HealthCare Consumerism Radio Announces Launch of IHC University Free Webinar Series

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John Linss, Chairman-Founder & Gordon Church, CEO of MedServ Global

Not only are employers and employees feeling the pinch of rising health care costs, but health care providers also are struggling.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 18, 2012

During the June 8, 2012 Atlanta Business RadioX™ program, The IHC welcomed MedServ Global’s John Linss and Gordon Church and gBehavior’s Don Doster to the studio, where the trio discussed nontraditional strategies employers can use to curb escalating health care costs and improve the overall health and well-being of their employee population.

The trio will be the featured faculty when IHC University conducts its inaugural webinar titled “Reducing Costs for Employers and Employees While Improving Patient Experience,” on June 19. An encore presentation of the 50-minute webinar will be conducted on Thursday June 21 at 2 p.m.

“Costs are not coming down,” said Linss, the founder and chairman of MedServ Global, which provides affordable access to surgical procedures and other treatments in a high-quality network of domestic and international health care providers. “Companies have to innovate their benefit mix through the use of innovative provider access, concierge programs and proper incentives.”

The United States spends $3.2 trillion annually on health care. It also costs a family of four $20,000 under a group or employer health plan. That is up from $9,235 just 10 years ago and the trend is expected to continue according to health care consulting firm Milliman Inc.

Not only are employers and employees feeling the pinch of rising health care costs, but health care providers also are struggling. Their numbers also are dwindling, meaning surgeons and specialists are spending less time with patients. The lack of medical professionals is taking the personal out of personal health care treatment.

This is encouraging employers to explore the concept of medical travel. This allows an employee to travel either across the street or across the world for a certain medical procedure and be able to use a patient advocate, who takes care of the travel arrangements, scheduling, accommodations, follow-up appointment and much more in taking care of the patient and their families.

The use of medical travel is starting to grow. According to Linss, 27 percent of all employees who have to have a medical procedure, will be traveling to one of many Medical Centers of Excellence around the world. Many of these facilities are American owned and operated by board certified physicians.

Self-funded companies are starting to see the savings in medical travel, where they can save anywhere from 40 to 80 percent on critical care treatment, which is usually a high-dollar procedure.

However the employee population may be hesitant to travel, which could produce unneeded stress in an already stressful time.

To cope with this anxiety, a forward-thinking company, such as PepsiCo Inc., and Lowe’s Cos, is embracing the idea of medical travel and bundling the strategy with incentives such as discount on travel and gift cards for family members.

“It is always important to not limit your incentives,” said Don Doster, president of gBehavior, a company offering complete reward solutions that incentivize program participants for healthy behavioral changes. “Take advantage of the power of choice when choosing an incentive platform.”

Those who sign up for the webinar (http://www.theihcc.com/UniversityEvent) become automatically members of The Institute for HealthCare Consumerism, the only 24/7/365 multi-platform collaborative environment focused exclusively on innovative health and benefit management where members can LEARN, CONNECT and SHARE best and better practices and the latest trends about health care consumerism.

To hear the podcast of HealthCare Consumerism Radio's interview with Linss, Church and Doster, please visit HealthCare Consumerism Radio.

About The Institute for HealthCare Consumerism:
The Institute for HealthCare Consumerism is the only multi-platform, collaborative community focused exclusively on innovative health and benefit management. It’s a place for employers (including human resources and benefits managers, wellness executives, C-suite executives, financial management decision makers, executives), TPAs, solution providers, brokers, advisors, consultants, and administrators of regional health plan providers to LEARN, CONNECT and SHARE through The Institute’s publication, CDHC Solutions Magazine, its live conference series FORUM East and FORUM West, and its online networking community at http://www.theihcc.com. As a catalyst for the growth of the health care consumerism movement, The Institute deepens the conversation and collaboration between its invested stakeholders. For more information and to become a free member of The Institute for HealthCare Consumerism please visit http://www.theihcc.com.

About HealthCare Consumerism Radio:
The goal of the radio show is to help listeners LEARN about the latest trends and best practices in health care consumerism and CONNECT them with health care industry thought leaders, brokers, advisors, third party administrators, HR and benefit managers and regional health plan providers. Listeners can also SHARE by contacting the hosts of the show and suggesting archives to industry associates. For partnership opportunities contact Managing Director, Brent Macy at bmacy(at)fieldmedia(dot)com. To be a guest on the show or to share a show idea contact Editorial Director Todd Callahan at tcallahan(at)fieldmedia(dot)com.

About Atlanta Business RadioX™:
Atlanta Business RadioX™ provides a turnkey solution for business owners who want to leverage the power of internet radio to meet their best prospects, establish credibility for their organization and heighten the placement of their brand in search engines rankings. With a professional venue and a proven formula, Atlanta Business RadioX™ helps hosts podcast their shows and create a regular stream of dynamic content to share with their prospects and feed the search engines every week. Programs are recorded and streamed live to the internet from our corporate offices in suburban Atlanta. For more information or to see a live show, visit: http://www.BusinessRadioX.com.

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