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The Business of Health Care Report
In the next two weeks, our
discussion will focus on changes in health care and what those changes mean to
businesses and health care consumers. In a recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup
poll, Americans ranked health care third - behind only terrorism and the economy -
when asked what presidential issues were most important. And, a NBC News/Wall Street
Journal poll conducted this summer cited health care costs as the No. 1 economic
concern of Americans. Such concern is hardly surprising
considering the current health care landscape. The U.S. Department of Labor issued a
report in September indicating that the proportion of employees covered by
employer-sponsored medical plans fell gradually over the last decade. Forty-five percent
of employees are able to participate in employer-sponsored plans today, down from 63
percent in 1993. Interest may be heating up further
as some subtle changes already are underway - especially among health plans. The popularity of HMOs, with their
low co-pays and hefty employer contributions, is fading. The trend is toward more consumer
responsibility. Consumer-driven health plans shift much of the decision-making and some
of the cost to employees from employers, who can no longer afford to shoulder the increasing
responsibility. Thousands of Metroplex residents will
be enrolled in consumer-driven health plans next year, with large employers such as Nokia,
JCPenney, Bell Helicopter and Belo offering these plans. That's a sharp increase over 2002
when only one local employer offered a consumer-driven health plan. It's clear things are changing. Next
week, we'll discuss what these consumer-driven changes mean for employees and why they
are critical to stabilizing health care costs in North Texas. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2003 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 