It’s common knowledge in the insurance industry that a basic principle of insurance states that prevention or loss control is paramount in Reducing Claims – why shouldn’t this apply to health insurance?
I worked as a commercial insurance agent, Research Manager, Information Technology Manager and Risk Manager. I had knowledge of 22 lines of insurance and preventing a claim or loss was of primary importance to the insurer and insured. Doing so reduced the number of claims and overall claim costs to both. For example, if we wanted to prevent a property claim we would remove items from the building that would be fuel to a fire or install a sprinkler system. If we wanted to reduce the number of back claims in worker’s compensation insurance we would teach employees how to lift with their legs rather than their backs to prevent back injuries.
These types of loss control or prevention methods have been proven, for many decades, to be the most effective means of controlling claims and their related costs. There’s an old insurance adage in this regard, “if you don’t have a claim, you don’t have to pay for it.”
So, it is well established that in terms of insurance, prevention of claims is the key to controlling or reducing claims and their associated costs in any organization.
Why should health insurance or self-insurance be any different than all other lines of insurance? Why do we not emphasize prevention when it comes to health care? If prevention reduces claims in all other lines of insurance it certainly should do so for health insurance and reducing medical claims. It’s very logical that preventive medicine should be of primary importance in reducing medical claims, however, what is happening is just the opposite. Our health plans are biased against those doctors who practice preventive medicine such as naturopathic doctors and other health care providers that treat the cause and emphasize prevention of illness and disease.
Statistics have shown that there are a large numbers of individuals within the general public who have confidence in and desire preventive health care. This number is growing each year. Because of this we believe it is important to inform and educate the public about the value of preventive health care and how to use this knowledge to make educated choices on how to manage your health and take more responsibility for it.