Lately it seems that collective uncertainty about the economy focuses mainly on one thing: eggs.
This is not surprising. When the price of a kitchen is like eggs almost double In a year, it is easy to turn it into a reference symbol for the widest baskets of the financial anxieties that many consumers feel. I understand it, but I am also worried that all the coverage of the egg -centered media is eclipsanding what it is, for most homes, a much larger and more important line line: medical care.
So far this year, egg prices have generated approximately three times more holders than medical care costs (according to a quick search of Google news), which is more or less the opposite of the relative impact that these problems have had in homes in the last 40 years. Food inflation is a serious concern, but for the average consumer, the cost of pocket medical care spending has far exceeded food (yes, even eggs).
Cumulative change in prices paid by consumers (%)
Why are the eggs stealing the attention center? A great reason is that everyday products Like eggs (or milk, coffee and gas) they are easy to understand for consumers. These products have a black and white price, you generally get what it pays, and it is difficult not to notice when your payment check suddenly does not extend so far.
Medical care is different
Medical care does not work that way. For consumers, pocket medical care expense is a mixture of insurance premiums, deductibles, dating and recipe costs. For heavy service care, such as surgery and hospital stays, there are often it’s not A clear price label. It is not surprising that more than half of the insured workers are confused by HEralthcare costs and billingAnd as a result, many not Complement completely The total medical care hit his wallet, or the value they are obtaining (or not) for their dollar of medical care.
This blind consumer point is becoming a financial black hole for employers. For most companies, medical care is now Second large operating expense After payroll. Employers are forecast That medical care costs will accelerate even more in 2025, increasing approximately 9%, three times the current inflation rate. After years of absorbing growing costs, many employers now face difficult decisions about Raise the participation of employees in the premiumEliminate benefits or pass customers costs.
However, unlike egg prices, the tendency of medical care costs is not mainly a problem of supply and demand. A large part of the fugitive medical care spending (up to 25%, for some estimates) It is due to inefficiency and waste, including supernadation, subtraction, low quality suppliers and uncoordinated attention. The health system is basically dropping three eggs of each cardboard on the floor, and employers stay to clean the disaster.
Giving up in this avoidable and unsustainable expense is not as simple as reducing benefits or increasing premiums. In fact, limiting access to medical care can be counterproductive if people renounce essential attention, which leads to a shorter work force in the short term and long -term snowball costs.
Bill the disaster
The reality is that, if we are going to decipher the disorder of medical care, we need a collective change in our expectations and mentality. Employers and consumers, all medical care buyers, in fact, are needed to demand a new focus on value.
We need to get away from the letter from “egg” to the letter where, as we are in the hall of a supermarket, the tesos are associated with the volume, and the total costs can only be managed with the control of portions (or as we say in medical care, Use management). This model has blinded people what they are spending and receiving in return, Undermining trust in the health system as a whole. Instead, we need a medical care model where the holistic needs of a person are in front and the center. A model that encourages continuous commitment, generating confidence over time and constantly guiding people towards high quality care, including more attention, when that is better for them.
The future of medical care of greater cost and smaller cost is one in which people and buyers have access to a broader range of services and environments (both virtual and in person). It offers personalized defense and support (even with clinical orientation, invoices and claims). And offers an experience in one: a deviation from the fragmented labyrinth to which we have all become accustomed. Innovators and leaders in the first line of management and purchase of health are beginning to recognize this, and are reorienting their solutions, associations and models to ensure that people obtain the attention they deserve, where and when they need it.
While egg prices can have our attention now, we cannot lose sight of the creation of a health system and an experience that really is worth the high price that we all pay. And in medical care, unlike groceries, the key to affordability is not to buy less or cut corners in quality. It is investing in the services and results that offer a real value for our money earned so much effort.
Owen Tripp is co -founder and CEO of health included.
Fast Company Impact Council is a community of private membership of leaders, experts, executives and influential entrepreneurs who share their ideas with our audience. Members pay the annual membership quotas for access to peer learning and opportunities for thought leadership, events and more.
#decipher #medical #care #United #States #workforce
