Insurers analyze rising medical costs, offer ways to cut back

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The cost of medical insurance is an especially hot topic in today's business world. According to a recent Commerce Bank survey, 35.8 percent of business respondents listed health care as their biggest concern and 69.8 percent of the respondents cited cost as the biggest issue and rightfully so.|ret||ret||tab|

Health insurance costs have skyrocketed largely due to the fact that health care costs have skyrocketed. In 2000 there was a 32 percent increase in health service coverage costs. |ret||ret||tab|

"Due to that, insurance companies are having to raise their premiums," said Teresa Ketron, health and life manager at Great Southern Insurance, 430 South Ave. |ret||ret||tab|

According to Louis Bartholomew, vice president, life and employee benefits, for Rebsamen Insurance, 1111 S. Glenstone, the greatest cost for small businesses after payroll is the price of employee benefits. Many businesses, he said, end up paying more for health insurance for employees than the business pays for rent.|ret||ret||tab|

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Across the board|ret||ret||tab|

The rising expense of providing medical insurance is happening across the board. |ret||ret||tab|

For example, although Bartholomew has shopped for lower rates for businesses with group policies that have come up for renewal, he found that new carriers usually are just as expensive as the old ones.|ret||ret||tab|

Ketron said, "I've seen some groups this year take from 32 percent to 56 percent rate increases. It's hard to a business to absorb that kind of rate increase. What happens is they end up lowering benefits to keep the premium down."|ret||ret||tab|

Because of the increasing challenge of paying for employee medical insurance, businesses are looking for answers. Raylene Caywood, chief executive officer of PJC Insurance, 1801 W. Nor-ton Rd., said that more companies are continuing to check into cost-control op-tions such as higher deductibles, co-pays and changing out-of-pocket expenses. |ret||ret||tab|

"They're looking for the employees to share in the costs in the past, most employers have been paying 100 percent of the employees' cost," Caywood said. She described extras like dental, vision and prescription coverages as being "carved out of their basic plans." The return to basic major medical plans also was indicated by Bartholomew and Ketron.|ret||ret||tab|

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Lowering costs|ret||ret||tab|

The opportunity exists for lowering health care costs simply by cutting down on abuse of the system. "Utilization is high; people use the plans more when there is very little cost to them to do so. When I was a child, we only went to the doctor when we were really sick. Now my grandkids go to the doctor when they have a sniffle. While they may be healthier, somebody had to pay for it," Bartholomew said.|ret||ret||tab|

Ketron said, "Going to the ER really drives the cost up. You'll have a huge bill. If it's not truly an emergency, go to your physician. That helps keep your cost and premiums down." She added, "Treat it as if it's your own business and consider what you would do to keep costs down. Use common sense."|ret||ret||tab|

Besides encouraging employees to seek medical care only when necessary, there are other ways businesses can help control the cost of health care and, ultimately, their insurance rates. |ret||ret||tab|

Ketron said, "By law hospitals have to give itemized bills if you ask for one. Employees should check the bill to help keep costs down on insurance. We need to educate employees that they need to take some responsibility to see that the insurance company is billed correctly, or when renewal time comes around, there will be an increase."|ret||ret||tab|

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Lifestyle changes|ret||ret||tab|

Caywood noted, "Companies need to help their employees learn more about wellness and encourage them to consider healthy changes in lifestyle such as with good nutrition, smoking cessation plans, and health screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol."|ret||ret||tab|

Prescription medications are another issue. Ketron cited the influence of television advertising on what drugs people request from their physicians. Those highly visible medications are more expensive because they are not generic, she said, adding that those costs add up especially when policy renewal time arrives.|ret||ret||tab|

Caywood said prescription-drug costs are a real concern for companies. Many are looking at including a deductible for prescription drug plans and are raising co-pays. Some are also adding mail-order plans. Others are adding a third component, which is a formulary plan for the employee to use prescriptions on a provided list, thus receiving a discounted price.|ret||ret||tab|

Medical insurance for part-time em-ployees is another trend, Caywood noted, and work-site products are be-coming more popular to help maintain part-time employees by providing supplemental benefits. She said that employee assistance plans are becoming popular, and under these, employees can have complete confidential consultations with therapists and counselors who are not attached to the company.|ret||ret||tab|

The employee assistance plan option provides help to employees and their dependents for the everyday stresses of anxiety, depression, family and adolescent issues and drug-related problems.|ret||ret||tab|

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Dental costs|ret||ret||tab|

Another concern was brought up by Bartholomew, who said, "Dental colleges are not graduating as many dentists as they did at one time. I think we're going to see a rapid increase in dental care costs, which is going to cause an increase in dental insurance premiums."|ret||ret||tab|

While the lowering of medical insurance premiums for businesses doesn't appear likely to happen any time soon, Ketron said, "We're one of the most blessed nations in the world and blessed that we have insurance companies to choose from."[[In-content Ad]]