Michael B. McCallister, CEO of Louisville, Ky.-based health insurer Humana, says consumers generally "have absolutely no clue" what price or quality looks like in healthcare, according to a Washington Post report.
Mr. McCallister has worked on numerous hospital turnarounds across the country before assuming his role as CEO of Humana 11 years ago. As a hospital CEO, he says people would often "stumble through the system" and would not question the costs of care.
Through high-deductible, low-premium insurance plans that expose patients to more expenses, Mr. McCallister says patients have more financial stakes in decision-making and pay more attention to what their options are and the quality of care they receive. "Bad services and bad products essentially get crushed," Mr. McCallister says in the report. "The consumers can be quite powerful when they apply their knowledge and their buying power to anything."
He also said healthcare reform is a bit like "moving the chairs around on the deck of the Titanic," with costs still being out of control and noisy disruptions in the healthcare market occurring frequently, according to the report.
Read the Washington Post report on Michael B. McCallister of Humana.
Read more about major health insurers:
- Massachusetts Insurers Tufts and Cambridge Health Alliance in Talks to Partner
- Insurance Plans Restricting Care to Low-Cost Hospitals Well Received by Employers
- CEO of BCBS of Massachusetts: High Cost Hospitals May Face Reduced Payment
Mr. McCallister has worked on numerous hospital turnarounds across the country before assuming his role as CEO of Humana 11 years ago. As a hospital CEO, he says people would often "stumble through the system" and would not question the costs of care.
Through high-deductible, low-premium insurance plans that expose patients to more expenses, Mr. McCallister says patients have more financial stakes in decision-making and pay more attention to what their options are and the quality of care they receive. "Bad services and bad products essentially get crushed," Mr. McCallister says in the report. "The consumers can be quite powerful when they apply their knowledge and their buying power to anything."
He also said healthcare reform is a bit like "moving the chairs around on the deck of the Titanic," with costs still being out of control and noisy disruptions in the healthcare market occurring frequently, according to the report.
Read the Washington Post report on Michael B. McCallister of Humana.
Read more about major health insurers:
- Massachusetts Insurers Tufts and Cambridge Health Alliance in Talks to Partner
- Insurance Plans Restricting Care to Low-Cost Hospitals Well Received by Employers
- CEO of BCBS of Massachusetts: High Cost Hospitals May Face Reduced Payment