Health insurance costs are one of the largest expenses for businesses, particularly large businesses with many employees dealing with chronic illnesses. A study conducted by a provider of patient engagement services found that patients with chronic diseases are the biggest driver of Medicare’s $17 billion in preventable hospital readmissions. Additionally, the study revealed that patients with chronic diseases lack the ability and knowledge to manage their conditions. Many professionals also made note that those with such diseases often have a difficult time engaging with disease management. If these employees are left unassisted, your businesses may find themselves dealing with large insurance claims in the future.
How Your Business Can Minimize Health Insurance Costs
Your business can minimize health insurance costs by encouraging your employees to engage with their primary care providers and to participate in disease management.
Employees Need Assistance with Disease Management
Unfortunately, the average employee is not fully knowledgeable when it comes to disease management. According to a study by West Healthcare, only about 39 percent of patients said that they were “somewhat knowledgeable”on managing their illnesses and conditions. Providers echoed this sentiment, as 75 percent of those surveyed said that they were only somewhat confident in their patients’ ability to manage their conditions.
Plainly, this research shows that your employees who are afflicted by chronic diseases do not have the knowledge nor the ability to properly perform disease management. Their lack of understanding will inevitably lead to greater health insurance costs.
Disease Management Support
The only way your business will be able to minimize future costs is by offering support to your employees. Having employees stay in touch with their primary care physicians allows their doctors to keep them accountable for their health goals. Research supports this claim as patients who were given more support in their chronic disease management saw positive impacts on their health. These patients also saw decreases in readmissions and visits to the emergency department.
Offer Incentives
The greatest hurdle many health professionals are noticing is simply getting employees to commit to management strategies. One such plan your business could implement is offering various incentives to employees who make an effort to routinely contact their primary care provider.
Email Alerts
During this time of COVID-19 and social distancing, your employees are probably wondering how they can keep in touch with their primary care physicians. Thankfully, we live in an age of incredible technology. A study found that sending email alerts to employees was effective at getting them to commit to a preventative action plan and complete routine health checkups.
About Haughn & Associates
Founded by Michael Haughn in 1986, Haughn & Associates is a full-service, family-owned, independent insurance agency based out of Dublin, Ohio. H&A strives to provide the best possible price and unique insurance solutions across a myriad of industries, including construction, IT, Habitation & Commercial Property, Agriculture, and Engineering. Devoted to providing the best of business insurance, life and disability insurance, personal insurance, employee benefits, and bonds, H&A is proof that success lies in long-standing client relations and satisfaction. To learn more about how H&A can be of service to you, contact us at (877) 802-2278.
