It drives me nuts to hear the media continually talk about access and affordable insurance while they continue to ignore the cost of providing care. The cost drivers in our system are not insurance rates. Insurance rates are a result of the prices in the market, not the driver. It is high time that we, as insurance professionals, begin to do our part to change the narrative.
Regulating the delivery of insurance without any nod to the hard questions of cost reminds me of an old country song by Jerry Jeff Walker. Released in 1975, “Pissin' in the Wind” does an excellent job pointing out that doing the same thing over and over is not productive.
We have just traveled through what I thought would be the largest disruption we would experience in our careers — the passage and launch of the ACA. Conventional wisdom had it that we were on a path for more of the same with the election of our first female president. We had adjusted, and the market was settling in, even though significant problems remained unaddressed. In a surprising turn, we find ourselves with a new president, and once again, change will be the order of the day.
I think it's important to remember the ACA was dying a slow death before President Trump's election. Federal and state exchanges were struggling with narrow networks, increased premium and cost-sharing and, in many areas, a lack of competition. Major carriers withdrew from some exchanges because it was impossible for them to participate without losing money. Regardless of who moved into the White House, changes had to be made.
Now, the administration has unveiled its repeal and replace plan, but not much is certain. There is little doubt things will keep changing up to the minute the BenefitsPRO Expo kicks off.
So, what does a broker, employer, carrier and/or TPA do in the meantime? It is time to stand up for employer-based health insurance. Employer-based health insurance currently covers over 170 million Americans. Keeping those individuals insured means focusing on the drivers of health care, not the mechanism of financing. We need to shine a light on what cost is in health care and push for answers.
The Journal of the American Medical Association in August 2016 concluded that, “Per capita spending in the United States exceeds that in all other countries, largely driven by brand-name drug prices that have been increasing beyond the consumer price index.”
The Big Pharma and hospital lobbying efforts are vast and established. They have successfully positioned their industries to avoid scrutiny. To better serve our customers and gain control of U.S. health care costs, pricing information, methodology and practices should be transparent. We need to be ready for the changes that are coming. To that end, we have assembled a BenefitsPRO Expo panel that will slice and dice current events and help you get ready for renewal season. We invite you to join our discussion focused on changing the narrative of “affordable.”
My conversation with Suzanne Spradley, Cheryl Matochick and Joel White, three savvy and thoughtful insurance industry executives, will review the importance of employer-based health benefits, and what we should be talking about to customers and prospective customers in 2017.
Suzanne is the associate general counsel for NFP, a leading broker in employee benefits with an extensive history of providing insight and expertise to its partners. Cheryl Matochik is senior vice president of Strategic Resources and Initiatives for The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, the premier association for the top regional, national and international commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries worldwide.
Joel White is president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage. The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) members believe that the cost of health coverage is too high and growing too fast. CAHC promotes policies that lower health costs through increased competition, informed consumers, and more choices to help improve access to affordable coverage.
Please come participate in our session. Let's do our part to change the narrative on affordability to the cost of care and away from the cost of insurance.
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