tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25132358.post7000868400214831119..comments2024-03-25T03:04:17.427-04:00Comments on Curing Healthcare: U.S. Healthcare’s Perverse Commercial IncentivesDr. Steve Bellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12193853344152979923noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25132358.post-32674639195581185172008-02-19T13:36:00.000-05:002008-02-19T13:36:00.000-05:00The article parallels my own thoughts on the matte...The article parallels my own thoughts on the matter, reached independently and articulated in an article elsewhere on "health care reform" that is actually "health insurance reform."<BR/><BR/>Any plan to reduce the cost of health insurance that does not address market pressure for insane ROI is ultimately meaningless. Unfortunately any plan to reduce the cost of health care that does address Wall Street performance pressure is doomed to fail because it threatens the profits of too many people and companies.<BR/><BR/>One way to reduce costs is to prohibit marketing drugs for "chronic illnesses" invented by big pharma directly to consumers. Is RLS really a problem worth spending hundreds of millions on?<BR/><BR/>Another way to remove market pressure is to think of health care as investment in infrastructure and realign investment expectations along the lines of triple-tax-free munis. The coupon might only return 5% annually, but when the tax treatment is factored in the return is more competitive. Extra "insurance" could be purchased in an investment vehicle similar to savings bonds. Pay $25 now, get $100 towards health care in 10 (or whatever) years. How about allowing FSAs to roll over and let the owner earn the interest on the money in the account rather than the insurer?<BR/><BR/>Thinking way outside the box,<BR/>SIWatersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25132358.post-65249092014595936632008-02-12T14:54:00.000-05:002008-02-12T14:54:00.000-05:00National healthcare costs have risen to well above...National healthcare costs have risen to well above $1 trillion a year, due in large part to the unhealthy habits of Americans. To your point, "Offering consumers wellness tools, counseling and guidance to enable them to take better care of themselves." - Not only do workers want to keep their healthcare costs down, but they may also want ways to get healthy and to lead healthier lives. Since one of the best ways to lower healthcare costs is by keeping employees healthy, Meritain Health developed incentive ideas that will encourage lifestyle changes amongst staff. Employee wellness programs are gaining alot of buzz lately - below are some tools from Meritain Health: http://meritain.com/Home/Resources/MeritainPodcasts http://meritain.com/Home/Resources/WhitePapers.MeritainWellnesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07350608123661554423noreply@blogger.com