There is nothing worse than a health insurer taking a slam at an entire industry. There is nothing better than seeing grass roots efforts to point it out.
The former was done by Blue Cross of California to its physical, occupational, and speech therapy providers via a letter and informing them that their reimbursement is being cut as of Feb 1, 2010 to a maximum of $75. Additionally, in only ways that immoral health insurers understand, a non negotiable standard form contract has to be executed or the clinics will no longer be able to see Blue Cross patients. keep in mind that Blue Cross controls the market as California’s largest private insurer-by far. This action is akin to Marcus Welby coming home to tell his family that his income has just been cut by 40%.
Citizen marketing and raising awareness about this issue is the unforeseen action that Blue Cross (whose stated mission is to “improve the health of people we serve”) probably didn’t anticipate. Check out this blog post on The Huffington Post-perhaps the world’s most read blog. I hope that California physical therapists take the same action that they did in NY when something similar happened-march together and force a meeting with their CEO. Here are a few things that he should know:
-Your customers are employers. When you decimate an entire industry, you might want to inform them before you inform the providers. If you had done that, you might have refrained from slamming PT’s with such Draconian cuts. Your customers have had positive experiences with PT’s.
-PT’s have been shown to be an integral solution to musculoskeletal problems-particularly hi cost drivers like low back pain. In Seattle, treatment time for LBP has been reduced from 66 days to 12 using PT’s as part of solution.
–Enlightened insurance companies have INCREASED fees to physical therapists because they have focused on cutting costs in the real downstream costs of expensive tests and specialists. That’s right, “you have drugs, surgery, imaging, or us”. A simple analysis of the data will show that after six months of implementing this massive fee reduction that these downstream costs will increase-ultimately forcing increased costs to your customers-employers.
-while PT’s might be coded with “peace corps genes”, we are highly educated patient advocates and won’t sit still while your shortsighted actions take place-and neither will your customers. In the days of social media and word of mouth marketing, Blue Cross of California might just get the Tiger Woods treatment in the press.
Then tell him Happy Holidays and expect to hear more from us in 2010.
