Benefits of discount plans

Careington's discount plans include pre-negotiated health care discounts that can help fill in your enrollees' benefit gaps, enhancing the value of your health plan.

See how the following health care discounts can have a positive impact on your enrollees:

• Dental care: Nearly one-third of all adults in the United States have untreated tooth decay. One in seven adults aged 35 to 44 years has gum disease, and nearly a quarter of all adults have experienced some facial pain in the past six months.¹ Plus, researchers believe that diseases like type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and heart disease often manifest in the mouth - making dentists a key player in diagnosis.²

• Vision care: Eye doctors can detect symptoms of serious diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and multiple sclerosis in their earliest stages - often before a patient is aware of any vision or health issues.³ Yet, only 44 percent of Americans without vision coverage had an eye exam within the last year, while 61 percent with coverage received an exam.⁴

• Prescriptions: Employees are burdened by mounting prescription costs. There was a five-fold increase in spending in the United States for prescription drugs from 1990 to 2005 - rising from $40.3 billion to $200.7 billion over the 15 year span.⁵

• Doctor and hospital visits: Employees spend a majority of their health care dollars on doctor and hospital visits. In fact, 38% of health care dollars go to physician services, 30% go to inpatient hospital services and 16% go to outpatient hospital services.⁶

• 24-hour nurse line: A nurse line can be instrumental in lowering employees' health care costs. Licensed, registered nurses can provide employees with appropriate self-care measures and advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle. In the United States, 1.7 million people die and 25 million more are disabled each year by chronic diseases caused or made worse by unhealthy lifestyles.⁷

• Hearing: Hearing care is the third most common chronic disability in the United States, with 20 million working adults (age 18-64) making up the largest number of hearing loss victims. The population of those with hearing loss is expected to increase from 31.5 million to 52.9 million by 2050.⁸

Sources:

1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2) Academy of General Dentistry survey, February 2007; 3) CDHC Solutions, May/June 2007; 4) CDHC Solutions, May/June 2007; 5) Kaiser Family Foundation Prescription Drug Trends Fact Sheet; 6) Milliman Medical Index, 2007; 7) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 8) National Institutes of Health, CDHC Solutions, March/April 2008