If you’re a small business employer, I don’t have to tell you that employers of all types are struggling with the problem of the increased cost of providing employee health benefits – you’re likely living it. I’m a small business owner myself and I’m certainly affected by it. So what do we do to solve this problem? Too often we go to insurance agents, insurance companies, and politicians.
What the heck do any of them know about healthcare?
We unwittingly give ownership of our medical dollars and medical resources to third parties who know nothing about medical services or healthcare. We’ve added layers of middlemen and bureaucratic gimmicks to the actual cost that employers become responsible for. The reality I see is that medical services and healthcare itself are a fraction of the cost of insurance premiums – we are burning our money when we give up so much control to third-party insurance companies who then spend it on administrative costs etc. that have nothing to do with keeping our employees healthy and happy.
When an employer takes ownership of his or her program and removes many of the irrelevant middlemen, they are amazed at how much their costs or reduced while their benefits remain the same or even increase. Then you are in control because if you don’t own it, you can’t fix it!
We at ECCHIC have done this! We’ve shown employers how to own their own plan, have equity in it, and we’re showing more how to do that every day. It’s a method, not a policy, and you can learn from our method as well. It’s not for everybody, but those we are able to help, appreciate it very much.
