What You Really Want From Me…Back to the Blog »
February 15th, 2010
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In this world of health reform limbo, post Scott Brown, it is really difficult but incredibly important for all of us in the business of health and benefits to focus on solving the really big problems that remain.
We are coming off one of the most difficult underwriting seasons we have seen for some time, with the vast majority of employers facing double digit increases and many seeing 20% or more and a fair amount approaching 40%!! This is really, really serious, and there are some very strong forces that could push these rates even higher. Specifically:
1. The aging of the workforce, as older workers hang on longer because of the volatility affecting retirement savings;
2. Expansion of enrollment in government plans like Medicaid and Medicare due to high unemployment and government action to relax qualification standards; and
3. Aggressive unit price negotiations of hospitals and providers as they struggle unsuccessfully to get their expenses in line to meet the the likely reductions in Medicare and government funding.
Within Ovation Benefits, we are working hard to really understand the needs of our customers and deploy our people and our resources in such a way that we are 100% aligned with these needs and the key operational proiorities that will deliver the results our customers demand.
For the past 3 or 4 months our Senior Management team has been engrossed in a top to bottom strategic planning process designed to re-focus our business to take advantage of the market opportunities that will be emerging over the next few years, with or without federal health reform. With so much uncertainty in the air for so long, we have found it really helpful to focus on what our clients really, really want from us, which we believe is:
- Costs that are 20% or more lower than they are today;
- Annual increases that are less than 5% and more like CPI; and
- Employee satisfaction rates that are 90% or better...
Finding the recipe to deliver these results is really hard, and will take a ton of creative energy, experimentation and failure and ultimately great leadership from employers to deliver the results we need to ensure that we can compete in the global economy. But it is possible, and we must find the way.
Posted by Bill in Healthcare Reform
