Employers and insurers are expecting on average a 6% increase in healthcare costs in 2019, according to a Medical Cost Trend report released in June from PwC’s HRI.
The rising cost of healthcare is putting a tight squeeze on businesses across the country. With the prices of doctor visits, procedures, prescriptions and overall care unlikely to come down anytime soon, it’s up to the individual companies to take measures to preserve their earnings. One way many businesses are doing this is by offering employee wellness programs. Wellness programs enhance physical and psychological health for employees which in turn, pays dividends back to the company. The better an employee feels, the more productive they will be. Better yet, the healthier a worker is, the less he or she will require medical care. And the less healthcare incidences employees have, the less premiums will rise from year to year.
Businesses across the country are changing the way they think about healthcare coverage and employee engagement. The current and outdated system has been in place for 30 years and is responsible for the cost of healthcare rising so high, that it severely cuts into employee paychecks and employer profits.
“You have to address behavior or you cannot reduce costs.” That was the overarching sentiment at the inaugural Prime Advantage Healthcare Summit, held in Washington, D.C. The Summit brought together healthcare legislation architects and experts, members of previous presidential administrations and transition teams, as well as business leaders in manufacturing, all for an inside look into healthcare policy and solutions to subjugate rising costs.
