Healthcare Benefits, Employee Health and Cost Reduction Analysis

This discussion post examines the crucial role of healthcare benefits in maintaining a healthy and productive workforce, particularly in the face of rising healthcare costs. It highlights how employers are adapting by integrating "pay for performance" programs to improve employee health and reduce costs. Furthermore, the post explores the contribution of healthcare providers in reducing healthcare costs, focusing on patient education and home healthcare services to prevent hospital readmissions and improve overall patient care. References are included to support the arguments presented, emphasizing the significance of proactive healthcare management and its impact on population health and the healthcare system's efficiency.

Discussion
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Discussion
The provision of a health benefit is a significant tool for a competitive workforce. In this
case, due to the slow economic growth and rise in healthcare costs, employers are redefining and
reassessing their roles as the subsidizers and providers of employee’s healthcare benefit.
Healthcare benefits are vital as they cater for the employee’s medical expenses which reduce the
employee’s burden of hospitalization. In this case, most of the employers are changing the way
in which they sponsor their employee with healthcare benefits. For instance, they are integrating
a “pay for performance” program into the employee healthcare benefit. This is imperative in
improving and maintaining the health of the employees and a competitive workforce, thus
contributing to a considerable reduction in the cost of health and the overall population health
(Holben, Rambo, Howe, Murray and Shubrook, 2017)
Similarly, healthcare providers play a vital role in the promotion of the population health
through the reduction of healthcare costs. Hospitalization is the leading cause of healthcare costs;
therefore, it is important for healthcare providers to reduce healthcare cost. The first way in
which they can reduce healthcare costs is through patient education. Healthcare providers offer
health information to patients during discharge, which helps them avoid the high costs that relate
to readmissions. Patient education is also important as it enhances the quality of care, thus
impacting population health. Second, healthcare providers provide patients with home healthcare
services after discharge as a way of enhancing patient care transition. Such programs are
important in the reduction of readmissions, therefore reducing general medical costs (Adaji,
Melin, Campbell, Lohse, Westphal & Katzelnick, 2017).

References
Adaji, A., Melin, G. J., Campbell, R. L., Lohse, C. M., Westphal, J. J., & Katzelnick, D. J.
(2017). Patient-Centered Medical Home Membership Is Associated with Decreased
Hospital Admissions for Emergency Department Behavioral Health Patients. Population
Health Management. 3(5) 56- 78
Holben, D.H., Rambo, C., Howe, C., Murray, D.H. and Shubrook, J.H., (2017). Cardiovascular
Disease Risk Factors After an Employer-Based Risk Reduction Program: An
Observational Cohort Study. The Journal of the American Osteopathic
Association, 117(7), p.425.