This decline in office visits, procedures and surgeries has created a brief dip in claims and employers may be seeing an early trend toward lower healthcare spend in the coming months. It is critical to understand, however, that the significant “positive” variations we are seeing in health plan claims experience are not likely to continue. While none of us knows what the new normal will look like once people and economies start moving again, it is likely that the temporary positive cash flows generated in/by your medical plan are temporary.
Those who are putting off important surgeries or critical preventive care may actually have more problems and potentially higher costs later on, as suggested by an article in Monday’s New York Times called “The Pandemic’s Hidden Victims.” The article outlines all the diseases in so called “gray areas,” of priority for care. Many cancers are included, which means people may not be getting the treatments they need to aggressively fight these diseases, as resources in many hospitals have been re-deployed for the moment. Additionally, as the pandemic continues, those who might catch cancer early because of preventive screenings, but who are now skipping these important appointments, may be added to the list of unintended consequences of the Covid-19 era.
Mental health is another overlooked component…we have no way of predicting the damage to mental health that a depressed economy and months of social isolation might bring to your employees and their dependents.
CFOs and financial executives will need to keep close tabs, and work from emerging medical claims data, to correctly re-forecast expected costs. Cash is king at the moment, so being correct here will be a significant win for all organizations.
Next up on the blog: a summary of a virtual client roundtable I hosted last week where employers shared how they are reacting to Covid-19, their return-to-work concerns, future planning and more!