In today’s business climate, most employers are focused on lowering their healthcare costs. Historically, the cost trend for healthcare has continued to rise with no reprieve in sight. This means that employers are searching for ways to lower their costs while not upsetting their most valuable asset – their people. And trying to modify health plans in the midst of ensuring they are in compliance with the new rules established by the healthcare reform laws is a challenge.

The two most common strategies used by employers to lower their healthcare costs are shifting more of the cost to their employees/dependents and minimizing the use of their health plan through wellness initiatives. And while putting programs in place to incentivize employees to be healthier (consequently lowering healthcare costs and increasing productivity) and giving them tools to seek the lowest cost provider are noble things to do, they only have limited utility in truly lowering cost. In the end, these are all just attempts to use an expensive healthcare delivery system less or spot the least expensive provider in the system. But in these approaches, employees and their dependents are still using the same expensive, fee-for-service based healthcare delivery system. The same system that includes the cost for 5 support/administrative personnel for every doctor in America; the same system that requires the patient to endure all kinds of costs, hassles, and inconveniences.

So, what history has shown is that in spite of all the efforts that benefits consultants and employers go through to lower their healthcare spending and break the trend, it isn’t working. Kaiser reports that over the last five years, both employers and employees have endured double digit increases.

The reason is simple. Employers and benefits consultants cannot change the inherent cost and inefficiencies found in the healthcare delivery system made available to them by their insurance companies.

It is time to Think Differently About Healthcare. If employers combine proven wellness initiatives with access to a lower-cost, higher-quality healthcare delivery system, they now have a winning combination. That’s what we’re already doing with hundreds of employers at WhiteGlove Health. Employers that are working with WhiteGlove give their employees and dependents access to acute care, chronic care, and wellness 365 days a year. The experience is extraordinary, the clinical outcomes are better, and it’s a fraction of the cost. High-quality healthcare that comes to people, not the other way around.

Bob Fabbio
CEO – WhiteGlove Health

What is the true cost of routine medical care?

When any of us visit the doctor, we tend to think of the cost of that visit in concrete terms – how much money did I pay the receptionist? If we are lucky, it was the cost of a co-pay. If we don’t have insurance, it was a lot more.

But we almost never stop to consider all the other factors involved in going to the doctor for a routine medical visit. There are the costs of getting there – gas, parking, tolls, maybe a babysitter, time off work. And the cost of treatment – prescriptions, lab tests, special food and beverages that make us feel better, and even over-the-counter remedies that doctors often advise taking in addition to prescriptions.

As a WhiteGlove member, we cap your out-of-pocket expenses.

Your medical visit, most generic Rx medications, and all the incidentals are included in our visit fee. (Note: Labs and brand Rx medications are run through your health plan, if needed.) We also carry a full assortment of over-the-counter medications. And best of all, we come to you. You can stay home with the kids, so there are no babysitter fees, or you can stay at work, so you don’t need to take time off. And, to top it off, we’ll even leave you our Get-Well kit that containes food and beverages, so you don’t have to make a special trip to the grocery store

The cost for this routine healthcare visit? $35 or your applicable co-pay, co-insurance, or deductible.

If you are in Texas you may already have access to WhiteGlove via Humana, Aetna or UnitedHealthcare.  WhiteGlove House Call Health is proud to offer its members unlimited visits across ALL of our service areas for a single, flat visit fee each time we come to see you. You do not need health insurance to use the WhiteGlove service or become a member. We’ll come to you 365 days a year, 8 am – 8 pm.

Michael Cohen
VP of Marketing – WhiteGlove House Call Health

QUESTION and ANSWERS: Do you have other tips or ideas? Please share a comment with us. If you have further questions please send them directly to questions@whiteglove.com and we will get to them as quickly as possible.

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Each year, employers meet with their benefits broker or consultant to go through a review of their healthcare costs, their trend, the benefits, deductibles, etc. And for most employers, the cost of healthcare and health insurance continues to escalate. In fact, a recent Kaiser study indicates that over the last five years employees and employers have experienced double digit increases!

The most common strategies considered to lower healthcare costs and the cost trend are: 1) shift cost to the employees, and 2) lower utilization of the health plan through wellness. The most often deployed strategy is shifting cost to the employee. And others tell us, this is going over like a lead balloon with employees and dependents.

The truth is – we pay brokers and benefits consultants a lot of money each year to help us experience double digit cost increases and upset our employees. Why do we do this?

Well, it’s not their fault. Essentially all the effort done in the annual review process is by and large ineffective. And how could it be any other way? The brokers can’t change the cost and inefficiencies of the underlying healthcare system available from the insurance companies. And so, it can’t work.

This is where WhiteGlove comes in. We offer an innovative alternative that sits alongside the healthcare network offered by the insurance companies that is capable of delivering 50-70% of the medical services and Rx meds to employees and dependents at a fraction of the current cost and with a much higher quality experience. We give employers an opportunity to finally break their cost trend while improving the healthcare experience and improving employee productivity.

So, if your benefits broker or consultant hasn’t talked to you about WhiteGlove, they should. And it doesn’t have to be at the annual renewal time – why wait to start saving money! Especially if you are on a self-insured health plan.

Help us, help you. Ask your benefits broker or consultant to invite us in and show you how we can help you.

Bob Fabbio
CEO – WhiteGlove House Call Health

Please share a comment with us. If you have further questions please send them directly to questions@whiteglove.com and we will get to them as quickly as possible.

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