HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS ARE OUT OF CONTROL
Employee choices will have to be made to customize the best plan of care.

Recently the author's son called and said he had to have an operation to install a pacemaker. His name was Steve and he was only age 33! Steve could not have afforded the cost of such an operation and the maintenance of his long-term medical condition.

Neither Employers nor employees can afford to pay for all the medical costs required for any employee group, especially when you consider the sophistication and advancement of medicine today. The ability of the medical profession to treat diseases has outpaced the ability to pay. We no longer can afford the cost of all these advancements in medical accomplishments and therefore the employer and employee will have to work together to determine a menu of healthcare services that we can all live with and afford.

The employer's cost of healthcare is increasing by 15 - 20 percent annually. That means that for every $1,000 of health insurance costs - this same insurance cost could grow to well over $3,352 present value for the same coverage in five years. The price of medical costs are far outpacing inflation. In fact, some goods and services are deflating in price. Take for example, the cost of computers and software have declined while at the same time the employee and employer of these technology firms are faced with massive increases in healthcare costs. The excessive rise in healthcare costs in America is unsustainable and if the US government were to take it over and create a socialized healthcare system it would be even worse because you cannot funnel tax money into Washington D.C. and get more for your money. In fact, in many countries with socialized medicine a heart attack patient may have to wait up to six months to get complete care. So what can we expect in relation to our future healthcare benefits?

The government isn't even able to deal with the Medicare services of seniors and certainly should not get involved with your healthcare system. For example, many seniors are going broke paying for drugs and prescriptions today and the government "house-passed bill" recently passed by house legislators will not begin to address the senior's prescription cost problem. Experts state that nearly 50 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will still face out-of-pocket costs that will average more than $2,750 per year.

As employers invest time and money investigating how to keep healthcare costs under control, employees will continue to see changes with their benefits program for the foreseeable future. It is inevitable that employees will need to become more involved in their own healthcare decisions as the struggle continues to survive the price-inflation of healthcare in America.

The following healthcare management options will be a part of the annual struggle to provide quality of care for employees as prices continue to outpace inflation in general:

· Cafeteria or a menu of choices will continue to be implemented to control costs.
· Defined healthcare programs will be implemented where employees are provided selective healthcare benefits based upon the employer and employee's ability to pay.
· Certain elective benefits will be eliminated or provided as a selective option.
· Cost-sharing costs with employees will be a continuous part of healthcare benefits.
· Employee selected voluntary programs will be offered to allow each employee to purchase the services they need on a group discount basis.
· Non-insurance price negotiations services will grow to help employees with out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
· Association and employer collective bargaining will become more intensive.
· Greater numbers of Americans will be uninsured. Currently there are well over 45 million Americans that do not have health insurance. Be thankful if you do have healthcare protection.
· Fixed dollar amounts will be dedicated by the employer and the employee will make their own choices of how the money is allocated.
· IRS Section 125, MSA accounts and Section 105 plans will be used more often to provide the employee with 100 percent income tax deductibility of all healthcare costs.
· Healthcare IRAs may be authorized by the government.
· A variety of voluntary benefits will be offered on a group basis to employees such as disability income protection, catastrophic health insurance, long-term care, life insurance, indemnity health plans, financial planning and other voluntary benefits will be a part of the employer's efforts to help protect employee benefits.
· Employees will need to be educated more on the proper and wise use of their healthcare benefits. Such things as avoiding use of the emergency room, over use of medicine, preventive healthcare education and other educational programs will need to be implemented.
· Sacrifices will have to be made by both the employer and the employee as the cost of quality healthcare continues to outpace inflation in general.
· Tort lawsuits will continue to be a major factor in driving up doctors malpractice insurance and the cost of your health insurance. Lawyers will continue to help drive up the costs and impact the patient doctor relationship.

As an independent third party, we see the handwriting on the wall regarding the affordability and we know that the benefits we have experienced in the past will of necessity, have to change. Neither the employer nor the employee can afford all the services now available to the public. We will all have to make choices regarding where employee benefits dollars will be used. We all need to work together to provide the best healthcare possible within the confines of our budget. Work to keep healthcare costs down by paying attention to the food you eat. Get regular health check-ups, take courses on how to reduce stress in your life, (stress is a major culprit in causing health problems) and continue to be aware of our changing need to share the responsibility of our own personal healthcare. The quality of your healthcare services in the future may well depend on how you help in our fight against the high cost of modern healthcare services.

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