America's Benefit Specialist November 2022

THE VALUE OF TACKLING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR EMPLOYERS

By Jim Holder Vice President of Employee Benefits Holmes Murphy Denver, Colorado

Disease. Obesity is one of the many diseases fueling the mass consumption of healthcare services. It can lead to diabe tes, heart disease and even some cancers. Conscious steps to bring down obesity rates, such as wellness programs and health education initiatives, would bring healthcare costs down through decreased per capita consumption of services. Complexity. The U.S. healthcare system is extremely complex, to the point that it can be very difficult for average employees to understand the relationships between their health, care providers, benefit plans, plan administrators, pharmacy benefit managers and more. Employers provide most Ameri cans with health coverage on top of trying to run a successful business. Historically, em ployers have had little appetite and often few resources to address this complexity while trying to tackle ever-increasing costs.

A recent JAMA study found that over 18% of U.S. households carry medical debt, including 10.5% of those with private med ical insurance. 1 This highlights a growing concern for many current and potential employees: Health insurance coverage does not guarantee access to care. Increasingly, people may have coverage but are unable afford to afford necessary office visits or treatments. In a worst-case scenario that is becoming increasingly common, people decide against seeking care

simply because they cannot afford the cost of a trip to the doctor. The U.S. has a phenomenal healthcare system, with cutting-edge treatments con stantly being developed by some of the top hospitals and doctors in the world. But the care and treatment offered by our system is increasingly out of reach for many Ameri cans simply because they cannot afford it. To tackle healthcare cost issues, we need to dive deeper into the challenges that affect our healthcare costs. The three top enemies facing affordable healthcare in the U.S. are:

COMPANIES NEED TO START PUTTING EMPLOYEES FIRST INSTEAD OF COST SHIFTING THE BURDEN OF COST ONTO THEIR EMPLOYEES.

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