FEATURE STORY / TRENDS IN EXTENDED HEALTH INSURANCE
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ext to individual patients
(paying out of pocket),
Extended Health Benefits
(EHB) account for the
greatest sources of revenue
for chiropractors in the province.
Ontarians of all generations now expect
EHB plans to fill in the gaps and support
what public health system coverage
cannot. But with rising costs and an
aging population, what does the future
hold for EHB in Ontario?
It is impossible to know for sure,
and this is a source of great concern for
many chiropractors. The good news is
that there are signals that chiropractors
are well positioned to be a partner in
helping to meet the challenges facing
EHB plans and the broader health care
system down the road.
There are three key trends which
speak to this potential: the need
for chiropractic expertise within
the workplace and EHB plans, the
emerging reality of EHB economics, and
developments in how some specific
health care services are delivered at the
clinic level. Preferred Provider Networks
are a significant part of the latter trends
and an opportunity for chiropractic to
play a larger role in Ontarians' health in
the years to come.
The Role of Chiropractic in
EHB Plans
M
orneau Shepell, a leading
human resourcing consultancy
and EHB plan broker, recently
released a report that sheds important
light on how companies are thinking
about the role of EHBs in meeting their
business objectives. 57% of employers
that Morneau Shepell surveyed said
that a top priority for 2015 is improving
health and well-being among employees.
Managing absenteeism is one potential
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SPRING 2015
benefit of EHB plans that is increasingly
valued by employers and plan members
(employees) alike. Reducing short-term
disability (STD) costs was also identified
as a priority by 39% of the companies
Morneau Shepell surveyed. The top two
causes of STD are mental health and
musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.
The interaction of these two
concepts demonstrates the opportunity
for chiropractic. What companies are
seeking are ways to keep their most
are heavily incentivised to focus on
employee health and well-being in
order to manage absenteeism and
reduce the frequency and length of
STD claims. Chiropractors are extremely
well suited to support employers in this
effort, and many practitioners across the
province are forging paid and volunteer
relationships to support companies in this
effort. Chiropractors are able to provide
one-stop solutions to employers looking
for programs and advice on exercise
“Benefits Consultants and TPAs agree that
chiropractic is an integral and sustainable
component of employee benefits plans with a
continuing role in maintaining the health and
well-being of productive workforces.”
Dwight Lacey
productive assets – their people – happy,
healthy and engaged. While this makes
intuitive sense, consider the business
impact of each STD claim. The employee
that eventually requires being on STD
leave is likely not performing their duties
to their utmost in the days and weeks
leading up to their leave. Then when the
leave begins, a temporary replacement
is often retained to fill the void. The
recruitment and onboarding process
of a contract employee carries costs,
even if that process unfolds quickly and
without significant interruption to business
operations. Adding to those costs, while
an employee is on STD, the employer is
typically still paying some portion of their
salary in addition to the full salary of the
temporary hire performing their duties.
So what does this mean? Employers
programs, ergonomics, diet and nutrition
and, most importantly, specific care for
a wide range of neurological and MSK
conditions.
This is in addition to the reality that
chiropractors support EHB plan members
in a variety of ways as patients in their
practices each and every day. This work
is both keeping employees healthy and
productive and helping them to return to
work sooner when problems do arise.
Dwight Lacey, a consultant with
decades of deep and varied experience
in the insurance industry, recently
conducted a series of interviews with
insurance industry stakeholders on behalf
of the Ontario Chiropractic Association
(OCA). His findings illuminate a number of
sources of optimism for chiropractors.
“Chiropractic is a respected and