We are at a technology oasis, but all we see is the vast desert wasteland of health-plan contracting and Internet information overload. We can stop and accept the health-care landscape we have, or we can drink from this vast technological fountain and use the resources to our advantage. Taking advantage of the Internet and technology could be the answer. Not business as usual We are kidding ourselves if we think we can keep doing health care in the same way we have been doing it. It is not working.
Insurers are solvent only by increasing premiums and investing their reserves in the stock market.
Premiums are increasing anywhere from 6 percent to 20 percent annually, depending on the size of the company. Managed care organizations that were created to serve the managed care market are either going out of business, merging with others, or are on the verge of financial failure. First, the promised managed care volume never materialized. But, even worse, most of these MCOs contracted in the dark. They often got information on eligibility, referrals and authorizations anywhere from six months to a year later.