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Prophet of New Profits |
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"Prophet of New Profits - Paul Zane Pilzer heads up The New Wellness Revolution", by Jon Feld, Club Business International, May 2008. More on
How to make a fortune in the next trillion dollar industry-- preventative medicine and wellness.
Video Clip of an interview between Pat Robertson of the 700 Club and Paul Zane Pilzer about The Wellness Revolution.
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CBI: Another topic that the candidates have been talking about a lot is the economy—the subprime mortgage crisis, a possible recession, etc. As an economist, what's your take on the current situation? PZP: First, it's important to recognize that there's no longer a macro economy in the U.S. While Detroit may be in serious trouble, Seattle has virtually zero percent unemployment, so it actually needs people. Today, economic upturns and downturns are regional and industry-specific in nature. Last Christmas, for instance, overall sales were down by 2%, but the sale of video and electronic devices was up by 30%. To evaluate the economy accurately, one now needs to make use of new, more sophisticated analytical tools. CBI: A few years ago, you were instrumental in helping to get Health Savings Accounts (HSA) legislation passed. What role did you play? PZP: I first testified before Congress on the need for a portable health-insurance account in 1985, and, from then until 2003, I lobbied, met with senators, and wrote white papers promoting what were then called Medical Savings Accounts. HSAs grew out of a desire to give people their own money to spend on health insurance, but, in retrospect, they've proven to be woefully inadequate. They were supposed to be universal medical-spending accounts for individuals, but, when they were added to the Medicare Modernization Act, they were emasculated by dramatic budget constraints. In reality, they've become long-term savings vehicles for high-income-bracket taxpayers. I was excited about HSAs at the outset, but, today, they shouldn't have anything to do with a person's employer. Today, the Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) is what we wanted the HSA to be—a single account to which employers can contribute, allowing employees to make their own medical decisions. Right now, there are 4 million HSAs and 10 million HRAs, and HRAs are growing faster. CBI: You're a strong proponent of corporate health-benefits programs, aren't you? PZP: Absolutely! Every employer, including every health club, in the U.S. should have a health-benefits program that matches their business objectives for recruiting and retaining employees. For example, today, a club owner would be well-advised to offer a health-benefits allowance based on hours worked—the more hours you work, the more you get in your HRA to purchase health benefits. Those dollars are worth twice as much as wages because they can be used, tax-free, to buy health benefits. Right now, Zane Benefits is working with a club now that has a lot of personal trainers, and it wants them to bring more people to the club, so it's doing just that—tying health-benefit dollars to hours worked. CBI: You've predicted that employer-sponsored healthcare plans will disappear by 2020? Why? PZP:Employer-sponsored health plans exist because of what I regard as a mistake, in 1945, which permitted companies to provide workers with health benefits that were tax-exempt. That priced individual plans out of the market. The new 2007-08 regulations allow firms to give employees money for healthcare insurance as a tax-free allowance—that as opposed to employers directing the plans themselves. And, today, most employees would rather have the option of obtaining their own coverage. Back in '45, the average job tenure was 25 years. Now, it's three years or less, and no one wants their family to be tied to an employer for their health insurance. |
CBI: What would you view as a viable and implementable fix? PZP: I actually believe that we're getting close. I think that the private sector should provide health insurance on a competitive basis, just as it does in the case of life and auto insurance, and that government should be the insurer of last resort. There are 4 million people in this country who can't afford health insurance, which is why we have Medicaid; and there are 47 million people over 65 whom private insurers won't cover, which is why we have Medicare. The problem is that there are 10-15 million people who, while they're not yet poor or old, are uninsurable because of a preexisting medical condition. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act mandated that all states must have coverage for former employees with preexisting conditions. It's called state-guaranteed coverage, and it's two to three times more expensive than regular insurance, but most people don't know about it. CBI: What's the "the next big thing" in wellness? PZP:The next big thing is wellness—it's creating new opportunities in virtually every field you can think of. I like to use cars as an example because, today, wellness is actually driving part of the auto industry. Now, you can buy safety as an option—you can buy additional airbags for your car; and hybrids, for example, reflect a concern for the environment. The same sort of scenario is unfolding with restaurants. People now pick where they want to eat out, in part, by how they'll feel after the meal, how well they'll sleep that night, and how they'll feel the next morning. Simply satisfying their hunger has become secondary to wellness for many restaurant customers. In an ever-growing number of areas of life, you can now buy wellness. That's particularly true, obviously, in the case of health clubs. CBI: How can clubs, in general, do more to capitalize on this trend? PZP: As I suggested at the outset, the most important thing they need to do is expand their market of customers. My impression is that most operators still sit around, waiting for individuals who are already sold on the value of membership—people who belong to, or have belonged to, another club—to walk in and check out what they're doing. They're locked into cutting up the pie, rather than growing the pie. Instead, they should cultivate relationships with their local physicians, weight loss centers, major employers, and other organizations to help them access and attract people who don't belong to a fitness club. Build on these wellness alliances. No amount of exercise or diet is going to solve the wellness problem—it's a holistic problem that requires a holistic solution. Clubs have to make themselves a part of—if not the center of—the solution for their communities. | ||||||
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Next MillionairesExplains how you can become of the the ten million new millionaires that will be created between 2006-2016. |
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New Health Insurance SolutionHow to get cheaper, better health insurance from birth to old age without an employer plan. |
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NewWellness Revolution How to make a fortune in the next trillion dollar industry--preventative medicine and wellness. |
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York Times BestsellerGod Wants You To Be Rich Explains how our economic system is based on our biblical heritage, and you can prosper materially and spiritually. |
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of WealthAward-winning 6 CD (or cassette) audio series explains the new opportunities for creating wealth in the 21st century. |
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Wealth Pilzer's seminal work explaining how we live in a world of unlimited physical resources because of rapidly advancing technology. |
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Next TrillionWhy the wellness industry will exceed the $1 trillion health care (sickness) industry in the next ten years. |
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ReviewCollection of articles on the guidelines for success in commercial real estate investments. |
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Wellness Revolution How to make a fortune in the next trillion dollar industry-- preventative medicine and wellness. |
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