03/09/2007   Letter from Jonathan Hensley

With the state legislature in session and national campaigns heating up, a number of health care reform proposals are on the table. Many of them include provisions for universal access to health care. While this is certainly important, universal access won’t address the fact that health insurance is simply unaffordable for a lot of people.

We are often asked why health insurance costs so much, and I’m sure you are, too. It’s easy to focus on the symptoms and not look at the root causes. In fact, rates reflect actual health care costs: Eighty-six cents of each rate dollar cover medical services, according to a report on national health care costs conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. If those costs go up, so do the rates that your clients pay.

Why do costs go up? Let’s look at the bigger picture: an aging population, higher use, more technology, and the lack of transparency are some of the answers.

Consumers are using more services, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, driving 43% of the increase in medical spending in just one year. Provider reimbursement hikes accounted for another 30% of price increases (beyond the inflation rate), and 10% of the increase stemmed from doctors practicing defensive medicine to avoid being sued.

Asuris works hard to rein in the costs we can control; for example, our operating costs account for less than 10 cents of each health care dollar. From all levels of management to every employee in our organization, we are mindful that our members are counting on us to be good stewards of their dollars. We are focused on doing the job right the first time in order to avoid the cost of rework, improve speed and accuracy, and responsibly use company resources.

I think we need some closing paragraph here. Something like:

So, the next time a client asks why health insurance costs so much, I hope you take a few minutes to explain all the factors at work and point out how Asuris is doing all it can to slow those increasing costs.

Thank you for your continued support. As always, please contact us with questions or comments about this newsletter or other topics.

Life is good!
Jonathan Hensley
Vice President of Sales

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