Thoughts on Consumerism Archives

Passive Healthcare Consumers = Exploited Healthcare Consumers

July 28, 2021 December 9, 2021

I’ve written previously about the blight of complacency that has descended upon employer-sponsored health insurance. Much of the growth of the unsustainable cost-curve experienced by employers and their employees arises from the complacency of benefit advisors, employers, and their employees. Employee benefit costs—namely, healthcare—appear as the second largest expense item for many employers. Yet benefit …

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The New Definition of Plan Metals

July 21, 2021 December 9, 2021

Within health plan design offerings, there are four categories, or metal levels, made available to employers and their employees. These levels are listed by the split of costs between the enrolled individual and the health plan. See chart below: How you and your insurance plan split costs The decision process behind enrollment within these plans …

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Health Insurance Premium Rebate Checks Aren’t Good News for America

July 14, 2021 November 22, 2021

Ever since 2012, Americans have received rebate checks from their health insurers when the Medical Loss Ratio doesn’t “measure up” to the 80/20 Rule. In simple terms, the Rule means that insurers must spend 80 percent of their revenue from premiums to pay for the healthcare of their subscribers. The other 20 percent is theirs to keep. What …

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An Act of True Bipartisanship: The No Surprises Act

July 7, 2021 November 22, 2021

On July 1, 2021, the Biden Administration issued its interim final rule cementing into place the No Surprises Act, which was signed into law by the Trump Administration on December 27, 2020. The Act is one of the most important consumer protection measures regarding healthcare—ever. It takes effect on January 1, 2022. And in these days of so …

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Vincible Ignorance – One of the Problems with ESHI

June 23, 2021 November 22, 2021

Employer-sponsored Health Insurance (ESHI) covers just over 55 percent of the U.S. population and accounts for just over a third of the overall health care expenditure for the country. With such significant dollars allotted, expectations for the quality of healthcare and the overall health of individuals would be at the top of every health-related metric …

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Why Talon?

January 26, 2021 November 22, 2021

The business of healthcare and health insurance is mean. If you want to survive in this industry, you have to be scrappy and practice grit on a daily basis. The players within the market can be tough and inflexible. In 2014, we first demonstrated the prototype of MyMedicalShopper, alongside our campy mascot, “Dr. Hoot. Dr. …

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Healthcare Costs for Dummies, by a Dummy

May 27, 2020 November 22, 2021

By Doug Horner, Content Marketing Strategist Recently, our EVP of Sales and Sales Strategy explained how his background in consumer electronics has influenced his approach to working in healthcare. I, too, have a background in consumer goods, but less in electronics, and more in beer and cannabis (yes, that kind of cannabis). So, hi. I’ll …

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Price Transparency Alone Will Not Reduce the Cost of Healthcare Without Consumer Interest in Shopping

October 23, 2019 November 22, 2021

The economist, Milton Friedman in “How to Cure Health Care” writes that one of the factors “explaining both the high level of spending on medical care and the dissatisfaction with that spending” is “nobody spends somebody else’s money as wisely or as frugally as he spends his own.” His observation is a crucial factor for …

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How a price transparency tool can help maximize the value of an HSA!

August 14, 2019 November 22, 2021

Health savings accounts (HSAs) provide employees enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), a tax-advantaged way to save and pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Combining a price transparency solution with an HSA account allows employees to decrease their healthcare costs by 30 to 40 percent today and maximize the value of an HSA for future medical …

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Benefits that Benefit All

July 16, 2019 November 22, 2021

As a relatively new entrant into the workforce, I feel confident expressing that there are opportunities for improvement when it comes to benefit plans and the consideration and impact on current and future generations – specifically, health plans. (And of course, I feel confident expressing myself. As a millennial, I’ve been told that I’m allowed …

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