PETALUMA, Calif., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Among leading business consultants and next-generation benefits advisors, the expertise of Keith McNeil, Senior Partner at Arrow Benefits Group, is featured in the new book NextGeneration Healthcare: Proven Secrets of Managing the Healthcare Value Chain to Improve Outcomes and Reduce Costs. Due to the exploding costs of healthcare in the US, many experts are turning to innovative, out-of-the-box solutions to make healthcare more affordable for employees and sustainable for employers providing benefits. These "NextGen Advisors" also aim to debunk the myth that CEOs and CFOs have no control over steadily rising health care costs. This book outlines strategies and concepts that take the reader beyond the relative groupthink that believes the current status of the health insurance industry is the best that can be done, beyond perhaps a few tweaks around the edges. Readers should be aware that there are proven strategies that offer the right employer relief from the predictable rate increase that they see each year at renewal time from their health insurance plan. For information on Self-funding and Keith's innovative work please visit http://self-insurance.expert or call 707-992- 3782.
McNeil is an expert in self-funding, a niche area of benefits advising designed to help employers manage what is often one of the highest line-item expenses in company budgets. In his featured chapter of the book, Miracles Happen But They Don't Come Cheap: The Pros and Cons of Self-Funding Prescription Drug Coverage, McNeil introduces the concept of self-funding, for the first time to many decision makers, and breaks down the complexity of the strategy into easy-to-understand concepts. McNeil explains, "Healthcare is over a $3 trillion-dollar industry, and for most employers is their second-largest expense after payroll. It is increasingly a subject of extreme national debate. This book illustrates that there are market solutions and concepts that are in between maintaining the status quo on one side of the debate and government takeover on the other side of the debate. The intention of the book is to point the way toward a world in health insurance that utilizes the advantages of self-funding to take advantage of the concepts and vendors that can both help an employer lower its costs and improve its benefits. I wrote my chapter on the self-funding of prescription drug coverage to be part of that discussion."
As costly as employee benefits may be, they are integral in employee attraction and retention, and any company's success depends on a healthy and well-functioning workforce. As healthcare costs have risen, the tendency has been for employers to shift the costs to employees. This creates the unintended consequence of decreased employee engagement and underutilization of their health benefits. Because most benefits plans are fully insured, the health insurance company makes all the rules. This includes setting the plan parameters, determining which providers are in network, fee schedules, and critically, the plan's formulary of approved drugs, which are the fastest-growing cost in health plans. "Thus, if you really want to attack the cost of healthcare for your employees, wouldn't it make sense to start with the component that is causing the biggest problem? ...Experts are predicting that prescription drugs will take a frightening percentage of overall healthcare claims costs in just a few years. Since fully-insured plans control these questions for the members with little or no flexibility… the only alternative is for the plan to be self-funded, including the drug plan," McNeil wrote in NextGeneration Healthcare. Self-funded health plans are the newest cutting-edge option to lower costs while improving the lives of the sickest plan members at the same time. McNeil aims to evangelize the need for employers to become engaged in optimizing their health plans using innovative programs, both in this book and in Arrow Benefits Group's new division, Self-Insurance Expert (SIE). McNeil says, "SIE is a unique opportunity to bring solutions to employers while enhancing the health and lives of employees."
For more information on SIE's services and resources, visit http://self-insurance.expert or call
707-992-3782.
About Arrow Benefits Group and Keith McNeil
Keith McNeil, Senior Partner, has lectured on self-funding in California and Hawaii. He is a Charter Certified Professional of the Health Rosetta Institute, which is a nationwide movement to improve healthcare plans and outcomes, spearheaded by noted Forbes author and lecturer, Dave Chase.
Arrow Benefits Group, the third largest benefits firm in the North Bay, is a proud member of TRUE Network Advisors. Arrow Benefits Group is the single-source solution for managing the complexities of benefits with expert advice, customized programs, and personalized solutions. Arrow's innovative programs control costs and give employees a greater sense of financial and emotional security. For straight answers to employee benefits call 707-992-3780 or visit http://www.arrowbenefitsgroup.com
SOURCE Self Insurance Expert
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