Consumer-Driven Solutions for Winning the War on Health Care Costs

Roger D. Blackwell, Ph.D.

The one expense on employer profit and loss sheets that just keeps going up is “Employee Benefits”—mostly the cost of health care.  Over the past few years, health care costs have risen so dramatically that many firms now avoid adding additional employees, even as the economy expands and profits head higher. Meanwhile, consumers are grappling with higher deductibles, co-pays and insurance premiums, politicians speak of an impending Medicare disaster, and health care institutions question their ability to survive.  What is happening and what can be done about it? 

In this presentation by Roger Blackwell, audiences will learn:

·How the current health care funding crisis came about and why past efforts to fix the problem have been unsuccessful.

·Why the economy can continue to grow but without adding any new jobs, and the relationship between high health care costs, off-shore outsourcing, unemployment, and corporate profitability.

·Global best practices for managing health care costs, with examples from countries that have attained greater overall health for far less money.  The advantages and disadvantages of national single payer, social insurance, private insurance, and hybrid funding systems are discussed as well as innovative examples of health care delivery from around the world.

·The polarity of health care delivery that will occur once consumers begin to manage their own health care spending.  Just as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have generated profits and maintained high levels of customer satisfaction while keeping costs low, the health care institutions that thrive in the future will be based on models of efficiency, quality, and customer service. 

·How first-dollar coverage for routine health expenses is “bad insurance” and why high-deductible insurance combined with a Health Savings Account lowers costs and puts consumers “back in the drivers seat.”

·The “miracle cure” for reducing health care costs—“better health.”  When consumers join the “War on Obesity” they not only experience better health, but they reduce health care costs, make U.S. corporations more competitive, and enjoy a higher quality of life.

The United States does not have a health care system; it has a “sickness care” system and now the system itself is sick. The costs of health care drain nearly 15% of all the goods and services produced in America, 50% more than most other industrial nations.  Consumers and business leaders alike are demanding answers.

This presentation, available with targeted break-out sessions addressing the specific needs of your organization, will be informative and entertaining to executives who want to know more about reducing the high costs of employee benefits, consumers unhappy about the growing proportion of their paychecks deducted for insurance, as well as health care providers and policy makers looking for a detailed, easy-to-understand explanation of America’s “Two Trillion Dollar Problem."

Roger Blackwell Associates, Inc. (614) 457-6334

www.rogerblackwell.com