Before I became Sales Director for Hilb Group of New England, I spent years working directly for a large insurance carrier. I have looked at a lot of health care data throughout my career and have taken well over a hundred meetings with companies for direct review of their health care plans and outcomes. Believe me when I tell you that not all health care providers are created equal.
Whether you’re shopping as an individual or working on the HR side of your company benefits plan, doing the research and working with advisors who understand the stakes can not only save money and but also add immensely to the quality of life for you and your employees. Quality health care ends up costing less for you and the members of your health plan—with less bad outcomes, less complications, less side effects, and less redo’s.
I’s important to find a carrier or point solution that offers quality ratings for the providers in your network. Find out how the ratings are determined and value high marks more than provider unit cost. The data overwhelmingly shows that having a good primary health care provider that knows their patients’ history and takes the time to connect on a personal level will lead to better care, outcomes, and cost for both individuals and the businesses they work for over time.
Just as good doctor will know or research the side effects of medications that are prescribed to keep their patients out of “medication cascade”, a good carrier can suggest the right health care providers to keep their covered employees out of the domino effect that can develop once entering the medical system. Getting the wrong care, being trapped in a defensive medicine loop, and taking medications that aren’t quite right can all lead to undesirable side effects and expensive outcomes.
A good company plan will focus on preventative medicine with quality of life and wellness benchmarks, recognizing that keeping employees healthy and on the job is the best way to keep costs down and work output humming. But when ailments do inevitably arise, the same plan should offer a second opinion service with targeted experts for specialty treatments.
Productivity and happiness on the job are directly corollary to health care security and lower levels of stress in and out of the office. The right carriers who can ask and answer the right questions to provide the right doctors in their service plans can provide the foundation that leads to a better level of care—with good outcomes and cost savings for the individual employee and organization alike.
When building your company plan or seeking a doctor, we recommend that you ask your advisor how various carriers, or the point solutions they offer, factor quality of care into the vendor selection process.
And don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly with any of your questions.