I would like to start this post by saying how humbled I am by the number of people who have come up to me recently and mentioned that they follow me and how much they enjoy my blogs. In return, I would like to thank you for giving me one of your most precious commodities, TIME.
I would like to talk about change in this post. I have been very fortunate in my life to come from a family I love very much. My Father passed away about 9 years ago and it was difficult for me, as I am sure it is for most people. When my Father was ill I wanted him to change his lifestyle so he could hopefully be with us longer. My Father’s attitude, let me correct myself, my perception was that he wanted to take a drug, but do not ask him to change his lifestyle.
What does this have to do with Employee Benefits? Insurance Companies are starting to recognize that just paying for the medications is not getting us any healthier. Instead attitudes towards our health needs to change, so our dependency on prescriptions can change.
Carrigan and I recently attended a conference that was put on by Green Shield. As you have probably heard me mention in the past, Green Shield is a leader in the industry when it comes to Extended Health and Dental benefits. I can’t say that the conference was full of good news in regards to Prescriptions Drugs and the future. The long and short of it is we cannot continue to afford the drugs being prescribed.
So I am excited to see that Green Shield is going to be working closely with their insured members by offering “change4life?”. They are providing their insured’s with fact based data on their health, and encouraging people to start looking after themselves by giving them rewards for improving their lifestyle.
They will also be assisting in managing the high cost prescriptions more closely. I am finding that the majority of Insurance Companies are leaning in this direction. Although it may sound backwards, that we want people to adhere to these prescriptions. Wouldn’t that cost the system more money? In the long run it costs less.
I was also very excited to hear that they are working with Dr. Ruslan Dorfman of GeneYouIn to provide more research into the affects of metabolizing drugs. As some of you will remember, Dr. Ruslan Dorfman put a couple articles together for my blog. These are the links to those Blogs:
- Right Drug, Right Dose? The Perspective Expands
- Right Drug, Right Dose? The Perspective Expands – Part 1
- Right Drug, Right Dose? The Perspective Expands – Part 2
- Right Drug, Right Dose? The Perspective Expands – Part 3
- Right Drug, Right Dose? The Perspective Expands – Part 4
- Can Pharmacogenetic Testing Shorten your Disability Leaves?
Contact Glendinning Insurance Services, your Resource Specialists for more information on Green Shield’s initiatives.