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Keywords: Disease Prevention, Health Insurance, Health Savings Accounts, Universal Coverage, Health Care, New Middle Aged Group

© Copyright Arthur Levine 2007

Words: 843

There is now a substantial portion of the population in the United States, which is unhappy with their health insurance coverage or lack thereof. There are approximately 46 million uninsured in the US.

Members of the New Middle Aged Group are particularly interested in their health insurance options because many of them lose health care benefits upon retirement. Medicare, which is available at age 65, does not cover everything, and individual or family health care insurance policies are very expensive and for the most part payable with pre tax dollars.

Health care costs in the US keep rising, and in most years health insurance premiums do too often at double-digit rates. .

Disease Prevention expenses as a portion of Gross Domestic Product (GDC) accounts for some 16% of the budget with only 4% spent on Disease Prevention while 50% of Diseases are preventable.

According to the Congressional Budget Office by the year 2020 health care spending which, is already more than $2 trillion dollars (16% of GDP), could easily exceed 25% of GDP.

Americans 65 and older represent about an eighth of the population and one third of health care spending. By 2030 older Americans could account for nearly half of health care spending according to a study by the Centers for Medicare Services.

Government statistics indicate that health care spending by Americans between 1970 and 2005 has increased on average 9.8% per year for private health insurance and 8.9% for Medicare beneficiaries according to the New York Times.

The Republicans by and large favor a private insurance plan called Health Savings Accounts (HSA) to solve the Health Care problem. An overview of this program is that it allows businesses or individuals to contribute a certain amount of money tax free to a HSA (Health Savings Account) and take catastrophe or major medical insurance for the balance. The good part is that it encourages individuals to become Disease Prevention conscious because most of their medical expenses are coming out of their HSA, from which the balance of funds can re rolled over like savings from year to year. In major companies where the program has been instituted savings have been substantial. The drawback is that it tends to draw in young healthy people, and does little to help the aging, sick or uncovered portion of the population.

The Democrats by and large favor some form of Universal Health Care funded by the federal government. The good part is that everyone would be covered. The drawback is that there is no inducement by individuals to practice Disease Prevention because the government is picking up the tab and this might result in a new massive federally funded program that over time cannot be adequately funded by the government as it grows in light of demands from our other entitlement problems such as, Medicare, Medicaid and Prescription Drug Insurance.

Today we find ourselves at the crossroads of escalating Health Care Costs and Health Care funding requirements that have brought us to the point of a collision.

The solution may lie in combining some form of both of these programs utilizing the platform of Health Savings Accounts, which would be federally funded to the extent needed to subsidize them so that everyone could be covered including those with pre existing conditions either through a series of federal corporate or individual tax credits, or with direct contributions in the individual’s name to fund the program, but it is not just about the cost of health care. It’s about finding a solution.

The solution to our health care needs may well lie in practicing Disease Prevention nationally.

The costs of funding this combined approach might be substantially less than under a straight Universal Health Care plan because people would have the incentive to practice Disease Prevention once they understand that it is their money that they are spending on their health care, which can be rolled over from year to year similar to an IRA, and because catastrophe insurance is generally less expensive then the current all inclusive small deductible type insurance program being offered.

To this end, a Disease Prevention Program should be made available to everyone that will help them maintain a better state of health, and enable them to minimize their health care expenses in keeping with good medical practice and the utilization of best care options.

We have to show people how to practice Disease Prevention at the same time that we seek to cover them with Health Insurance if we want to produce a program, which in the long run can be self-funding through medical cost savings.

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By: Arthur Levine

About the Author:

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Alison Beckwith, 919-459-8157, abeckwith@919marketing.com

 

KDI Health Solutions Rolls Out Nationally Recognized Preventive Health and Chronic Disease Management Programs Across the Carolinas

 

Raleigh, N.C. – KDI Health Solutions, an emerging regional provider of community-based preventive health care and chronic disease management programs, announced today the launch of its services throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.  KDI’s award winning network of PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy), residency-trained pharmacists provides a new health care services option to the thousands of employer groups and physician practices across the Carolinas. 

 

The KDI business model of deploying a team of highly skilled PharmD clinicians began with the “The Asheville Project”, a nationally recognized diabetes patient care program created for the city of Asheville, North Carolina. This revolutionary community-based program is generating measurable success; health care costs have dropped, fewer work days are being missed and city employees and retirees are living healthier lives.

 

Asheville City leaders confirm the dramatic results. “The adoption of the pharmaceutical care program is the best thing we have ever done for our group health plan,” says John Miall, former risk manager for the City of Asheville.  “Employees with life threatening diseases are healthier than they’ve ever been, and the city’s health plan has saved more than $2,000 in medical costs per patient each year.”

 

 “Employers are seeing a significant return on investment from our mobile, worksite-based health care services,” says Rebecca Chater, president of KDI Health Solutions. “Employer groups are proactively identifying and reducing immediate and longer term employee health care costs before they happen, while physician practices are providing more patient care in less time with better outcomes – it’s a true win-win for everyone in the health care ecosystem.”

 

The KDI employer program improves workplace productivity and reduces health care costs by providing a menu of worksite-based preventive and chronic disease management services: flu and pneumonia immunizations, health screenings and fairs, and private one-on-one counseling on medicine use and behavior modification. 

 

KDI provides employers with a powerful health risk assessment solution called Know Your Number® that predicts the risk of their employee population developing chronic, obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

 

Using the Know Your Number® technology, KDI provides each employee with a confidential, easy-to-read report that not only predicts the onset of chronic diseases, but also educates them on the steps they can take to lower their risk.  Employers receive an aggregate report that enables them to focus health and wellness programs on the disease states prevalent in their workforce population and therefore proactively reduce health care costs.

 

In addition to employer groups, KDI also has a strong track record of helping physician practices provide more patient care in less time with better outcomes.  The KDI network of community-based PharmD professionals has provided American Diabetes Association recognized diabetes treatment programs to hundreds of physician referred patients, handles overflows for patient immunizations (e.g. flu shots, pneumonia and shingles) and is a reliable source for drug therapy support.

 

Physician practices partnering with KDI are seeing measurable results. Patrick Guiteras, MD with Chapel Hill Family Practice credits the program with making his practice more cost effective and helping his patients stay on track. “KDI provides diabetes education for our Medicare population.  A more educated patient allows us to spend more time focused on care and treating the disease.”

 

KDI’s innovative approach to diabetes treatment and drug therapy management is receiving accolades from industry experts. The company has been named the 2008 North Carolina Diabetes Association Provider of the Year, and last year was selected as the Outcomes Pharmaceutical Healthcare National Medication Therapy Management Provider of the Year.

 

 

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About KDI Health Soltutions

Raleigh-based KDI Health Solutions is an emerging provider of preventive health and chronic disease management services to employer groups and physician practices.

 

KDI’s award winning workforce of PharmD, residency-trained pharmacists provides real community-based health care solutions to improve the health outcomes of employer and physician populations. KDI services include flu, shingles and pneumonia immunizations, health screenings and fairs, disease education programs and personalized counseling on medicine use and behavior modification. 



By: Alison Beckwith

About the Author:

After over three years of research, development, and market study, Intel announced the launch of the Intel Health Guide, an Intel-branded device for remotely monitoring and managing patients with chronic illness at home.

From Intel’s demo one can see that the device is a laptop computer no keyboard and a reversed touch-screen. Patients can connect and upload blood pressure monitors and other medical devices to communicate results with remote health care providers. In addition to vital sign data collection, the health monitoring software also provides patient reminders, surveys, educational content, and other communication tools.

Although Intel appears to be targeting at the same chronic disease management market, the Health Guide from Intel adds features and functions far beyond its predecessor Health Buddy from Health Hero Network, now a division of Robert Bosch. It will be interesting to see whether or the enhanced functionality such as video conferencing and multimedia content will be the key to market adoption.



The real barriers to adoption of remote monitoring and other chronic care strategies may be less about functionality than about institutional incentives and business models ingrained in our health care system. The health care market with Medicare in the lead still rewards health care providers far more for treating the complications of chronic illness than it does for proactive management and monitoring aimed at preventing them.

The incentive systems that determine the viability of new models of health care enabled by devices like the Intel Health Guide and the Bosch Health Buddy could be about to change, however. With favorable results from the Medicare chronic care improvement demonstration project currently underway from Health Hero Network in Washington and Oregon, Medicare coverage for health care providers to offer home health monitoring services may be around the corner.

Steve Brown is an entrepreneur and active board member in innovative software and Internet businesses. He is the founder and former CEO of Health Hero Network, a pioneer in ehealth and remote health monitoring, acquired by Bosch in 2007. Steve Brown blogs at http://brown2020.com.



By: Steve Brown

About the Author: