Consumers DOCTOR

Healthcare Consumerism

Employer Consumerism – General Healthcare

Healthcare Consumerism is about transforming a health benefit plan into one that puts economic purchasing power—and decision-making—in the hands of participants.  It’s about supplying the information and decision support tools they need, along with financial incentives, rewards, and other benefits that encourage personal involvement in altering health and healthcare purchasing behaviors.

Consumerism has two basic principles:

  1. Must work for the Sickest Members, as well as the healthy
  2. Must work for those not wanting to get involved in decision-making, as well as the “techies”

 Consumerism builds on basic mega-trends that are affecting many parts of society:

  1. Personal Responsibility
  2. Self-Help, Self-Care
  3. Individual Ownership
  4. Portability
  5. Transparency (the Right to Know)
  6. Consumerism (Empowerment)

Consumerism is transformational in that it changes the process of cost control in healthcare from the current managed care “supply control” system to a “demand control” system. 

The major theme for Healthcare Consumerism is the development of strategies to change behaviors.  Consumerism is NOT about high deductible plans, cost shifting, or even Health Savings Accounts.  Consumerism is about transforming a health plan from being a “benefit” to being an “accumulating asset.”  Consumerism is a new approach to health and healthcare that is a strategy NOT a plan design.

If Healthcare Consumerism is the core to creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health System, it must solve our most difficult issues.  That is, it must offer solutions to the expanding individual ownership of health insurance, addressing the number of uninisured, establishing Consumer-centric Medicaid, and Consumer-centric Medicare, as well as, addressing employer-based healthcare cost concerns.