Health insurance: filling the gap

December 18, 11:18 PMCareers and Family ExaminerJen Boyer

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A recent survey of health insurance plan executives indicates that the number of small businesses providing access to group health insurance will decrease, and plans that transfer more of the cost of care to consumers, such as high deductible, low premium plans, will grow in popularity.

My children are on Medicaid right now, and my husband and I are uninsured. My husband has found contract work beginning in January, but we still won't gain access to group health insurance. We'll be able to afford a high deductible plan that will cover wellness checks, but nothing else until we hit our $5k-10k deductible -- an amount that might as well be in the billions, for us.

Today I took my girls to a CVS Minute Clinic. Available in select CVS pharmacies, Minute Clinics offer quick consultations with certified practitioners, with no appointment necessary. Costs are set in advance, and laid out on the website. While the prices will seem high to those accustomed to $20-40 co-payments, they are low compared to most physicians' office charges. Minute Clinic personnel are quick to point out that the service is not a substitute for a relationship with a primary care physician, and they do not perform general wellness checks. However, they can send a record of the visit to your primary care physician, so your physician is aware of the diagnosis and care you received.

Many insurance plans cover visits to Minute Clinics, although our Medicaid plan did not. My bill, for both girls, was $118. We were seen within 10 minutes of signing in, and my older daughter got her antibiotics prescription in time to hit her school holiday party tomorrow. That would not have been the case, had I needed an appointment with their pediatrician. The practitioner was thorough and put my children at ease.

Minute Clinics are bridging the gap between what consumers can afford and what employers are able to provide. This is the epitome of consumer-based care -- you choose where and when you want to go, and you know in advance what the cost is. I foresee these types of services reducing non-emergency urgent care and emergency room visits, and starting a trend toward physicians' offices being more consumer-centered in order to compete.