No Easy Solutions in Health Care

By Scott Culver
Communications Specialist
WEA Trust

September 2002

United States Senator Russ Feingold calls the health care cost crisis the most difficult problem he has faced during his 10 years in office.

In some cases, such a statement would be called hyperbole, but the truth is the health care crisis is likely even more severe than Senator Feingold realizes. Total health care costs today are over 3,500% what they were 35 years ago (vs. general consumer-price increases of 530%).

At the WEA Trust, we have grappled with this crisis for many years. We continue to provide our members the freedom to choose their own doctors and benefit plans of the highest quality. We use our buying power to negotiate fair prices on services and try to ensure that we pay for only that care that is medically appropriate. Despite these efforts, we cannot solve this crisis alone. With your help, there are ways we can make a significant impact on health care costs. Here are a few examples:

• Help dealing with chronic conditions: We can help members who suffer from chronic conditions such as asthma, heart disease, and diabetes better manage their illnesses. That's because we know that many of these members are not receiving nationally accepted standards of care for their conditions. Our physicians and nurse advisors can work with these patients and their physicians to ensure they receive the most appropriate care to deal with their illnesses. In the long run, these efforts are proven to help prevent complications that can lead to high-cost medical treatment.
  
  
• Educating members: One impediment to receiving quality health care is that some members don't know the best way to access the health care system. The Trust offers a self-care book, health newsletter, phone-a-nurse service, and online support to help our members better understand the complexities involved with receiving quality medical care. We also back up this information with on-site training, when requested, to help members become more efficient users of the health care system.
  
  
• More cost-effective prescription drug plans: Mandatory generic substitution is a feature of all our prescription drug plans – a necessary move to help keep plans affordable. We have also developed a three-tier drug plan, which creates financial incentives for using the most appropriate drug rather than one the drug company advertises.
  

These measures help address inefficiencies in the system that drive up costs and can affect members’ health.

Posted August 23, 2002