Health Insurance Times

The accompanying Price Waterhouse Health Research Institute May 2011 report into “Medical cost trends for 2012” is about as in-depth as it gets.  You owe it to yourself and your company to find the time to read it. 

The projected increase in medical costs for 2012 is 8.5%.  The actual rate increase your company might experience takes into account many other factors, one of them being the age of your employees.  Geographical location is also important as medical costs vary in different areas (cities) and your industry (SIC Code) is another factor. 

How long can you handle 8.5% increases and still remain in business?  OK, so you’ll pass along these increases to your employees.  Do they get 8.5% pay increases?

Obviously, something has to give and that means your future health plans will have increasingly higher co-pays and deductibles.  Your employees will be facing higher and higher financial risk as will you if you’re helping them with the deductibles. 

Q: So how do we reduce or contain that financial risk?
A: We use ongoing employee education focusing on two factors: 

     1)  The role of chronic disease in healthcare costs
     2)  What employees need to do to reduce their financial risk

Q: Why the focus on chronic disease?
A: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), chronic disease accounts for  
    75% of all health costs.  Chronic diseases are both manageable and preventable.