Will Zika help or hurt health plans?

Health insurers are starting to think about the impact of the Zika virus, which may arrive in force in the US over the coming months. Actuaries are looking for analogous examples for their models, such as other mosquito born illnesses including dengue fever.Some insurers aren't too concerned, according to Healthcare Finance News. Others are looking at reinsurance opportunities and considering premium increases.Most Zika infections cause only mild illness, so the costs of treatment will be modest or zero much of the time. The real impact is likely to come from the cost of lifelong care for babies born with microcephaly or other problems, which could be millions of dollars per case.But does that mean Zika will hurt health plans financially? Not necessarily.For commercial health plans, maternal and newborn care is one of the largest categories of expenses. If a Zika epidemic looms, I would expect women to stop having babies, at least for a while. After all, in El Salvador the government has suggested women not become pregnant for the next two years.If that happens, insurers will enjoy a windfall from avoided expenses that will show up right away. Meanwhile, the costs of Zika babies will be spread over many years and no doubt much of the cost will be shifted to Medicaid one way or the other.Zika is a huge threat and we should be doing much more about it as a society. But health plans may not suffer as much as people assume.

Image courtesy of duntaro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

—

By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.