When it comes to the financial impact of healthcare on employers, the focus is often on the direct costs of providing health benefits. However, another significant cost is not always immediately apparent – inaccessible care. This issue can have far-reaching implications for employers, affecting productivity and employee retention. Let’s explore the hidden cost of inaccessible care for employers and the underlying reasons behind this issue.
The Cost of Inaccessible Care
Absenteeism and Productivity
Inaccessible healthcare can lead to increased absenteeism and reduced productivity among employees. Employees who need help accessing timely medical services are likelier to miss work or perform below their potential. This can directly impact a company’s productivity and bottom line. For example, an employee who can’t quickly secure an appointment for a minor health issue may take more sick days than necessary, leading to a loss in productivity.
Worksite Safety
Another critical area affected by inaccessible healthcare is worksite safety. Employees who are not at their best or are distracted by their own or their family’s health issues are at a higher risk of worksite injuries. This endangers the employees and increases the company’s liability and potential costs related to workplace accidents.
Employee Retention
Barriers to accessing healthcare can erode trust in a company, leading to increased turnover as employees seek other employers who offer better healthcare access. Losing skilled workers can significantly impact a company’s long-term success, as the cost of recruiting and training new employees is often high.
Employee Recruitment
In the current job market, job seekers prioritize factors beyond just salary. Corporate culture and employee well-being are critical in attracting top-tier talent. Companies prioritizing employee health and providing accessible healthcare options are more likely to attract and retain the best employees.
Improper Use of Healthcare
Employees facing challenges accessing traditional healthcare may resort to improper care modalities, such as urgent care and emergency departments, for non-urgent needs. This increases healthcare costs and leads to inefficient use of medical resources.
The Challenges of Inaccessible Care
Understanding the reasons behind inaccessible healthcare is crucial for addressing the issue, and there are some primary barriers to consider:
Geographical Barriers
Employees in remote areas often need access to quality healthcare facilities. Driving long distances to see their primary care doctor can lead to delayed treatment and poorer health outcomes, impacting overall well-being and productivity.
Financial Constraints
High deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket expenses deter employees from seeking necessary care. The fear of incurring medical bills can lead to delayed treatment, exacerbating health issues, and increasing long-term healthcare costs.
Stigma
Stigma, especially around mental health, can prevent employees from seeking necessary healthcare services, negatively impacting their emotional health and job performance, leading to higher absenteeism and lower productivity.
Work Hours
Most healthcare settings operate during traditional office hours, making it difficult for employees to see a consistent clinician. This can result in inefficient, ineffective, and impersonal care, discouraging employees from seeking timely medical attention.
Language and Cultural Barriers
When employees face language and cultural barriers, healthcare becomes inaccessible. Effective communication of needs becomes challenging for employees who do not speak the primary language of the healthcare provider or come from different cultural backgrounds. This can lead to misunderstandings, misdiagnoses, and inadequate care.
The Truth of Inaccessible Care
If you think that access to primary care is not a concern for your employees, it’s essential to analyze your claims data. Here are three key indicators that may suggest otherwise:
- Abnormally High Emergency Department Claims Spending: High expenditure on emergency department visits, especially for non-emergency cases, may indicate that employees are using the emergency room for issues that could be handled by primary care providers, often due to their inability to access primary care promptly.
- High Usage of Urgent Care Centers for Low Acuity Treatments: Frequent use of urgent care centers for treatments usually managed in primary care offices could suggest that employees turn to urgent care due to appointment unavailability with their primary care doctors.
- A Large Number of Zero Claimants: A significant number of employees with zero claims data, particularly for primary care services, might indicate that these individuals are not accessing necessary healthcare, possibly due to various barriers such as financial constraints, geographical challenges, or work hours that do not align with healthcare provider availability.
By examining these aspects of your claims data, you can gain valuable insights into your employees’ accessibility to primary care.
Tweet
By examining these aspects of your claims data, you can gain valuable insights into your employees’ accessibility to primary care. Identifying and acknowledging these issues is the first step towards addressing them and ensuring your workforce has the necessary healthcare access.
Conclusion
Inaccessible healthcare significantly impacts employers. By understanding the barriers to healthcare access and proactively addressing them, employers can improve employee well-being, enhance productivity, and create a more supportive work environment. Investing in accessible healthcare is a moral imperative and a strategic business decision that can lead to long-term success.