There are so many forces driving up the cost of health care today that we call it the perfect storm, says Seth Garber, M.D, consultant for Kaiser Permanente and Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

We love to blame hospitals, doctors, drug companies, the government, unions, management, unhealthy lifestyles, the news media . . . and yes, insurance companies.

Among the cost drivers: an aging population, medical technology advances, new drugs and our own entitlement culture. We expect the best, we want it right now and from whomever we choose. We don’t care what it costs.

If you doubt this concept, ponder these questions: If a beloved family member is battling cancer or a life-threatening disease, what do you do? How far will you go? When you watch a two-pound baby clutching a human finger, don’t you want her to thrive? These babies can leave the hospital with a $700,000 bill and a future of health problems. But they deserve every chance we can give.

Of course you will seek the best care you can find. Most of us can utter the phrase, “thank goodness we have insurance.” Some aren’t so lucky – which only means the rest of us pay for their health care, too, in the form of higher insurance rates.

“While premiums normally rise with inflation, one of the biggest cost drivers is the double-whammy of cost and use,” Garber says, noting that when health care use increases, the costs go even higher. “For example, you’re not just paying for the cost of a heart bypass, but the fact that many, many people, including 80-year-olds, are having them. Add to this the fact that between the ages of 45 and 65, a person’s use of health care will triple. By the year 2030, we’ll have twice as many people over 65. Then, when you hit 80, you use nine times the health care services. And guess what? We’re living longer.” 

Despite the price escalation, consumers are actually paying a smaller share, he says. “Even though we’re all paying more, it’s still a smaller piece of the overall pie,” Garber says. “Consumers have been relatively isolated from the true costs, and employers throughout the country are saying ‘enough’ and asking employees to share the burden.”

School boards in Oregon and nationwide are waking up to realize their sacred cow of fully paid benefits that cover everything from a sniffle to a heart transplant is slipping away – or eating up precious resources we’d rather spend on education programs.

Fact: In Oregon, insurance cost increases have averaged 19.2 percent annually for the last four years. Today, based on OSBA’s annual Salary and Benefit Survey, an average of $8,200 is spent for each teacher’s insurance package in the state. That’s 82 percent higher than the average 10 years ago.

Another sobering fact: If costs increase as projected, some Oregon school boards could face a price tag for one employee’s family health care coverage that equals one new teacher’s annual salary.

Wow.

So here we are in Oregon, trying to survive this storm by doing everything from capping insurance premiums at the bargaining table to exploring the proposed mandate of a government-run statewide insurance pool for school employees.
The message every board member, every employee needs to heed is this: There are no single remedies. Now is the time for a new brand of teamwork – the kind you depend on to fight not just one, but several storms.

This edition of Focus on Critical Issues explores what goes into this perfect storm, from the real cost drivers to how Oregon school boards are successfully controlling health costs while offering good benefits.

We interview local and national experts about trends in bargaining health care and cost control. We share preliminary results from a national survey on what’s driving up costs. We explore the concept of government-run health insurance pools and how they’re working (and not working) in surrounding states.

Lastly, we try to predict the future – what we all must do together to survive with the boat intact and our crew alive and healthy.