Keep away from Fee for Service

Companies have tried the High Deductible thing. If the goal was to control costs, the evidence is clear they don’t accomplish that goal. They just make people spend their own money in an extremely opaque, hostile industry. And they penalize the sickest.

So if high deductibles failed, what’s next?

“Go online first to get care” plus a bundle of cost-saving services on top of that high deductible plan that prevents people from having to spend their deductible and when they do need to spend their own money, give them an online doctor partner to do the ordering for them.

Let’s face it. Doctors are the real consumers of healthcare. We write the orders, you “spend” the money. 80-90% of people just need basic everyday primary care. But basic care can cost $270 a year or it can cost thousands if you leave it up to fee-for-service doctors to spend your money on your behalf. So, as an employer, do absolutely every single possible thing to keep people away from fee-for-service doctors.

If I told you I know a service that can eliminate 80% of interactions with the fee-for-service system, would that be interesting to you? It should be. The fee-for-service system should be utilized only when absolutely necessary.