Savvier Health Empowers Businesses to Lower Health Care Expenditures
Columbia, MD December 26 2003–On January 1, 2004 Savvier Health will open its doors to the public. As a corporate health and wellness consulting company, Savvier Health offers businesses unique tools to lower their health care costs. Three consecutive years of double digit increases in job-based health benefits have forced many businesses to seek alternative methods of providing coverage for their employees. Founded by A. Maria Hester, M.D., a board-certified physician and author of Your Family Medical Record: An Interactive Guide to Getting the Best Care, Savvier Health specializes in innovative products and services to enable businesses to teach their employees how to become more proactive in their medical care and thus improve their care while decreasing their costs.
?America?s traditionally paternalistic health care system has yet to tap the tremendous potential of patients to improve their own outcomes. Most patients have no idea how to prepare in advance for medical visits, optimize their time with physicians or expedite their own diagnoses in a timely and cost-effective manner. They were never taught,? says Dr. Hester.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average monthly premiums for single and family coverage (including both employer and worker share of premium) are $282 and $756, respectively. While many employers are out of necessity shifting a larger percentage of this cost to their employees, numerous employees find they cannot afford these high premiums and are opting out of their company?s health plan altogether. This places a multitude of hard working Americans among the ranks of this nation?s 43 million uninsured.
When asked what was the impetus for founding Savvier Health, Dr. Hester responded, ?Millions of Americans rely on their employers to provide basic health care coverage. Meanwhile, countless businesses are struggling to pay rising medical insurance premiums, thus jeopardizing the health and well being of millions of families. This unfortunate position subsequently lowers the productivity and competitiveness of America?s marketplace, the foundation for life as we know it. Corporate America has the power to play a tremendous role in turning around our health care crisis, but it needs adequate coaching for this daunting task.?
Together with her husband, L.J. Hester, an MBA and PHR (Professional in Human Resources)-certified professional with over 25 years? business experience, Dr. Hester will analyze the general health care needs of client?s employees through anonymous (and voluntary) employee health questionnaires which can be completed in writing or online. This ?Employee Health Analysis? will be used to develop a customized Employee Health Web and/or Employee Wellness Newsletters addressing the medical needs and concerns of each company?s employees, while teaching them how to optimize their own health care and lower medical expenses. Employees have regular input into the content and can even submit general medical questions to be answered by a physician. Company logos, employee photos and other personal touches promote ownership of these personalized health resources.
Companies can also order employee greeting cards with brief, but insightful health messages or educational resources for their employees, including Your Family Medical Record: An Interactive Guide to Getting the Best Care. David McMillan, M.D., an emergency room physician in Memphis believes, ?If patients can review the questions posed in chapter 1 prior to visiting a physician, they will improve their communication skills, which will assist the doctor in making a diagnosis, and ultimately expedite their treatment and care in a timely and cost-efficient manner.? Jeff Forster, editor of Medical Economics magazine said of this work, ?At last ? a book that helps patients to be good patients so that doctors can be good doctors.?
A recent Time Magazine article stated some economists estimate each year doctors spend close to 100 billion dollars in unnecessary tests and procedures to protect themselves should a lawsuit arise. Well-informed patients can dramatically decrease the number and expense of diagnostic and therapeutic tools necessary to protect physicians from frivolous lawsuits. Since increases in insurance premiums are one measure of the growth in medical claims, educating patients to be partners in their own care is a very effective solution to controlling skyrocketing health care costs.
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