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Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini on the flu season and the potential changes to health insurance due to the health-care law.
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Talk to -- right now.
We'll flu shot may cost you 38 dollars -- a local pharmacy but the epidemic currently slamming 47 states could cost one US company.
As much as a hundred million dollars and you may -- shares in this company was claim is that the CEO.
In Davos Switzerland at the World Economic Forum.
It's an insurer it is at not a lot of you may -- this stock in your portfolio or your 401K and where we come up with a hundred million dollar number may be even more.
-- back from the H1N1 virus was coming through it cost at not more than a hundred million.
Right now the flu virus what is going to happen and what -- let me to at its bottom line and how to they look at it from a global standpoint.
We're joined by mark -- Bellini with the CEO of -- thank you for being here good review could -- be worse than the H1N1 know.
No absolutely not.
Have Sloane.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- We watched not only the CDC data we actually knew before the CDC reported that that the flu was going up because we watch Google and Google searches -- actually a boat.
I'm significant illnesses or procedures tend -- driver predict utilization.
So we saw an early spike we -- go down now the question is -- we see a double spike.
Or -- we just see it circuit plateau.
Sort normal flu seasons forty to fifty million dollars we plan for that this year -- year was 25.
So to be somewhere between fifty and under but.
For less than 100 we saw so put that in less than 75.
-- who knows -- don't know.
But won't be a big -- will.
-- -- observed that over medical costs -- you know how concerned are you wouldn't start to see a spike when you start to see a real outbreak can.
When that starts to happen do you bring in your chief financial officer and say get ready put together rainy day fund tell us from behind the scenes -- -- I don't know we actually.
Have every month -- meeting with a much of -- -- worries about a statisticians and medical management people we talked to them about what's going on marketplace so we saw the initial spike from the flu.
What we saw -- said it was fairly low and intensity we're watching people going to the hospital all.
We're seeing people to still getting sick with the flu going home and so I think we look at we start to break it down and decide whether or not we've got a major problem.
Like we saw with VH one and one and 2009.
But so far were were pretty -- From what I think maybe some of the breaking news here is that you use Google and how they aggregate the numbers.
By states by cities of how many people are coming down with that or.
They can't fight who searches -- -- that's what that's who we are waiting for -- yet.
So we we've actually follow Google -- number of conditions and lose one of them okay let's talk about the the grand landscape pier one's a guy like you.
Come to Davos what is it that you learned from being here with these world leaders and -- -- CEOs.
You know I think it's a great place to get a sense of what's going on the global economy no -- claims and a 169 different countries last year so we are global company.
And and so we like to understand where the markets are developing and what kind of needs -- have so we know for example in China the twelfth five year plan requires.
More domestic consumption.
Well the big thing that the Chinese save for his health care so we can build the health care system in China.
Crib safety -- that that frees up the core personal disposable income to go -- to.
From both domestic consumption and Chinese employers pay for their employees health care -- Do you think that model here in the US has to change it will change and enriching the beginning of -- with these changes that'll come often into those remaining employers will start saying sorry can't cover it can't deal with no it's actually different than that was what's happening is for the last five years employers -- passed off 50% the increase in health care cost of their employees.
So it's very slowly but surely employees are picking up Omar of larger and larger portion of their health care if trend continues and next five years -- will be paying as much for the cultures -- -- are so even if there is employer sponsored insurance individuals will be shopping.
They will be looking for the best deal and -- have a consumer market what's regardless when you look at how the insurance industry has changed.
What do you privately and I asking about the tell the Fox Business viewers but what do you -- think we could do this much better.
So here's the connection between the health care system in the fiscal -- There's 750.
Billion dollars a waste in the system every year 13 of our health care economy that was a report put up by the Iowa about a doctor's.
If we solve that problem.
We would pay back half the nation's -- contenders.
That we solve half of that we will pay you for -- -- has been has been trying to do with their with their suggestions.
That we paper 20% of it and we fixed wife for seven but we fix this yet so the real opportunity here is to get after that -- -- to fix the system is so placed in what form well there's a lot of administration system we need to do potter.
At and then now auto adjudicate say 80% to -- -- come in the door to an even touch them anymore to stamp them.
-- -- They go through the system we have adjudicated.
We.
Believe that you know we shouldn't have a whole lot of paper anymore which -- lower carbon footprint and now we have technologies -- put on people's ID cards on their phones.
I want people to know that you have dealt very much firsthand with a health care system -- you're in a skiing accident that left to partially paralyzed in a coma.
He had to deal with insurance.
Like the rest of us right and then -- donated a kidney to your -- name.
What was the one thing you thought this is not good how this is working with the insurance system.
Well -- -- health care system nothing was connected.
Doctors came and went out of my son's room and out of my room nobody could tell me what was wrong with -- -- of the human being figured someone was wrong in my -- or my arm.
And so we tend to break people apart into pieces when we treat them in the health care system.
And -- an efficient what we need to say is -- you wanna accomplish mark in your recovery what do you hope to achieve and then develop programs that move you -- mapped out.
And so and -- because the system is so fragment the date is not available each actor does are home best thing which in the interest of the -- -- to the best thing.
Mark hurtling that just gave us I think some real insight into the insurance business and the health care industry thank you so much thanks.
I will send it back to you in New York.
