Humor Helps Illustrate Need for Employee Education of Healthcare Costs

Sometimes a quick joke illustrates an important point better than anything else.  Here's one I heard that is particularly salient on the issue of controlling corporate medical costs.


A woman brought a very limp duck to her vet.  As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and put it to the bird's chest.  After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."

Distraught, the woman cried, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," the vet said, "you're duck is dead."

"How can you be so sure," she said.  "You haven't done any tests or anything.  He might just be in a coma."
The vet excused himself, and left the room.  A minute or so later, he returned with a Labrador retrieiver.  As the duck owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on its hind legs, put its paws on the examining table, and sniffed the duck.  He then looked at the vet, and with sad eyes, shook his head.

The vet left the room again, but soon returned with a cat.  The cat jumped on the table and likewise sniffed the bird from head to foot.  Quietly, he sat back on his haunches, meowed softly and then jumped down and left the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I told you before, this duck is definitely, 100% certifiably, dead.

The vet turned to his computer, punched a few keys and printed a bill.  Handing it to the woman, he said, "That will be $150.00."

The woman, now in greater shock than before, said "150.00?  Just to tell me that my duck died?"  The vet shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm sorry, if you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have only been $20, but with the lab report and the cat scan, it's now $150.00"

Understanding utilization, and it's impact on medical costs, is important.  In fact, it's possibly more important than the discounts your plan may be getting from its network arrangements.  If your administrator isn't providing you with tools to keep down unnecessary medical costs, or to control those costs that are necessary, it won't matter how good the discounts are, your organization will be spending money it shouldn't.

Companies should have programs in place to educate their employees on the appropriate use of the healthcare system.    HBUS Inc has a great program in place to help you address this and all issues with health care reform.  Contact us today for more information.