What Will My Hernia Surgery Cost? [UPDATED 2022]
In 2019, I took on a new client in the construction industry that had about 90 employees at the time. They had struggled for years to manage their healthcare and benefits costs, always offering a very high deductible health plan. In fact, the individual deductible on their plan was $8,000 and the covered employee had to meet ...
>
Treating Severe COVID At Home: Be Prepared
Just about a month ago, I began experiencing flu-like symptoms. Congestion, sinus pressure, headaches, etc., nothing serious. A couple of days later, my 11-year old son tested positive for COVID. It was a foregone conclusion that the entire house would come down with it, and we did. My Direct Primary Care ...
>
A City Gone Politically Tone-Deaf
In early November, the citizens of Amarillo voted down, once again, Proposition A, which would have raised property tax rates by historical amounts. That marked the second time the Amarillo voters denied attempts to significantly raise taxes. The revenues from this historic tax increase, while vaguely ...
>
Show Me The Data: Using historic claims data to build better strategies
Imaging trying to fly an airplane cross-country without an instrument panel and no gauges. You wouldn’t dare put your life in that kind of jeopardy; not knowing how much fuel was in the tank, not knowing your altitude, not knowing your speed, not knowing your manifold pressure or engine temperature. It ...
>
Medical Debt: An Untold Truth
Unpaid medical bills have become the largest source of debt that Americans owe collection agencies. JAMA released a study earlier in the year that shows collection agencies are pursuing approximately $150 BILLION in unpaid medical debt. 140 Million Americans report having trouble paying a medical bill. That's a third ...
>
Courage: A Requisite For Change
Mark Twain once said that “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not the absence of fear.”Few things elicit fear as much as “Change”. Making a change requires risk, and risk is scary. Risk is scary because we’re afraid of failure, we’re afraid of disappointing someone, or ...
>
Understanding Basic Concepts of Self-Funding
TransparencySelf-funding is the first step for employers who want to control health care costs. Gaining access to claims data arms the employer/plan with information necessary to manage costs. As Peter Drucker once said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”It doesn’t take ...
>