Perpetuating the BIGGEST Employee Benefits Myth
Posted by Chris Conley on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 09:06 AM
As an employee benefits consultant for the last 13 years, every day I work with small to mid-size companies who are continually trying to battle ever increasing medical and pharmacy renewals year after year as well as trying to remain in compliance with new HealthCare Reform laws. I can tell you from experience that this is not an easy feat and for those seasoned HR Managers and Employee Benefits Administrators out there who read this article, I am certain you can attest to the ire and fury that wells up in me when I consider the magnitude of wasted health care dollars.
Milwaukee Teachers Fight for Viagra Drug Coverage- Madison Wisconsin, August 6, 2010 http://www.wisn.com/news/24539429/detail.html
It seems unfathomable that a union would put up such a great fight to retain a drug benefit that would be so costly! I do not buy their argument that it is sex discrimination against men and that they have a right to have these erectile dysfunction drugs for lifestyle enhancement to be paid for by the insurance carriers and/or the City of Milwaukee.
In my opinion, this merely perpetuates the old HMO myth that one only has to pay a small co-pay in return for a drug that costs quadruple that! This is simply ridiculous!
This is simply ridiculous! The reason the insurance industry has been trying so hard to move us away from the old style HMOs is because we Americans have developed a false sense of security over the last three decades because we have become accustomed to paying such a small share of the actual costs of drugs, physicians’ services, and inpatient hospital stays. Now, we are paying the price because our healthcare costs have escalated out of control! This union should concentrate on saving people their jobs rather than filing bogus complaints.
Companies who self-insure, and who offer H.R.A. and/or H.S.A. plans are the answer to our healthcare crisis. This is going to be the only way we can bail ourselves out of this! This union should concentrate on saving people their jobs rather than filing bogus complaints.
Photo courtesy of Robert S. Donovan
Written by: Ellie Tonder, Vice President, Operations
________
Foster Thomas is the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading HR Management Consulting organization. With over 17 years of experience providing best-in-class HR-focused professional services, Foster Thomas creates custom scalable HR solutions for emerging and mid-sized organizations, government contractors and non-profits