program is not only convenient for their employees, but it has cut down on medical absences and they have seen an immediate decrease in overall insurance claims.
David Slade, from Rosenfeld- Einstein & Associates, Inc in Greenville, which advices many local companies on their medical benefits packages says that many local companies are implementing wellness programs.
Michelin, for instance, has a diabetes clinic for employees where they can go for regular medical check-ups and blood sugar checks. The programs allow companies to collect good data on the health issues of employees, whether it is diabetes, blood pressure or nutrition or lack of exercise and figure out what programs need to be in place to improve the overall health of their workforce, thereby reducing healthcare costs and increasing employee productivity.
“Companies are saying let’s help the 15% of our employees that are driving 80% of the claims and educate the entire workforce. Let’s give them the resources they need to take care of themselves,” says Slade.
Mitsubishi Polyester Film Inc. in Greer has had an onsite family medical center since August of 2005 which provides for the basic medical needs of their 480 employees and their families. A nurse practitioner is onsite full time and doctors come in two times a week from Hillcrest Family Practice.
“Employees who aren’t feeling well can walk in and out in thirty minutes,” says Doris Foster, HR Supervisor for only a $20 co-pay. Preventative health has been a huge focus of the company for the last five years and it has paid off. “Our insurance premiums have not increased in the last five years,” says Foster.
“Improving the health of employees doesn’t just reduce the cost of health benefits, it has a trickle down effect,” says Sawicki. “It improves the quality of health of the entire community.”