After hearing some of my co-workers speculate about the soon to be
released new BSU health insurance premiums, I decided to offer a not
so new idea.-á Seems the campus Update paper is running a series aimed
at softening the blow of this year's increase and trying to sway
employees in the direction of the PPO plan.-á The article in the Update
conjured up a few memories from years ago when I worked for a local
Electrical Contractor.
Although the company was small, it, like BSU, was self insured.
However, there were-á major differences between the health care plans
of the two.-á The Contractor provided the insurance to its' employees
free of charge.-á As I recall, when they made the change from an
insurance provider to being self insured, they budgeted the amount
paid out in premiums in recent previous years to the provider.-á They
maintained a provider for large claims only (something like five or
ten-thousand dollars and over per claim) but paid all smaller claims
out of their own budget.-á Here's the twist.-á They split any savings
realized between what was budgeted and what was spent with the
employees.-á
This encouraged the employees to lead healthier lives and
go to the doctor only when really necessary.-á No, nobody neglected
their own health or the health of their dependents and died, but what
did happen was a huge savings to the company and checks of several
hundred dollars paid out to each employee at the end of the fiscal
year.-á The best part was there was no restriction on who you could
seek care from, no payment for only "reasonable and customary charges"
and never any increase in premiums paid by the employees.
I think a similar reward system could work for BSU.-á Not only for
health insurance, but also for unused vacation and especially sick
leave.-á Want people to consistently show up for work?-á Buy back their
sick leave BEFORE they retire but after they have accumulated 60 or 90
days leave instead of trying find ways to penalize them.-á I think the
University Community would suddenly become healthier if these types of
policies were adopted.
Thank you,
Brent Baumer
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