If you were about to meet the CEO of a major Healthcare Org, what would you say?

[phoenics]

I'm meeting with a CEO of a major healthcare organization in a little bit and I'm just curious, if you were me, what would you want to ask?

Not saying I will be able to ask these things, but I'm curious as to what people think of Insurance Companies and healthcare in general.

[mamax2]

I'd ask why insurance companies are making money hand over fist while small business owners like my family and my friends' families can't afford insurance for ourselves or our staff. Or why 'affording insurance' means we're stuck with crappy $2400 deductibles!

I'd also ask why the insurance company's protocol is to deny everything and make me FIGHT for it. I have a job and a husband and two kids and a LIFE, why do I have to APPEAL every.little.thing????

eta: And I'd also ask why I'm not properly incented for 'good behavior'. Like, when I get a Pap smear, why do I have to pay an extra 'lab fee'? When my DH gets his cholesterol tested (again with the lab fee) and it's high, why won't you pay for nutritional counseling? Would you rather he just go right to the Lipitor? When I'm willing to breastfeed (and the positive long term benefits for both mother and child are scientifically proven) why won't you pay for a breast pump or even a lactation consultant? Reward us for making good (read: CHEAPER for the insurance company) choices!

[phoenics]

Thanks mamax - actually the incentives for good behavior did come up - finding good patterns in healthcare data came up so the company could push for more behavior like that and probably reward it.

Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them. This is the first of many meetings so I'm sure I'll be able to use this information.

[carrie9142]

Dear Insurance companies o' the world:

Dude. PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE. Everyone in the medical world agrees that it is WAAAY better to prevent diseases/maladies than to treat ones that have already happened. You would save yourselves a buttload of money if you covered more preventative or maintainence health care. Geeze.

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

I'd just like to point out that health insurance companies don't randomly decide what to cover and what not to cover. What's covered is set out in the insurance contract. The company I work for has decided that covering preventive care is smart, therefore they set up the contract with our insurance company to have preventive care covered.

[phoenics]

Dear Insurance companies o' the world:

Dude. PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE. Everyone in the medical world agrees that it is WAAAY better to prevent diseases/maladies than to treat ones that have already happened. You would save yourselves a buttload of money if you covered more preventative or maintainence health care. Geeze.

Actually, this did come out of the CEO's mouth... I think the issue is not knowing how to actually make this happen and encourage preventative healthcare mindsets in the minds of patients... he knows they have to do this, just can't quite navigate all the data out there to 'do' it.

That's where my team will come in I imagine.

[mamax2]

I'd just like to point out that health insurance companies don't randomly decide what to cover and what not to cover. What's covered is set out in the insurance contract. The company I work for has decided that covering preventive care is smart, therefore they set up the contract with our insurance company to have preventive care covered.

This is a benefit afforded typically to very large corporations with a lot of bargaining power. The millions of small business owners do NOT have the luxury of negotiating preventive care (or really much of anything besides do you want Plan $, Plan $$, Plan $$$ or Plan $$$$).

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

This is a benefit afforded typically to very large corporations with a lot of bargaining power. The millions of small business owners do NOT have the luxury of negotiating preventive care (or really much of anything besides do you want Plan $, Plan $$, Plan $$$ or Plan $$$$).
Whatever the size of the business, they absolutely can choose whether to offer a plan that has preventive care or not. Many employers choose not to offer plans with preventive care however, because their employees don't appropriately value that benefit. The employees would rather have the job that pays $50,000 and has crappy insurance, than the job that pays $45,000 and has great insurance.

[Mindy3094]

I'd ask why insurance companies are making money hand over fist while small business owners like my family and my friends' families can't afford insurance for ourselves or our staff. Or why 'affording insurance' means we're stuck with crappy $2400 deductibles!


Amen. What she said. We're in the same boat.

[mamax2]

Many employers choose not to offer plans with preventive care however, because their employees don't appropriately value that benefit.

Or, in our case, because it's cost prohibitive to do so. Many of our employees are commissioned sales people so it's not really a matter of their overall compensation package. It's a matter of the formulas used by the insurance company to calculate our group rates (we have some 'older' employees and mgmt who skew it up). Then it's a matter of how much overhead the company has and what they can afford to contribute to insurance and still keep their product costs competitive enough so they can stay in business.

This is a very challenging economy and many of our friends are being forced into canceling their insurance contracts all together. I'm not talking about expensive, all-encompassing type plans either, I'm talking about just your basic health care. I think that's really quite sad.

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

The idea that medical insurance companies are the ones making money "hand over fist" and that's what's causing people not to be able to afford insurance is asinine. Take a look at medical insurers' profit margins, compare it to what kind of profit margins most other sectors have, and then tell me again who's making healthcare unaffordable.

[bug]

When I first saw the thread title, my immediate thought was that I would say "SHAME ON YOU" or "HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT" to the CEO of a health insurance co., but then I realized it was a literal question when I read the post! :o

I would ask:
1. What are you willing to do to ensure that ALL people can have access to quality and affordable health insurance? (Besides telling them to buy it from your company!;))
2. Why should millions of middle income earners have to choose between having a home and basic necessities for living or having health insurance?
3. How could your insurance company benefit from the USA having universal health insurance, and what steps are you going to take to ensure that this goal is reached?

This sounds like a great opportunity--good luck!

[phoenics]

This is great everyone! Keep 'em coming and thanks to everyone who bumped up other healthcare threads... !

[scout]

I recently got an itemized bill for the labor and delivery of my dd, and I'm wondering why it cost me $800 to use the hospital breastpump once. I'm also wondering why the Tylonel I was given twice for pain relief cost $10. Also, why the doctor who came to check up on me for three minutes got $300 for that visit.

[ysolde]

Dear Insurance companies o' the world:

Dude. PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE. Everyone in the medical world agrees that it is WAAAY better to prevent diseases/maladies than to treat ones that have already happened. You would save yourselves a buttload of money if you covered more preventative or maintainence health care. Geeze.

I have to admit that I have great insurance. Preventive care (annual check-up, healthy woman exam, 2X a year dental exam and cleaning, and all exams appurtenant thereto) are all free of charge, as is the flu shot. If, in the course of the exams, they find you need something else (I had never had chicken pox or a Hep B shot, so I have now been immunized for both), they cover that, too.

[literati]

Why is mental health care much more limited than physical health care?

[GlamaGal]

I'd say, could you require your folks answering the phone to be a little nicer when I call in with a question about my recent claim? I'm not stupid, so if I find myself actually having to call you, it's because the answer cannot be found in my Summary Plan Description. Be nice. Politeness is free.

Oh, and, obviously, what everyone else said.

[bug]

I saw on the news tonight a story about the drug company MERCK that overcharged MEDICARE & MEDICAID for their prescription drugs and that reminded me about this thread, and I was curious about what happened at the meeting? Has it happened yet?

[jnettie]

I recently got an itemized bill for the labor and delivery of my dd, and I'm wondering why it cost me $800 to use the hospital breastpump once. I'm also wondering why the Tylonel I was given twice for pain relief cost $10. Also, why the doctor who came to check up on me for three minutes got $300 for that visit.

From when DH worked in a hospital, they do this because the insurance companies often won't pay the full price. They have to jack it up to cover the cost. Also, when I was on student insurance and had to pay upfront for my Ob/Gyn, the woman in billing would always bump me down to a lower price. In a way, it's a vicious cycle.

I'd just really want to know how he (or she) saw his roll in healthcare. Why is he in the business? Is it for money or because he cares about people?

I finally have health insurance through my job, and even though I had 10 plans to pick from, they all kinda sucked in different ways. I would have gotten a better plan than I finally chose, but it was quite expensive to cover both DH and I and was not worth the cost in comparison to my crappy salary. And I have a government job (public university). I do have decent dental coverage, though.

[LyLMyssChaos]

What I would like to know is "Why do the insurance companies think they know better than my doctor what my medical needs are?" I am SO tired of my doctor writing me a prescription only to have my insurance deny it because it isn't on their "preferred list." They even suggest alternative medications that don't even treat the issue I was being prescribed the original medication for (i.e. I'm given a prescription for fibromyalgia, but they think I should take this diabetes medication instead.) Or why do they want me to keep taking medications that have proven to be ineffective, but deny medications that we have tried and KNOW work? What really irritates me as well is when the FDA has approved a medication for a specific use, but the insurance company doesn't think it should be used for that, so they won't approve it.