Two interesting articles were posted by The John and Rusty Report.

Firstly, Plansponsor.com provided some interesting statistics from a new The Health Care Reform Survey 2013 by Willis Group Holdings representing “more than 1,200 employers of varying sizes, industry sectors and geographic regions.”

The highlights of that survey show that since “…many employers assume that health care reform will generally not affect their costs, only 20% of surveyed employers plan to adjust other rewards (i.e. retirement, dental, vision, salaries, vacation, bonuses) in order to offset the cost of health care reform compliance.”

Further, “Fifty-five percent of employers felt that competitors would shift costs to employees; however, only 34% of employers indicated that they might take this same action.”

Thus “(t)he survey suggests that employers continue to recognize the value of providing medical benefits, how important those benefits are to their employees, and that providing benefits allows them to attract and retain the employees they need…However, they are considering several potential options, even including the possibility of coverage through state exchanges.”

On the flip side, Kaiser Health News states that “consumers don’t view curbing costs as their job when choosing treatments…(even though) consumers have increasingly been encouraged by employers and insurers to help control rising health care costs by avoiding unnecessary tests, buying generic drugs and reducing visits to the emergency room,” etc.  At least for now, consumers are “unlikely to accept a less expensive treatment option, even if it was nearly as effective as a more expensive choice.”

According to their findings, this is due to 2 competing motivations.  For one, when patients are ill, they don’t want to think about the costs, they just want to feel better quickly.  However, a more disturbing finding is that some consumers have a more compelling reason to not search out cost effective methods: “an almost vengeful attitude toward insurance companies” in an effort to reclaim what is seemed to be owed for all the years paying into a system without taking out an equivalent amount in health care.

How well do these studies reflect your feelings?

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