Views

High-cost care doesn’t equal high quality, NCQA concludes

We’ve always been told, “You get what you pay for.” And with cars, hotels and shoes — especially shoes — the cliché is true.

However, the annual "State of Health Care Quality" report from the National Committee for Quality Assurance reveals that the adage doesn’t hold water when it comes to health plans.

Plans that let members glut on physicians visits, tests and inpatient care,  totaling thousands of dollars, aren’t necessarily the best in terms of quality, NCQA concludes. On the contrary, more use of such medical services can mean a plan is of lower quality.

That’s definitely a nugget of information you’ll want to hammer home with employees as they consider this season’s open enrollment materials.

What other points will you be driving home to employees this enrollment season? Changes due to health care reform? Retirement planning tips?  The importance of life and disability coverage? Increasing EAP awareness?

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS