Q: What role do insurers play in increasing prevention awareness in Mexico?

EH: Mexicans do not see the importance of saving for their health or retirement and are not prepared for emergencies. Insurance should not be seen as a luxury or a privilege but as a real and immediate need. Insurance companies are introducing new plans to the market. The sector is promoting the creation of an efficient framework for individual pension plans so funds are clearly divided between healthcare and all other expenses, since Mexicans often forget to reserve money for their medical care. We only worry about healthcare when we are sick.

OV: Willis Towers Watson helps companies to develop strategies to make their health plan sustainable. One of these strategies is by encouraging employees to actively save for their retirement. It is necessary to strengthen prevention measures through the introduction of small and large cultural changes and this can also be done through government initiatives.

Q: How does Willis Towers Watson help companies to improve their productivity through healthcare measures? OV: Willis

Towers Watson performs many studies on the impact of presenteeism and absenteeism in the workplace and these types of studies were the basis of NOM-035 proposed by the Ministry of Labor. There is growing awareness of the importance of these policies and many private companies are increasingly introducing them. Our study, Global Medical Trends, has provided significant information on the reasons behind increasing costs during hospitalizations, doctor’s appointments and clinical tests.

EH: Changing the country’s mindset will allow the development of sustainable programs that take advantage of prevention and early detection. We have discovered that corporate wellness programs are welcomed among Mexican employees, who often focus their lives on their workplace. Prevention will also generate savings for employers, decrease absenteeism and increase employee commitment and satisfaction. Absenteeism and presenteeism are causing great financial losses to employers. Corporations make decisions based on data and our role is to provide that information and work with companies to help them develop and manage long-term sustainable programs. We work closely with companies to help them improve their prevention processes.

Q: What new insurance products could be implemented to address Mexico’s lack of access to healthcare?

EH: Mexicans are facing very high medical premiums during their retirement. The US, for example, has developed health savings accounts (HSA), private plans that combine savings accounts with health insurance policies that are tax exempted when used to pay medical expenses. These provide the opportunity for long-term savings and medical care in old age. HSAs are not used in Mexico.

OV: Once people reach retirement age, their most common needs are related to healthcare. While public services are very good, they are extremely saturated, so people can find themselves in the worst of both worlds: while employed they have access to care that they may not need and once they retire they have higher risk but neither the access to care nor the financial means to pay for it.

Q: What benefits would HSA provide policyholders?

OV: Few Mexicans want to acquire insurance policies in their old age and, should they want to, they will discover that they are too expensive to acquire or to continue paying after 60 years of age. HSA’s would allow policyholders to save for the long-term and to use a percentage of these savings to pay for health insurance during their retirement.

EH: The saturation of public health institutions might get worse over time. Many old pension plans offered by banks and energy companies were financially onerous, so they have not accepted new members during the last 10 years.