Inattentional Blindness: Ya, it’s a real thing…

Inattentional Blindness: Ya, it’s a real thing…

Seeing is much more than a matter of simply opening our eyes.  Have you ever just caught yourself “zoning out”?  Not paying attention?  It’s actually really shocking how much we DON’T see just from not paying attention.

Last year, a Vietnam Veteran named Tom Garvey published a book entitled, “The Secret Apartment”, a self-published story about how he lived in Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium for at least two years without anyone ever really noticing.  He details how he “hid in plain sight”.  I’ve started reading it, and it’s pretty amazing really….

Mr. Garvey worked for the Philadelphia Eagles as a parking lot attendant, and his job gave him reason to be around at any hour, every day of the week.  He lived within Veterans Stadium for two years!  He commented, “It was right in front of their eyes, they just couldn’t believe it.”

This lack of “seeing” things that are clearly there, is a phenomenon called “inattentional blindness”.  Research has shown us that we can fail to see or perceive very major things in life that are going on right in front of our eyes.  For a little fun before you read on, check out this video and follow the instructions to see how “inattentional blindness” works.

This made me think about a topic within the broker/consulting world that comes up quite a bit.  Often times, and I must admit, I’m guilty of this from time to time myself, brokers/consultants will complain, or question why more employers are not jumping all over solutions that lower health care and benefits related costs?

How are so many organizations overlooking these dollars?

Is it inattentional blindness?  They simply don’t know what to look for, so it’s hiding in broad daylight?  Is it similar to the case of Mr. Garvy in Philly, and perhaps lowering costs while improving benefits is so unbelievable, they aren’t even thinking about it in those terms?

“It’s easy to stop looking for something we don’t believe is even there….“

I think many employers have given up believing healthcare costs can be reduced in any real way.  It’s kinda like finding out Santa Clause isn’t real. Once our parents told us the truth, we stopped trying to stay awake all night on Christmas Eve to get a glimpse of him.  It’s easy to stop looking for something we don’t believe is even there….

I also think it’s simply a matter of employers being so focused on other areas of the business, or the City government, or the School District business, that it’s like missing the moonwalking bear in the video.  The first time I watched, I was intently focused on counting the number of times the white team passed the ball, and I completely failed the exercise. But when I watch the video again, it’s impossible to miss.

There are so many things involved with running a business that it’s easy to overlook areas that just aren’t the primary objective.

“….those dollars are being sucked up faster than a pixy stick at a 5^th grade Valentine party.”

Part of my mission is getting employers to re-focus their sights on their health plans.  This business unit is no longer line item 47 on the P&L.  It’s stealthily crept into the top 5 of every P&L in the country, and it’s stealing bonuses, wage increases, profits, and dollars that could be going to advance the organization.  Instead, those dollars are being sucked up faster than a pixy stick at a 5^th grade Valentine party.

This savings is what I call “discovered money”.  Businesses don’t have to sell more, they don’t have to cut more, they don’t have to invest more….they simply re-focus their sights for a spell, and boom…..there it is.  I can see it when the lightbulb comes on, and they see the opportunity.

The solutions to this problem are not complicated.  They are proven and practical, but that doesn’t mean they’re “easy”, because they’re not “easy”.

My message to employers is simple, just re-focus some attention back to the health plan.  I know you’ve done it before, I know it’s frustrating as hell.  But this time, let’s look at the root cause of rising health care/benefits costs, not just insurance. Let’s look at cost-containment solutions that are gaining steam. Let’s discover the treasures that are hiding within your data and contracts, and talk about practical ways to collect those treasures. Let’s take a closer look at the actual cost of CARE, not your premiums, or your fixed costs.

There’s a moonwalking bear in your health plan just waiting to be seen.