Health industry says consumers are key

The health industry is changing, with consumers getting more involved and employers backing out.

By Julie A. Jacob, amednews staff. June 10, 2002.

Get ready for more consumer input into health care decision-making and less employer involvement in health care, said Alan Hoops, co-founder and former CEO and president of PacifiCare Health Systems.

The health care industry is going through its greatest changes since the introduction of HMOs in the 1970s, Hoops said in a speech to the Illinois Assn. of Health Plans during its May conference in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont.

One of the biggest forces of change are employers, who "want out of the health care business," said Hoops, who was president of PacifiCare from 1993 until he retired in 2000. "From their viewpoint, health care is unmanageable. Employers want to create some arm's length in terms of providing health care benefits for employees."

Companies are already passing along a greater share of costs to employees. If legislation is passed expanding medical savings accounts or paring back ERISA protection of self-insured plans, employers will seek even more distance from employee health care benefits, Hoops predicted.

Other factors fueling changes in the way health care is paid for are technology and a consumer movement in health care, he said. While patients "want it all" in terms of health care benefits, they will be willing to trade off some benefits in exchange for lower premiums if they are responsible for a greater share of the premium costs, he said. [...]

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