Have you seen the AT&T television commercial about Just OK Is Not OK?
It opens up with a patient laying in a bed in the hospital waiting for surgery and asks the nurse “how good is the doctor?” And she answers “he’s OK.” The patient asks “just OK?” Right then the doctor enters the room exclaiming “guess who just got reinstated?” Then he ask the patient “are you nervous?” The patient replies “yes”. The doctor responds “so am I, but we’ll figure it out.”
My experience is that sometimes businesses look at their health insurance program the same way. We’re doing OK. Claims are claims (we have no control)… costs continue to rise… prescription costs go up…we keep getting increases every year… there’s nothing we can really do about it…
In reality, there is plenty you can do about it. Challenging the status quo is what it’s all about today. Complacency in the marketplace is no longer acceptable, and the way things have been done in the past to try to control healthcare costs must change if you want to have a positive impact on your bottom line, as well as lowering the cost for your employees.
The status quo is no longer sustainable for employers with the increases that we’ve seen from insurance companies in recent years. It’s no longer affordable for employees who are living paycheck to paycheck, and whose employer has implemented a high deductible health plan and have to come up with big bucks when they have a claim. It’s also no longer affordable for employees to pay for their health insurance for themselves and family members out of their paycheck through monthly premium contributions.
If you want to improve your plan from just being OK to high-performing, you need to examine different opportunities that present themselves. I have clients that have reduced their costs by more than 30% by challenging the status quo and “jumping the tracks“ to seek a more efficient use of their healthcare dollars.
There are high-performing alternatives are out in the marketplace, it’s just a matter of the right people showing you the right programs that produce the right results. If your insurance broker or consultant simply shops one insurance company from another every couple years when you get a rate increase-that’s called the status quo.
If you want some innovative ideas on how to create a higher performing plan, you can reach me at 970-349-7707 or at [email protected]