BCBSNC actuary wants to help health care by redistributing money

For years, U.S. politicians have struggled with how to deal with increasing health care costs and the rising number of uninsured American people.

On Wednesday, September 10th, John Friesen, who is an actuary with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, spoke of some streamlined ideas that don’t call for changing the whole system.

“We can solve this problem if we put our minds to it,” Friesen said to around 150 people at a Charlotte Chamber sponsored conference.

“We have over-insured people,” he said, as well as uninsured people. “It’s a question of redistributing the dollars.”

Friesen, whose concepts aren’t totally supported by Blue Cross, implied that the federal government could furnish coverage for people who make less than twice the federal poverty level, which is $21,000 for a family of four. 

Reducing the tax deduction for employers who give “rich benefit plans”, could offset part of that expense, he said. Friesen said that any health plan that has a deductible of less than $1,000 ought to be regarded as a “very rich plan.”

People usually choose a $2,500 deductible plan to receive lower premiums, when they have to purchase their own health insurance. Health care continues to go up because employer-based plans cover 75 percent of the cost of insurance.

“If you can buy something at 75 percent off,” he said, you’re going to use it. “Greater cost-sharing reduces unnecessary medical expenditures. It wakes you up, and you start asking questions.”

Friesen has also advised to give incentives to encourage healthy lifestyles and cut costs. This plan might include taxing junk food, listing nutrition information at restaurants, and having higher premiums for people who are overweight or smoke.

At 32 percent, the U.S. has the highest amount of obese people when compared to 23 percent in the United Kingdom and 15 percent in Canada, where Friesen used to live.

According to Friesen, Americans “can get as good as those other countries” if they follow his suggestions for healthier living. These are: eating five servings of vegetables and fruits a day, not smoking, keeping at a healthy weight, and exercising for 30 minutes each day for five days a week.

Unfortunately, only 3 percent of Americans meet all four of these guidelines according to Friesen. He suggests that if you can’t do all four, try to add one more to your daily lifestyle.

After Friesen’s talk, a question was asked why Blue Cross doesn’t do more to fight obesity by paying for visits to weight-loss clinics.  BCBS covers four visits a year with a doctor for evaluation and treatment of obesity and six visits a year for nutrition counseling with a dietician, according to a spokesman for Blue Cross. Members can also get discounts to join certain fitness and weight management centers.

The chairman of the Chamber’s Health Services Council, Mark Stephens, said the group wants to raise awareness that “health care is a major economic driving force.” They want to encourage companies to support wellness and disease prevention.

Stephens, who is a senior account manager at Pfizer, likes Friesen’s ideas, saying “It’s not a comprehensive plan, but it was a lot of common-sense things that we could do to make things better.”