President Trump, with Republican majorities in the Senate and House, has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare). By the time you read this newsletter article, this may already have occurred. In Wisconsin, Governor Walker is considering fundamental changes to how the state pays for health care for state employees.
The result is a whipsaw effect that is creating unprecedented uncertainty – even instability – in health care and health insurance.
As I think about what the future might bring and the impact of potential changes on our members, I’m reminded of another benefit of self-funding – control! The autonomy and control afforded by self-funding provide a measure of insulation from the impacts of an evolving market.
While the changes to come will have some ripple effect, to be sure, we don’t have to be distracted by the events of the day. Self-funding enables and rewards long-term, common-sense approaches – buying based on value and investing in the health and well-being of our workforce. These strategies make sense regardless of what else happens.
This past fall, we invited the senior leadership of Alliance member companies to attend one of several Breakfast Roundtable meetings held throughout our region. For fun, we asked each participant to share one word or phrase that comes to mind when thinking about health care. Check out this word cloud to see the results.
The size of the word represents how often it was mentioned. It’s easy to see what’s top of mind for Alliance members – making health care less expensive, complex and challenging!
Learn more about self-funding by reading the blog: Stepping up to Self-Funding
