With Haven in the rearview mirror… Failures to Reform U.S. Healthcare System Are Because the System Is the Problem

Haven Failure
In spite of the high tech ability and deep pockets of the joint venture partners, Haven went out of business on January 31, 2021.

Big fail. Haven, a joint venture between Amazon, JPMorgan-Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway, booted the chance to reform their collective employee health insurance, in part, by not working on the correct challenge, according to respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein.  Dr. Goldstein hosts the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with a focus on reforming the highest priced healthcare system in the world. Haven is the most recent, but likely not the last, story of corporate good intentions not delivering what was hoped. So, what’s the right challenge?

The System Is the Problem

“Our current healthcare system is focused on treating sick people, not preventing illness,” Dr. Goldstein told his audience, and he gave an example. “The more people there are in hospital beds, the more money is made by the hospitals, doctors and everyone else involved in patient care.” The U.S. healthcare industry is a volume-based scheme of reimbursement for getting paid. Better patient health is not part of the current equation.

More of the Same

The business system Haven tried to disrupt offers no tie to healthier outcomes for patients or incentives for those same people to take better care of themselves. “It’s just more of the same,” Dr. Goldstein said. “Haven failed at reforming their collective employee health insurance in part by not working on the correct challenge but instead ‘worked on the fringes’ of a non-competitive business.”

Worthy Goal but Poor Execution

At Haven, the published goal was improving healthcare services and lower costs for the three companies’ employees. With a heavy reliance on ‘big data’ and the ability to analyze patient information in big amounts, Haven promised to make primary care easier to access, prescription drugs more affordable and render insurance benefits easier to understand. While essentially getting nowhere but costing a lot of money to get there, Haven shut down without affecting the healthcare industry at all.

Healthcare as a Commodity?

The best way to ensure an adequate supply of anything at the lowest possible price is to permit the laws of supply and demand to work. “But as we also know, that is not what we have and not the way costs are assigned or managed by insurance companies, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that assign prices,” Dr. Goldstein said.

Employee & Patient Voices Heard for a Change?

The public has little to say about how pricing is determined but could have a great deal to say with the right type of organization. The correct method available to everyone is via the non-profit, employee-owned healthcare cooperative.

The cooperative or ‘co-op’, can replace traditional health insurance for qualified individuals and families. Co-ops can also provide incentives for members to adopt healthier lifestyle habits. Financial incentives based on lifestyle would result in lower healthcare costs by decreasing utilization. Ownership of the cooperative would pass the savings from the cooperative to the employees. Co-ops can allow employees to remain members even if they leave the company. By transferring ownership of the cooperative to the employees, companies are no longer responsible for healthcare and can concentrate on their core business.

How Co-ops Work

Co-ops provide affordable medical coverage through a combination of negotiated rates, low monthly payments, personal accountability and lifestyle incentives. “By organizing their workers and families, businesses of any size can overcome this less than efficient way of doing things,” Dr. Goldstein said. “For example, financial incentives based on choices about diet and exercise will result in lower healthcare costs by decreasing utilization. The ownership of the cooperative will pass the savings from the cooperative to the employees. But there are other benefits that will make those employees healthier.”

About the Houston Healthcare Initiative

The Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein is an information vehicle for people who want to know all medical options for themselves and are interested in reforming the healthcare industry. To learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.