Executive Voices
Preventative Medicine
Americans are taking health care
into their own hands
By
Robert J. Grecyzn
As North Carolina business leaders
look toward the future of health care, we must focus on
the key trends that are shaping the way we provide
quality, affordable coverage for our employees.
Technology. The
Internet is changing how we get information, how we do
business and how we take care of our health. More and
more, consumers are turning to the web for medical advice
and health insurance options.
The graying of America.
Americans are living longer. Today, we have 60,000 people
over 100 years old. By the turn of the century, we'll
have 8 million in that age range! And some 77 million
baby boomers will retire in the next 12 years.
The rising cost of
drugs. Prescription drug costs are going up, and so
is the demand for lifestyle drugs, like Claritin and
Viagra. New, more expensive drugs are being introduced
into the market faster than ever before. Competition
between pharmaceutical companies is fierce and
advertising is at an all-time high.
These trends are fueling a
shift toward preventive care.
Americans are taking their
health care into their own hands. They're using
technology to gather medical information to help them
live longer and healthier.
Consumers have issued a
challenge, and the health care industry has a big stake
in meeting that challenge. As is always the case in
business, we must listen hard to the customer.
Customers are telling us
to come up with new ideas. Innovation is the key. It's
new ideas and new ways of doing business — in an
industry not known for breaking the mold — that will
help consumers be the stewards of their own well-being.
From a business planning perspective, that means creating
new tools for self-care and putting those tools directly
into consumers' hands.
In North Carolina, the
industry is working overtime to respond to these
challenges.
For example, we're putting
more information online than ever before. Consumers are
getting accurate, complete information with a few clicks.
The two million customers of Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of North Carolina — the biggest health insurer in
the state — can access a wide variety of health
information. They can research health topics, learn about
prescription drugs, take an online fitness test and
access our medical policies just to name a few. Doctors
and consumers can get premium quotes online, check on the
status of a claim or look up the co-pays for prescription
drugs.
Like many health plans, we
put special emphasis on prevention. We reach out
proactively to members with chronic illnesses to help
them live a better quality of life. We send postcard
reminders for mammograms; operate a 24-hour health
information line staffed by registered nurses; and
provide discounts on fitness programs and incentives for
physical activity. And our customers are pointing us
toward even more innovative ways to help North
Carolinians stay healthy.
Because our customers
expressed a need for affordable vitamins, our new Vita
Blue program lets consumers order discount vitamins,
mineral and herbal supplements online at a 40 percent
discount. Our discount program for senior citizens is
helping older North Carolinians save on drugs and other
out-of-pocket medical expenses — over $6 million in
the first 18 months. And under one of the first
alternative medicine discount programs in the nation
offered by a health insurer, Alt Med Blue lets consumers
get 25 percent discounts for acupuncture, nutrition
counseling, massage therapy, yoga and other forms of
alternative medicine.
Perhaps the most dramatic
change sweeping the health care industry is eliminating
“gatekeepers” to give customers more choice and
control. Blue Cross is meeting that challenge with new
products that provider easier access to medical
specialists.
But what does all this
mean for employers?
The rise of consumerism
poses just as many challenges to employers. Your
employees want the best health insurance available, at
the lowest cost. In response, health insurers are looking
for the best ways to meet consumer demands for choice,
convenience, flexibility and customization while still
keeping down costs.
Most importantly, we want
to partner with employers to keep costs down.
Health plans have
delivered on pricing. Over the last decade, we've been
successful in keeping health care affordable for
consumers. But now costs are on the rise again. As
federal reimbursements are cut, doctors and hospitals are
demanding more for their services. As the cost of health
care increases, so does the impact on businesses, which
pay the premiums.
North Carolina's business
community and health insurers stand together in our
efforts to provide affordable, quality health care. We
want to make sure that the state and federal policymakers
understand the situation as well. A critical factor in
this equation is the impact of unfunded government
mandates that don't improve the quality of health care.
In Congress and in North
Carolina's General Assembly, policymakers are continuing
to debate benefit mandates; process mandates; and direct
cost mandates that force new costs on providers. Fueled
by election-year rhetoric, that debate will resume in
January.
It's no surprise to
business leaders that unfunded government mandates carry
a cost! As unfunded mandates drive up health care costs
and premiums, there's a direct impact on business.
National studies show that for every one percent increase
in insurance premiums above normal trends, 300,000
Americans lose insurance because businesses simply can't
afford to bear the cost.
Our challenge in the
health care industry is to put customers first, and
help customers help themselves. By working together
with businesses — and continuing to innovate for
consumers — I believe we can meet that challenge.
Robert
J. Grecyzn is the CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of North Carolina
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