Employers’ New Decision Point: Whether to Cover Expensive Weight Loss Drugs
The shift towards providing healthcare benefits that include pharmaceutical treatment and drugs is quickly becoming a top concern among employers. While it is becoming increasingly easy for employers to hold down rising healthcare costs for themselves with modern healthcare models, attracting and retaining talented staff remains a top priority for many employers.
Employers are walking a tightrope, attempting to provide an excellent benefits package within their tight budgets without sacrificing overall profitability. Some companies, therefore, have to make tough decisions, including whether or not to cover expensive weight loss drugs. Employers who are taking the thoughtful approach and weighing their options are looking for new ways to combat ever-increasing healthcare costs while providing an excellent working environment for employees.
As demand grows, employers are thinking about how to handle coverage of the drugs—a decision made all the more difficult by competing priorities of trying to hold down rising healthcare costs for themselves while also retaining and wooing talent in an employee-driven job market. But now, with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, employers may have a solution that can help them improve their recruitment and staffing process while containing the cost of healthcare benefits.
AI has already revolutionized industries such as marketing, finance, and healthcare. Now, it is rapidly making its way into the recruitment and staffing space as well. There are already AI products available that focus on aspects such as diversity, which are particularly well suited for the demands of the recruitment and staffing industry.
For instance, there are AI tools that specialize in making the selection process more efficient. These tools use AI algorithms to quickly understand the requirements of a particular job position, and then filter through the candidate pool, accurately ranking each candidate’s profile and resume based on their experience, skills, education, etc. This reduces the time it takes to go through a large number of job applications and subsequently narrows down the pool to the most qualified candidates for a specific job.
Another AI tool is a chatbot that can be incorporated into the application process. While this tool is not specifically designed to filter through a wide range of candidates, it does help in the early stages of the recruitment process. The chatbot can ask basic screening questions to candidates, which can help eliminate any candidates who are not qualified for the position.
AI tools are also bringing revolutionary changes in the area of diversity, where companies often struggle to find qualified, diverse candidates for senior positions. By using AI technologies, companies can automatically review job applicants without any bias and identify top-rated candidates based solely on their qualifications. This system can provide objective feedback about applicants regardless of ethnicity, gender, or other defining factors.
In conclusion, the decision to cover expensive weight loss drugs is a tough one for employers. However, AI technology may be the answer that can help make the recruitment and staffing processes more efficient while cutting down on healthcare costs. AI tools are objective, efficient, and cost-effective, which can help employers meet their recruitment and staffing needs, while also holding down rising healthcare costs.