What strategies should health-care managers use to support health plans for employees? Provide examples. (2 references)

 

What strategies should health-care managers use to support health plans for employees? Provide examples.

Health-care managers play a crucial role in supporting health plans for employees by ensuring that the healthcare benefits provided are comprehensive, accessible, and affordable. Here are some strategies that health-care managers can use to support health plans for employees:

  1. Conduct an employee survey: Health-care managers should conduct a survey to understand the health needs of their employees. The survey should cover topics such as health status, lifestyle habits, and healthcare preferences. Based on the survey results, managers can tailor the health plan to meet the specific needs of their employees.
  2. Provide health education: Health-care managers can offer health education programs to employees. These programs can include topics such as nutrition, exercise, stress management, and disease prevention. By educating employees about healthy habits, managers can help reduce healthcare costs and improve overall health outcomes.
  3. Offer wellness programs: Health-care managers can offer wellness programs that promote healthy habits such as regular exercise, smoking cessation, and weight loss. These programs can include fitness classes, gym memberships, and wellness coaching.
  4. Provide incentives: Health-care managers can offer incentives to encourage employees to participate in wellness programs and adopt healthy habits. Incentives can include discounts on healthcare premiums, cash rewards, or extra vacation days.
  5. Offer telemedicine services: Health-care managers can provide telemedicine services that allow employees to consult with healthcare providers remotely. This service can be particularly useful for employees who live in remote areas or have difficulty accessing healthcare services.

Examples of health plans that health-care managers can offer to employees include:

  • Comprehensive health insurance plans that cover medical, dental, and vision care
  • Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs) that allow employees to save pre-tax dollars to pay for healthcare expenses
  • Employee assistance programs (EAPs) that provide counseling and support for mental health issues
  • On-site clinics that provide primary care services to employees
  • Disease management programs that provide specialized care for chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.

Overall, by offering comprehensive health plans and wellness programs, health-care managers can help their employees stay healthy, reduce healthcare costs, and improve overall productivity.

 

The total cost of health-care for employees is expensive; thus, there is a need for managers to introduce efficiency in health-care plans for their employees (Strategies for Managing Health-Care Costs. 2020). For instance, the manager may appoint a case manager to ensure that the employees receive the right preventive care measures. Additionally, the manager should also include the following services  in a health care plan;

First, a wellness program gives the employees incentives like discounted health insurance premiums to enhance their wellbeing, seek screening for early diagnosis, and adhere to treatment plans. Secondly, disease management is for patients with existing medical complications to help them manage the issues effectively, thus reducing the costs of health insurance. Failure to manage an existing medical issue may result in the employee going to an ER where they would spend more than the employee who manages the condition and stays healthy.Thirdly is case management, for employees who go through major clinical episodes like cancer, stroke, and acute, chronic illness, resulting in extended hospital stays and sophisticated treatment procedures that result in high medication costs. The case manager would plan, control, check, and evaluate the services received by the employee and ensure they receive high-quality care at an affordable cost (Davis, 2018).

 

 

 

 

References

Davis, A. (2018). Medical management: Strategies to manage health insurance cost. Retrieved 11 August 2020, from https://www.psafinancial.com/2018/06/medical-management-strategies-manage-health-insurance-cost/

Strategies for Managing Health-Care Costs. (2020). Retrieved 11 August 2020, from https://www.gfoa.org/materials/strategies-for-managing-health-care-costs