Healthcare is Broken – CBG Health is Out to Fix It
August 30, 2021 – The USA ranks last in healthcare among high-income countries but spends at least double what everyone else spends. How is this possible?
The healthcare “Bigs” are all about the all-mighty dollar. Somewhere Matthew McConaughey is heard saying “sur-priiiise sur-priiiise”. Now before anyone starts throwing things at local doctors, know that they are actually part of the solution, not the problem. The blame is spread among Wall Street (big shock!), Big Insurance, and Big Hospital.
Follow the money.
WallStreet wants stock prices to go up and Big Insurance is under pressure to make it happen. Big Insurance, by law, can only bring in around 20 cents on every premium dollar. The other 80 cents must go to claims. How does Big Insurance get bigger? Well, they need medical claims to go up (not down) so they can charge more premiums. They want 20% of a larger number. In fact, Big Insurance likes big claims and they cannot lie (although they want too!). Would Big Hospitals like to charge significantly more for their procedures? “Uh, yes please!” says Big Hospital execs. (But don’t be fooled in thinking that goes to the actual healthcare professionals!) Also, don’t forget, the broker (the last line of defense) often gets bonuses and commissions on the premiums paid to the Bigs. When the employeers costs go up, the broker gets a raise.
The game is rigged. Employeers are screwed. Most CFO’s pull a Captain Sully and just brace for impact at every renewal. Well, one guy from a small company called Walmart got tired of it and used his leverage to take on the Bigs. Fifteen years later Tom Emerick is now known as the “unsung hero” in the insurance industry for starting a movement that helped change the rules.
CBG Health is bringing these strategies to the small and mid-market companies. Self-funding is not the solution. Most self-funding is done poorly and saves little. Mitigating the severity and frequency of claims is the answer. 6% of an employer’s census is responsible for 70% or more of the healthcare spend. Transparency of pricing and a deep knowledge of quality ratings delivers better health outcomes to the employees for a fraction of the cost at “Big Hospital”. In this case, with knowledge and transparency, one can have a cake (lower cost) and eat it too (better healthcare).
An employeer doesn’t need to reduce their network or benefits- in fact, increasing both of those can lower osts significantly. “Poppy-cock!” one might say. CBG seems to be in the business of cleaning up the poppy-cock, not creating it.
Interestingly, CBG Health offers a free high-level evaluation of your current health plan. You can bring those recommendations to your current broker or have CBG implement the strategies for a small percentage of the savings.
Media Contact
Company Name: CBG Health Plan
Contact Person: Mark Fox
Email: Send Email
Phone: 850-367-9020
Country: United States
Website: https://www.cbghealthplan.com/
