Whats Humana doing to appease employers?
We have hundreds of plan variations, and they all have different degrees of cost-sharing and benefit plans baked into them. We’re headed toward an environment where the individual consumer, not the employer, is going to be paying for the costs of their decisions. You’ll see people make their choices within the system and then pay different amounts out-of-pocket based on their choices. For instance, if there are two drugs that are essentially the same, made by two different companies but priced differently, the consumer may choose to pay for the less expensive or the more expensive drug. In terms of our relationship with employers, we’re looking at benefit designs to find a way to keep premiums from increasing any faster than they already are. The consultants are looking for answers, and we’re building new products. Q: Humana is one of the earliest companies to launch a day-to-day services plan on the Web. Will that Net presence give you an edge over competitors? A: E-enabling this busi
