I’ve Got Two Tickets to…Free Surgery?
Wait, that’s how the Eddie Money song goes right? Alright maybe I changed the lyrics a bit however with good reason. While no Surgery will ever be free what if those two tickets came in the form of a more affordable surgery for all? For example a knee replacement with better outcomes, a lower total cost for the Self-Funded employer and no deductible with a cash bonus for the employee? Some in our industry just might call that paradise.
A few months ago I had the pleasure of meeting a man that would forever change my outlook on Healthcare in the United States. The man is Tibi Zohar, co-founder and CEO of Doctor Globe, Inc. We were at a conference in Florida and I happened to awkwardly sit my plate of food and drink down beside Tibi at a standing table in the exhibit hall. I will never forget some of the first words out of his mouth as he spoke to 2 HR directors and I at his table. “If you grew up in a box, you don’t know that there is a box.” He was speaking of course in regards to how we view Healthcare in our country. Very quickly we engaged in a deep discussion surrounding our broken Healthcare system.
For Tibi, having grown up in Israel and then traveling to the US, his world view offers a unique perspective. We in the US have grown accustomed to our way of consuming Healthcare. We pay a lot of money, our employers pay a lot of money and at the end of the day we either suck it up or we avoid Healthcare altogether! In 2014, 28% of insured Americans avoided some aspect of medical care due to cost, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a private health care foundation. That is more than 1 in 4 adults!
I myself am guilty of this. I finally had a surgery performed last week after putting it off for 6 years! 6 years! Why was I ok with the on-going pain? The pain of out of pocket costs hurt more, that is why!
What if there was a better way? What if we could inspire employees to make great healthcare buying decisions, reward them financially and at the same time save employers a ton of money? Had I had access to the below service earlier, I could have lived 6 years pain free.
