5 ms·

I wonder, since we strangely expect employers to provide healthcare insurance in the US, what if employers just decided to provided actual healthcare. Imagine

I wonder, since we strangely expect employers to provide healthcare insurance in the US, what if employers just decided to provided actual healthcare. Imagine taking all of the health premiums Google pays for its employees, and instead of feeding it in to a broken system, you build a world class health facility in Mountain View that's free to employees.

s_henry_paulson 14y ago
You would still need health insurance unless everyone agreed to never leave a 10 mile radius of the work hospital.
ck2 14y ago
Because of the profit involved in preventing that, I am betting it's not legal.
Mvandenbergh 14y ago
Larger employers (including Google probably) already under-write their own schemes, the "insurance" company actually only manages billing in those cases.
cmelbye 14y ago
But then what happens when they need care when they're not near the company hospital? You'd need to set up company run hospitals all around the state and the country to manage the costs. And suddenly, you've reinvented Kaiser.
- reycharles 14y ago
  Kaiser Permanente (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Permanente http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Permanente) is a »integrated managed care consortium« (health insurance, I guess). I did not know that.
  - azernik 14y ago
    Yeah - they're basically the outgrowth of Kaiser Shipyards doing exactly what nostromo proposed back in the 40s, and then letting other people buy in to their network.
  - wdr1 14y ago
    I would not recommend Kaiser. I herniated a disc in my back, fairly severely, 6 weeks ago. I've seen 5 doctors & a physical therapist so far & have yet to get the treatment several have said I need. For the past 6 weeks I've been able to stand for 5-10 minutes, top and can't sit at all. Whereas an insurance facility has incentive to try not to pay, because Kaiser is integrated, they incentive not to provide the service at all. Each time you get a referral to a different department the sequence is 2-3 days to schedule the appointment. The first appointment has to be a consult, the next available being in 1-2 weeks. Then the treatment they want to try (if any), being 2-4 weeks out.
rdl 14y ago
I believe there are employers who do that. (it's really hard to google for right now). It's done in cooperation with some kind of integrated organizations like Cleveland Clinic or something I think. http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cleveland-clinic-wal-mart-partner-direct-employer-services/2012-10-12 http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cleveland-clinic-wal-m... Says Walmart, Boeing, and Lowes have this for certain things (heart care, which is expensive and fairly predictable demand and common enough to be worthwhile) http://www.employerdirecthealthcare.com/solutions/employers http://www.employerdirecthealthcare.com/solutions/employers seems to be one model -- for employers that self-insure, they have negotiated cheaper case rates for common planned procedures.
whiddershins 14y ago
One of the least known factors in American health care is that many large employers operate the health insurance directly, and at a profit. Many large corporations are the health insurance provider for their employees, and then contract the administration of the insurance to one of the known brands like AETNA or Blue Cross or whatever. So, they are one step ahead of you. Not exactly what you meant, but a more profitable version.

s_henry_paulson 14y ago

You would still need health insurance unless everyone agreed to never leave a 10 mile radius of the work hospital.

ck2 14y ago

Because of the profit involved in preventing that, I am betting it's not legal.

Mvandenbergh 14y ago

Larger employers (including Google probably) already under-write their own schemes, the "insurance" company actually only manages billing in those cases.

cmelbye 14y ago

But then what happens when they need care when they're not near the company hospital? You'd need to set up company run hospitals all around the state and the country to manage the costs. And suddenly, you've reinvented Kaiser.

reycharles 14y ago
Kaiser Permanente (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Permanente http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Permanente) is a »integrated managed care consortium« (health insurance, I guess). I did not know that.
- azernik 14y ago
  Yeah - they're basically the outgrowth of Kaiser Shipyards doing exactly what nostromo proposed back in the 40s, and then letting other people buy in to their network.
- wdr1 14y ago
  I would not recommend Kaiser. I herniated a disc in my back, fairly severely, 6 weeks ago. I've seen 5 doctors & a physical therapist so far & have yet to get the treatment several have said I need. For the past 6 weeks I've been able to stand for 5-10 minutes, top and can't sit at all. Whereas an insurance facility has incentive to try not to pay, because Kaiser is integrated, they incentive not to provide the service at all. Each time you get a referral to a different department the sequence is 2-3 days to schedule the appointment. The first appointment has to be a consult, the next available being in 1-2 weeks. Then the treatment they want to try (if any), being 2-4 weeks out.

rdl 14y ago

I believe there are employers who do that. (it's really hard to google for right now). It's done in cooperation with some kind of integrated organizations like Cleveland Clinic or something I think. http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cleveland-clinic-wal-mart-partner-direct-employer-services/2012-10-12 http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/cleveland-clinic-wal-m... Says Walmart, Boeing, and Lowes have this for certain things (heart care, which is expensive and fairly predictable demand and common enough to be worthwhile) http://www.employerdirecthealthcare.com/solutions/employers http://www.employerdirecthealthcare.com/solutions/employers seems to be one model -- for employers that self-insure, they have negotiated cheaper case rates for common planned procedures.

whiddershins 14y ago

One of the least known factors in American health care is that many large employers operate the health insurance directly, and at a profit. Many large corporations are the health insurance provider for their employees, and then contract the administration of the insurance to one of the known brands like AETNA or Blue Cross or whatever. So, they are one step ahead of you. Not exactly what you meant, but a more profitable version.