Healthcare as a commodity. It’s not a new idea. And in this WSJ editorial, it gets a new spin and central advocacy in the form of company CEOs. Instead of just maintaining wallflower status, the editorial’s authors call for retail CEOs to become more aggressive in promoting employee  wellness opportunities. Building upon the retail minute clinic model, the goals of these companies’ employer sponsored coverage should include forming partnerships with other major entities — namely established healthcare organizations and health plans.

Shunning the standalone corporate model of wellness programs, companies should seek alliance with integrated healthcare delivery systems and their resources so that they are able to pay for their employee mandated coverage, the authors state. Promoting staffing at the experience of mid-levels for the most commonly treated minor medical problems will forego utilization of physician services for more complex problems — something that avoids overreliance on expansive fee for service reimbursement patterns.

This lemonade-from-lemon model of creative corporate wellness promotion is an interesting one, albeit a strategy in need of incentivization to increase corporate participation. | LINK

Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:

1. In a Reversal of Campaign Talking Points, Obama Could Propose Taxing Employee Healthcare Benefits Are pretax healthcare benefits for employees a thing of the...
2. Wal-Mart Appears to Be Embracing Employer-Mandated Health Coverage for Employees Today has started off with a double take at the...
3. Congressman Calls off Investigation Session and Challenge over Corporate Healthcare Benefits Costs Due to Reform A little known provision in the George W. Bush admin...
4. Boeing Just Latest Employer to Signal Burden of Cost of Coverage for Employees You can bet that a GOP takeover in the House...
5. Recent Push for Corporate Exemptions from Reform Law Mandates Portends Further Challenges for Obama If healthcare reform teaches us anything about the democratic process...