By: Adam Russo, Esq.

I spoke at the 2017 MassAHU Benefest Conference today in Westborough, MA, where I was lucky enough to see 9 of the CEOs for the various insurance carriers in our state.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear what they had to say.  They not only talked about transparency needs and the fact that pharmacy costs are out of control, many of them actually stated that we need to increase the incentives that we offer employees and members, in order to get them to care about the cost of care.  

This wasn’t just some vendor saying this, or a self-funded employer, these were actual carriers who said the word “empower”.  We do need to empower our plans and their employees to care about the actual cost of care, and the best way to do this is through real and valuable incentives – not just some small co-pay differential.  This is what The Phia Group has been preaching for years.  Words are a great start - so let’s hope for some action!