Monday, June 15, 2009
How Safeway Is Cutting Health-Care Costs - WSJ.com
So, do you think any of our politicians have read this?
Well, personally, I doubt it.
I believe that most politicians only see what a select group of staff, associates, and lobbyists present to them. It's a restricted diet, in that they never see ALL of the information on a subject.
The government should slow it's need to pass laws on every little thing, and concentrate on the big stuff that has long term consequences for us all...
Well, personally, I doubt it.
I believe that most politicians only see what a select group of staff, associates, and lobbyists present to them. It's a restricted diet, in that they never see ALL of the information on a subject.
The government should slow it's need to pass laws on every little thing, and concentrate on the big stuff that has long term consequences for us all...
This article, by Steven A. Burd discusses the success of Safeway, Inc.:
"At Safeway we believe that well-designed health-care reform, utilizing market-based solutions, can ultimately reduce our nation's health-care bill by 40%. The key to achieving these savings is health-care plans that reward healthy behavior. As a self-insured employer, Safeway designed just such a plan in 2005 and has made continuous improvements each year. The results have been remarkable. During this four-year period, we have kept our per capita health-care costs flat (that includes both the employee and the employer portion), while most American companies' costs have increased 38% over the same four years.
Safeway's plan capitalizes on two key insights gained in 2005. The first is that 70% of all health-care costs are the direct result of behavior. The second insight, which is well understood by the providers of health care, is that 74% of all costs are confined to four chronic conditions (cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity). Furthermore, 80% of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is preventable, 60% of cancers are preventable, and more than 90% of obesity is preventable."
