INNOVATION IN EMPLOYER HEALTH COVERAGE: THE CONSUMER DRIVEN HEALTH PLAN (CDHP) AT LOGAN ALUMINUM

Healthcare costs are soaring in the U.S. and in other developed nations. The model used in the U. S. is that the government provides healthcare insurance for the poor and for senior citizens, while employers traditionally provide healthcare coverage for employees. Employers and government have tried...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies 2006-07, Vol.12 (4), p.7
Main Author: Hatfield, Robert D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Aluminum industry
Case studies
Consumer-driven health plans
Cost control
Employee benefits
Employees
Employers
Health care expenditures
Health maintenance organizations
Health services
HMOs
Industrialized nations
Insurance coverage
Learning
Politics
PPOs
R&D
Research & development
Students
Teaching
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Summary:Healthcare costs are soaring in the U.S. and in other developed nations. The model used in the U. S. is that the government provides healthcare insurance for the poor and for senior citizens, while employers traditionally provide healthcare coverage for employees. Employers and government have tried approaches to containing the costs of healthcare insurance while still providing coverage. The government created the "health maintenance organizations" (HMOs) and the marketplace created "point-of-service" (POS) and "preferred provider organization" (PPO) plan designs. Managed care approaches were introduced into virtually all plans in an attempt to control runaway costs in recent years. Some feel that the a "free ride" approach causes consumers of healthcare to have no financial stake in the costs of health services which, in turn, makes such costs hard to control. Consumer driven health plans (CDHPs) have emerged as plans designed to get the consumer to take a normal consumer interest in the cost and quality of healthcare service. CDHPs must have two elements: some type of medical spending account and high deductible healthcare coverage insurance. Logan Aluminum manufacturing company provides a graphic illustration of the positive elements of a CDHP with lots of additional plan elements, such a wellness, financial incentives, and free health services. Since Logan has implemented the CDHP healthcare costs have not seen the huge increases seen in the U.S. The fact that Logan uses participative management and team approaches in other areas of its operation is seen as helping to get participation and teamwork on solving the healthcare cost problems. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1078-4950
1532-5822