Summer Health Care Reading for HR, Members, and Benefits Brokers

Everything this year has a more casual feel to it, as people are working from home, wearing comfortable clothes, and looking at schedules (usually reserved for recreation) that are now wide open. Now it’s summer, which means there’s even more time for sitting outside and relaxing with a book. Of course, due to the current circumstances—masks, closings, reduced travel, insurance changes—our health is top of mind.

Let’s look at some recent popular reading choices that are great for benefits brokers, employers, HR professionals, and participants looking to gain a deeper understanding of the health care system today, and what’s coming in the future.

“The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It”

by Marty Makary

Dr. Marty Makary is a surgeon and professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University. He has written extensively for the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and medical journals—over 250 articles. He was named one of America’s 20 most influential people in health care by Health Leaders magazine.

“The Price We Pay” talks about the distrust Americans have surrounding health care. Makary outlines the high costs associated with the industry and he recommends more benchmarking and measurement for improving procedures and reducing overtreatment.

He also offers specific solutions for patients and employers. For personal care, he discusses how to find the most affordable care for both treatment and prescriptions. He also encourages patients to compare prices between different providers, and he suggests sites and companies that specialize in those areas. Additionally, he discusses hospital forms, which are sometimes presented as mandatory, but in actuality, have the option of being modified to a patient’s specific needs.

For employers, Makary encourages them to make certain they completely understand the insurance offerings for their employees. He stresses how transparency between employers, brokers, and employees is important for the overall care and cost savings.

“The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone”

by Vivian Lee

Vivian Lee is a health care administrator, scientist, and physician. She is president of Verily Health Platforms, which was formerly named Google Life Sciences, and a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School. She’s also a former CEO of University of Utah Health. Altogether, she has 20 years of experience in the health care field.

Lee identifies the main health care issue as a problem in procedure, as everything costs a fee, whether or not it improves health. She suggests that if the medical and pharmaceutical industries were rewarded for keeping people well, the costs would be reduced.

She outlines specific examples on how to do this, including making preventive care a priority, designing hospitals to be safer, asking for cost transparency from health care organizations, and evaluating individual physician performance. Although she stresses it will take an overhaul of the current system, she visualizes and presents an optimistic future for health care.

“Which Country Has the World’s Best Health Care?”

by Ezekiel J Emanuel

Ezekiel J. Emanuel is an oncologist and author of many books, including “Reinventing American Health Care.” He’s the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Emanuel analyzes data from Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He evaluates their health care based on eight topics: history, range of services, financing, out-of-pocket costs, delivery of services, human resources, prescription regulation, and challenges.

He devotes a chapter to each country and summarizes his research in tables. The conclusion? While some are better than others, everyone has room for improvement. Since this was published in June 2020, he spends time addressing the challenges presented by COVID-19, making this a very timely read.

Reading Reimbursements

Though books that cover general health care topics aren’t eligible, some health benefits plans do cover books about specific medical issues. For instance, even though physicians are great resources, many patients want more details they can easily access and reference, like further information on a diagnosis or a medical condition.

As a result, if a patient’s plan allows it, physicians can write a Letter of Medical Necessity to give permission for reimbursement of the book through a health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA). You can find more information on that topic here.

None of us predicted the events of 2020, and it’s always difficult to envision the future. People are making their health a priority, and learning about and managing health care has moved to the forefront. Let’s sit back, grab a book, and ease into something closer to normal.

For more information on health care and benefits topics, please see our eBooks and reports here.

Carla Wardin lives in St Johns, Michigan, where she focuses her writing on the health and technology industries.