TulsaWorld
Employers key to preventative health care
As presidential candidates vie for votes amid public fears of a recession, health reform becomes an increasingly popular topic.
Having spent several years traveling to Washington, D.C., and participating in a number of hearings and discussions with congressional representatives and staffers as a president of the Self-Insurance Institute of America, and having owned and operated a third party administration company, been an employer purchasing health insurance for his employees, and as a user of health care services myself, I believe I have some insights to share.
First, we must acknowledge some universal flaws in the system. As the cost of health care to the nation's economy approaches 17 percent of gross domestic product, employers are increasingly faced with difficult choices in terms of providing coverage for workers.
I would challenge that what we have in the United States today is not a "health care" system -- what we have is "sick care." We as Americans wait until something is broken and then seek medical attention to fix it.
Postponement of care is attributable to many factors. Every one of us has a story to tell of spending an hour and a half in a waiting room only to be placed in an exam room for an additional 15 minutes, waiting to see a physician for less than 10 minutes on average, according to the "Annals of Family Medicine."
We are now at a point where most would agree that a doctor's appointment requires a half-day off work. To add to the frustration, health care costs continue to rise at rates far outpacing typical inflation, causing yet another hurdle for many people. Subsequently, we wait until the problem outweighs the hassle, leaving most symptoms undetected and/or untreated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 74 percent of health care costs in the United States are directly attributable to chronic diseases such as hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes -- conditions that most agree are treatable and manageable with early detection.
Armed with these facts, on-site clinics come to the rescue for both employees and employers, reducing cost and increasing productivity. It is time for employers to take charge of the health care for their employees. Relying on our present "sick care" system simply isn't working.
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Ron Woods is CEO of Care ATC Inc., a Tulsa-based organization that provides personal health assessments and on-site primary care for employees and their families.
The views expressed here are those of the author and not the Tulsa World. To inquire about writing a Business Viewpoint column, e-mail a short outline of the article to Business Editor John Stancavage at john.stancavage@tulsaworld.com.
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