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BUSINESS ADVISOR
Joan Dentler, MBA
Ready for the New Healthcare Consumer?
Cost concerns have turned patients into proactive customers.
T
he new consumers of outpatient surgery are coming of age as
healthcare reform dawns. As a result, their approach to healthcare purchasing differs from that of preceding generations. If
you want to secure this group as customers — not just patients —
you're going to need to make some changes. Here's an analysis of how
costs and pricing may be affected, and what you can do to keep up
with this shift.
Wholesale change
Health insurance costs have increased significantly, and consumers
are now covering a greater percentage of these costs. According to a
November 2011 Commonwealth Fund report, from 2003 to 2010, premiums for family coverage increased 50% across states, employees'
annual share of premiums increased by 63%, and per-person
deductibles rose 200% in small and large firms.
Meanwhile, more consumers are purchasing insurance directly and
not receiving it through employers. The Kaiser Family Foundation
reported in June 2010 that individual (non-group) health insurance
covered more than 14 million non-elderly people in America.
According to a February 2012 Economic Policy Institute report, the
proportion of non-elderly Americans with employer-sponsored health
insurance has declined for 10 years running.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J A N U A R Y 2013
