Cutting copays for better health outcomes?
On Tuesday the Wall Street Journal had a very interesting article on cutting copays(preview only). It's worth looking for it in your local library.Apparently some employers and health care companies are trying to reduce the long-term costs for those with chronic diseases. And now they believe that if they provide the necessary drugs for maintenance of those diseases with zero copay amounts, then folks might actually take the medicine.
Well duh. I guess that's why the executives of these companies get the big bucks.
According to the Journal "employers and health plans have targeted conditions like diabetes and heart disease in part because chronic illnesses are major drivers of the over rise in health-care costs". The emphasis on diabetes is mine.
Now my guess is that they're really talking about Type 2 diabetes. Of course I still hold out hope that they'll do the same for Type 1 diabetes and actually cover the technology that we need to maintain our blood glucose levels and reduce long-term complications.
Let's call this article a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
Labels: diabetes, healthcare, insurance
posted by Bernard @ 12:55 PM
5 Comments:
Well wouldn't that just be fantastic? Here's hoping....
Dem peoples surrr is smart!
Why didn't we think of that ? :)
I read the WSJ article this morning with considerable interest. Its certainly shows that the healthcare industry is finally starting to look at costs with an eye towards the big picture rather than short-term only.
The issue is complex, but the employer-paid system in the U.S. really discourages paying for prevention because its less clear whether an employer will be paying the premiums for a given employee over the long-term. The idea is that "We want to cut costs now, as these employees are unlikely to even be working for me in 10 years (especially after we lay them off and set up shop in China)".
The good news is that the costs come back for everyone, because someone else is using the same logic and so they're just as likely to get a new employee with a chronic condition as they are if they keep the same employees. Pennsylvania recently
In April, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Governor Ed Rendell wants to make the Keystone State a leader in chronic disease management, with particular focus on diabetes in his "Prescription for Pennsylvania" by implementing a model for managing chronic illness across the state. His logic was as follows:
"The beauty of the cost-savings initiatives is that they will save money and at the same time improve the quality and the caliber of the health care every Pennsylvanian gets," he said.
Lets hope the economics and logic prevail throughout the healthcare system!!
I agree with this completely, thanks for the post.
wow gold cheap wow gold buy wow gold world of warcraft gold wow world of warcraft wow gold WoW Warrior WoW Hunter WoW Rogue WoW Paladin WoW Shaman WoW Priest WoW Mage WoW Druid WoW Warlock power leveling powerleveling wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow guides wow tips food flower google?? google???? google???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?? LED? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? powerlin518 logo design website design web design ????
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home