BenefitsPRO-Perspectives podcast

With health care expenses increasing, benefits advisors are turning to supplemental benefits to help their clients manage coverage and control costs.

Advanced primary care helps control chronic conditions and also ensures employees are using their prescription medication correctly. Dr. Jeff Wells of Marathon Health explains how benefits advisors can use this to craft better healthcare packages.

More and more Americans are living with chronic conditions. A study noted that 76 percent of U.S. adults live with at least one chronic condition, while more than half live with multiple.

When quality care is hard to access, these conditions often go unmanaged—leading to avoidable complications, higher costs, and a lower quality of life. Access to care shouldn't depend on geography. Yet for many employees in rural or underserved areas, it still does.

In a podcast series titled The Business Case for Advanced Primary Care, Dr. Nirav Vakharia from Marathon Health sits down with BenefitsPRO contributor Michael Krieger to discuss:

• The rising prevalence of chronic conditions and the effect on healthcare cost and utilization

• How organizations are leveraging advanced primary care to close access gaps, manage chronic disease more effectively, and improve long-term outcomes

• The role of technology—like virtual primary care, remote monitoring, asynchronous touchpoints—in expanding access and enabling stronger patient-provider relationships

• What benefits leaders and advisors can do to help reduce costs while still delivering quality care to their people

Advanced primary care is growing in popularity as a strategy for many benefits leaders. Dr. Jeff Wells of Marathon Health explains why — and looks at the impact these services can deliver for both employers and employees.

While millions of Americans are affected by musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, these chronic issues often don't receive the attention they deserve – even as they contribute to rising health care costs and lost productivity.

For benefits brokers and advisors, MSK presents numerous challenges. This, in turn, demands an innovative, data-driven approach that can reduce costs, elevate care and improve workforce productivity.

In this special podcast, "Rewriting the playbook on MSK: innovation that benefits everyone," that is sponsored by AposHealth, BenefitsPRO Contributor Michael Krieger talks MSK with two leading experts in the field:

• Gus Georgiadis - the former Area Chairman of the Gallagher Benefit Services operations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. He is also the founder and President of Triad USA, Inc., and Executive Vice President for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

• Scott Thompson – who is an Area President in Chicago with the Research and Insights service line, which is part of Gallagher's Human Resources and Compensation Consulting practice.

During the podcast, Krieger, Georgiadis and Thompson discuss:

• The major shift in how employers and benefits advisors view MSK, and what's driving that change

• How MSK affects absenteeism and productivity, and what benefits brokers can do to better address these challenges

• The role of wearables and other devices in MSK care, and which technologies are actually moving the needle