Bluebook Blog: Healthcare Spending & Employee Engagement

Elective Procedures Post COVID-19: Meeting the Cost Surge Head-On

Written by Lynn Yates | May 28, 2020 6:59:37 PM

Watch Healthcare Bluebook's Latest Webinar

Elective Procedures and the Post COVID-19 Surge:
What Happens Next and How to Get Ahead of It

This powerful discussion outlines the urgency of creating a cost-containment strategy to offset the surge in rescheduled procedures and the associated post COVID-19 costs. 

Learn how Bluebook can help employees and enrolled members understand the importance of choosing cost-saving, high-quality providers.

Coronavirus. Until a couple of months ago, most of us had never heard the word—now it’s part of our daily vocabulary. “Normal” disappeared overnight along with business as usual, which includes how we use our benefits and how we choose healthcare.

When COVID-19 slammed into the U.S. in March 2020, more than 12 healthcare systems across 37 states were either mandated or chose to delay elective surgical procedures. As states begin to loosen restrictions, 80 percent of those procedures are expected to be completed this year. But, at what cost?

For patients. The sad reality is that the health status for many waiting for care has become a “ticking time bomb,” requiring hasty high-cost decisions based on escalating critical needs.

For employers. The surge to rapidly schedule thousands of delayed procedures—from non-essential to urgent care—is prompting insurers to begin setting their rates for next year, which could increase healthcare benefit costs for employers by 4% - 40% if carriers try to recoup costs incurred during the pandemic.

Add the estimated costs for COVID-19-related illnesses and employers could be looking at $34 billion to $251 billion for testing, treatment and care.

Does your organization have a plan in place to offset the post-COVID-19 surge in elective procedures and associated costs?

If not, a recent Bluebook webinar, Elective Procedures and the Post COVID-19 Surge: What Happens Next and How to Get Ahead of It, provides detailed information on the current healthcare crisis and how to mitigate the expected cost and procedure surge resulting from delayed care. 

Featured Presenters:

  • Bluebook Co-Founder and industry pioneer Bill Kampine - SVP Analytics and Innovation
  • Mike O’Neil - SVP Strategy and Development
  • Kim Davis - Director of Compensation and Benefits for Bluebook client Alex Lee, Inc.

Highlights:

  • Learn how facilities—not physicians—drive the cost of healthcare.
  • Hear how Bluebook client Alex Lee, a leading grocer and food distributor, engages and rewards employees for making cost-saving healthcare decisions to offset the rising costs related to COVID-19.
  • Understand the importance of leveraging price and quality data to optimize health plan networks.
  • Learn steps organizations can take today to flatten the healthcare cost curve to protect themselves and their employees, clinically and financially.

CONTACT BLUEBOOK today to take your first step to suppress the post COVID-19 cost surge and start lowering your organization's annual healthcare benefits spend.