[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING IN BACKGROUND THROUGHOUT]
[VIDEO OF STUDIO BEING SET UP FOR AN INTERVIEW]
[VIDEO OF FORD KOLES SITTING DOWN FOR INTERVIEW]
[FORD KOLES SPEAKING ON SCREEN]
FORD KOLES: We spend a fortune on healthcare. There’s immense potential to get this right.
[Text On Screen – The state of today’s health care economy]
[Text On Screen – Ford Koles, Vice President & National Spokesperson, Advisory Board]
FORD KOLES: My name is Ford Koles and I’m a Vice President and National Spokesperson for the Advisory Board company. I spent a lot of my time in the last year, certainly even more so than usual, with employers. There’s a lot of frustration with uncontained inflation in healthcare. The only thing this inflationary in our economy, other than healthcare, is higher education.
[VIDEO OF WORKERS IN AN OFFICE, PEOPLE HAVING A MEETING OVER COFFEE]
FORD KOLES VOICEOVER: The employers I speak to, they’re worried about their own workforce,
[VIDEO OF WORKERS IN AN OFFICE, PEOPLE HAVING A MEETING OVER COFFEE]
they’re worried about retention and engagement, demographics are a driver of healthcare spending.
[VIDEO OF AN OLDER COUPLE TAKING A HIKE]
[VIDEO OF AN OLDER WOMAN DOING YOGA]
The older America gets, the more money we will spend on healthcare.
[FORD KOLES SPEAKING ON SCREEN]
What you see right now in the healthcare economy is you see a huge margin problem for providers.
[VIDEO OF DOCTORS HAVING A MEETING, A DOCTOR GIVING A CHILD A CHECKUP]
FORD KOLES VOICEOVER: That’s a labor crisis that has spilled over into a margin crisis. So there’s a lot of pressure on prices,
[VIDEO OF WORKERS CHECKING INVENTORY IN A FACTORY AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS, MOVING BOXES]
but they’ve also, they’ve had supply chain problems, so their supplies have gotten more expensive and stayed expensive.
[VIDEO OF PEOPLE IN THEIR HOME LIVES, GROCERY SHOPPING, COOKING, TAKING A DOG ON A WALK]
They worry that people didn’t take great care of themselves in the last three years.
[FORD KOLES SPEAKING ON SCREEN]
And then we didn’t do great prevention.
FORD KOLES VOICEOVER: If you look at colonoscopies, they’re way down.
[ANIMATION OF A COLONOSCOPY]
If you look at people getting their moles checked for cancer, way down.
[ANIMATION OF A WOMAN GETTING AN X-RAY]
If you look at breast exams, they’re way down. And later stage cancer diagnosis are up. And then the behavior stuff is way up.
[ANIMATION OF A PERSON’S HEAD WITH A SUN AND A CLOUD]
So I think that’s another thing that they’re worried about, certainly short term, is how do I meet that need in a high quality way that controls costs as well?
[Text On Screen – “How do I meet that need in a high-quality way that controls costs as well?”]
[FORD KOLES SPEAKING ON SCREEN]
Normally, if I talk to an employer and they’re worried about spending more money, then my next question is what are you going to do about it? The answer is very obvious, which is for the last 10 years, the answer was to increase deductibles and copays. I keep asking people, behind closed doors, are you going to increase the deductible? And I’ve never gotten a yes on that, which is a sea change from before COVID. I think the reason they’re not comfortable increasing the deducible and the copays is crystal clear, which is they’re afraid of turnover. So then when I ask them, if you’re not going to use cost sharing, what will you use?
[VIDEO OF WORKERS IN AN OFFICE, MEETING AND TALKING AT THE STAIRS, AT A LAPTOP]
They’re instead, looking at strategies where they’re helping the workforce and the family members to find care options that benefit everybody, that are less expensive, without sacrificing quality.
[VIDEO OF PEOPLE IN THEIR HOME LIVES, COMING HOME, COOKING, RIDING BIKES, TALKING ON THE PHONE, GOING FOR DOCTOR CHECKUPS]
Steering or navigating them to different places for care, that’s one of the most important, strategic changes I’ve seen.
[Text On Screen – Working together to strategically manage costs]
[FORD KOLES SPEAKING ON SCREEN]
It’s a big opportunity here for carriers and brokers to meet a need. If they’re not going to use the classic strategy, they need something else.
[Text On Screen – Cost management that meets the moment]
[Text On Screen – Talk to your broker, consultant or UnitedHealthcare representative to learn more]
[VIDEO OF ANIMATED UNITED HEALTHCARE LOGO]
[Text On Screen – UnitedHealthcare, Insurance coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its affiliates. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Administrative services provided by United HealhCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates, and UnitedHealthcare Service LLC in NY. Stop-loss insurance is underwritten by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or their affiliates, including UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company in NJ, and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York in NY. © 2023 United HealthCare Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3/23 22-1861751-L B2B EI232158352]
[END MUSIC]
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