September 2017 Volume 15, Number 9 | |||||
Could Direct Primary Care Control Your Health Care Benefit Costs?Affordable Care Act marketplaces are closing at an alarming rate. Health care benefit costs are soaring. Some Republicans are trying to to repeal and replace the current Affordable Care Act and others in Congress just want to make changes before it implodes. Meanwhile, coverage isn’t getting any cheaper, and many Americans are left wondering what options they have for affordable health care coverage. A new health care model called direct primary care is being touted as an alternative to traditional health insurance. Combined with supplemental insurance, it’s proving to be an appealing alternative for employers who are looking for reasonably priced benefit plans and great benefits for their employees. Current Insurance Situation Automobile, home and life insurance policies typically cover the costs of catastrophic events like accidents. Health insurance is different. Although it was originally designed to cover expensive health issues, such as heart attacks or cancer, it’s now used to help with the cost of routine doctor visits. Primary care has become so expensive, few people can afford it without financial assistance. What DPC Is and How it Works
Direct Primary Care practitioners don’t accept insurance for routine care. Instead, members of a DPC pay the practice a monthly fee. In return for that fee, they have access to routine physicals, acute care, chronic condition management, prescription refills and basic lab work. The cost is usually less than $90 per month for an individual. Types of DPC-Based Solutions If you talk to a broker about setting up a DPC arrangement for your company, they will want to know how much of the cost you plan to cover for your employees. The basic DPC-based solutions include:
Who Is a Good Candidate?
A key issue in determining whether you and your employees would be a good fit for a DPC is whether everyone in the company lives within driving distance of a DPC practitioner. You also must have no plans to move the company in the near future. |
|
Could Direct Primary Care Control Your Health Care Benefit Costs? Opioid Addiction in the Workplace: How to Help Employees Switching to a High-Deductible Health Plan? Here’s How to Explain the Change Great Reasons to Offer a 529 Savings Plan
|
|||
|