As I’ve noted before, my son is great about saving money — even at the tender age of 6. I’m proud of him for already having a firm discerning nature when it comes to wants vs. needs. That said, I’d never give him my credit card.
Not because I think he’d be irresponsible (although I’m sure our house would have more Hot Wheels cars and fewer vegetables), but because he has no concept of how much things cost.
I thought of this as previewed a recent podcast EBN Managing Editor Andrea Davis did with Prescription Solutions’ Patrick Stroh. Stroh outlined a new tool that allows benefits professionals and their advisers to use predicting software to see how much a pharmacy benefit plan would cost by adding in, taking away or tweaking certain elements — network size, copays, etc.
However, a complement to the tool allows employees to weigh in with their preferences as well — a great way to empower employees and show you care about their opinion, I think. But at the same time, with employees’ knowledge of true health care costs so lacking, it’s kind of like giving a 6-year-old a credit card, no?
Let me know what you think.
