Health care needs to be a business priority
COVID-19 has accelerated the need for a better health care system for all Americans. The pandemic has not only widened the shameful health care disparities for minorities and underrepresented communities in our country, it has also exposed howthe system fails themajority of the near 157 million of employed individuals who get health care through their employer.
Like it or not, employers are part of the health care industry. Companies are responsible for the health and safety of their workforce in new and unprecedented ways. Instead of viewing this as a burden, however, leaders should consider this moment an opportunity to build a strongerworkplace culture and a more productiveworkforce.
Consider a patient I cared for earlier this year, in the midst of the strictest lockdown in the city. A young person with a pulmonary condition, my patientwas at high risk of serious illness if they caught COVID-19. While they continued towork from home, they felt trapped in their apartment. Both physically and mentally isolated from the rest of theworld, they suffered from sleepless nights and even panic attacksworrying about whatwould happen if they caught COVID-19.
My patientwas fortunate enough to have employer-sponsored benefits that surrounded them with support: video visits with their physician, continuous text-based communication, teletherapy, remote specialist consults and, critically, no copays for any of it. This networkwas not designed anticipating a pandemic; it was created to support employees no matter the circumstances. And while it may seem costly, these benefits cost significantly less than the average cost of employee turnover, or even the average cost of hospitalization for a patientwith COVID-19, which can range from $51,000 to $78,000.
We need a more affordable, accessible and adaptable health care system that’s responsive to people’s needs. As leaders in Washington, D.C., arewaging another battle over the Affordable Care Act, any government-led changeswill take time to make an impact.
Businesses, on the other hand, can demonstrate leadership right nowby taking ownership over the health of their employees.
Anticipating employee needs
For too long, health care coverage has been considered an employee benefit in most industries, not a necessity forworkers to remain productive. Across the board, COVID-19 has shown the flaws in that perspective. When an employee is diagnosed withCOVID-19, this causes ripple effects through an organization far beyond one person. There is lost productivity due toworkplace contacts having to quarantine, additional expenses due to mandated paid sick leave, and sometimes even reduced consumer confidence in that business, long term.
It’s clear that employees need a solution today to manage COVID-19, but what about the next few years? We are still grappling to understand the long-term impact of COVID-19 on so-called longhaulers. There is also a looming mental health and substance use crisis.
Businesseswill see a real return on investment and improvement inworkplace culture if they offer benefits to meet employee needs. Access to telehealth is nowtable stakes for any health care plan; additional services like comprehensive mental health, physical therapy, chronic disease management and specialized women’s health will become more than job perks. They will define a company’s culture, where employees should be encouraged to be open about their health and seek help when they need it.
Influence on the national stage
As amaster’s student researching health care policy, I sawfirsthand how businesses can influence the agenda on health care. For example, in 2013 when the Vermont business community vocally opposed single-payer health care in their state, it had a real impact and the plan ultimately failed.
Many of the debates on health policy at the state and federal level are sadly the same today as theywere in 2013. The Affordable Care Actwas recently before the Supreme Court for the third time, and it seems poised to survive this challenge aswell. However, businesses’ needs have changed dramatically over the last decade. Businesses have spoken up in the past for health care policies that impact their bottom line. Now, there’s another opportunity to support a national policy that makes health care more affordable and improves access for employees.
President-elect Biden has proposed a plan to reform the ACA and extend eligibility forMarketplace-based plans to those currently on employer-sponsored insurance. While thiswould make health care more affordable for millions of employed Americans, these plansmay have narrower and more restrictive networks.
As the government develops new policies, businesses can play a decisive role in ensuring affordable coverage forworkers by advocating that any ACA reform bill include these three mandates:
■ Lower insurance premiums and copays for their low-wage and medium-wage workers, not just those at the top.
■ Limit the prevalence of high-deductible plans, which may reduce health care costs in the short term by passing costs on to employees, but lead to decreased utilization of high-value, preventive care in the long run.
■ Increase access to doctors by partnering directly with health systems or endorsing a public option.
Arising pandemic priority
Businesses have already shown great leadership in health care during this pandemic, from local mom-and-pop stores rapidly adapting to safer business models, to national chains likeWalmart and Target enforcingmask mandates in their stores.
In manyways, COVID-19 is coursecorrecting howthe employer community values the health needs ofworkers. Businesses are beginning to see howinvesting in keeping everyone healthy serves the greater good. Former President Obama may have said it best when speaking about the ACA during a recent interview. As he explained to OprahWinfrey, “No matter howgood your health insurance is, if everybody around you is getting sick, then you’re at risk aswell.” These arewords to take to heart asworkplaces and individual civilians continue to become more aware of the importance of health care.