Forum Discusses Solutions For High-Cost Health Plans

Employers gathered in Indianapolis to look for solutions to the high price of insurance plans, drugs and other health costs. The event highlighted ways employers could begin to drive down costs. 

People from around the state packed a small conference room to learn more about how to find a better deal on employer-based health plans. Cheryl Kellond is the CEO of Apostrophe Health, a company that helps self-insured employers reduce cost by finding savings. She points to prices in her presentation. 

"These are actual prices from actual prices from clients right here in Indianapolis, the $14,000 gallbladder becomes just under $2,000," says Kellond. 

Freedom Healthworks, Assured Patners and Health Rosetta organized the event and co-founder Christopher Habig says price transparency is an important piece of the puzzle. 

"Those types of cost discrepancies are eye opening and head scratching, how did we get to this place, how did this happen?" says Habig. 

Pharmacy middlemen, administrative costs and unfair pricing were discussed as some of the reasons for high healthcare costs. 

More than half of Hoosiers have insurance through work. Habig says there is a movement to better understand the healthcare system. 

"People don’t have answers, they don’t know what to do for benefits, they don’t know the reason for why costs are going up year after year," says Habig. 

Indiana lawmakers considered high health care costs in a number of bills this past session.