Improving Health Engagement Can Save Money, Jobs

Health Value Accelerator™ Accentuates priorities for 750,000 beneficiaries and $3.5B in health care costs

ESTERO, Fla., Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for Health Value Innovation this week released startling data showing that accountability for outcomes is lacking across the system.  Levels of participation are much lower than expected. Worse, employers and employees pay significant amounts for these unused services through premiums and per-employee costs.  

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"It's not enough to offer an incentive to the beneficiary to get better care.  Because payers and purchasers pay for these services, often on a per-person per month charge, they must keep their eye on the impact of the dollars.  Engagement has to be improved, and that's a fundamental imperative to include in their contracts," says, Cyndy Nayer, founder and CEO of the Center. 

"Businesses and other organizations have good intentions and they are adopting new ideas, such as care coordination and value-based design, into their human resource plans. They employ great tools like health care assessments, onsite immunizations, onsite and walk-in clinics, and management programs for chronic disease," Nayer continued. "But they are assuming their service providers are improving the participation. They are leaving the accountability for better outcomes and the full value of their health investments to their suppliers and not checking up on the progress throughout the year. "

The innovation inherent in the Health Value Accelerator is the response given to the employer within ten seconds of completing the assessment.   All reports compare the company to state and national indicators for health risk plus provide references for all of the recommended actions.  Priorities for improvement include the use of outcomes-based contracts for accountability in health improvement with the health plan and other health service companies.

The most prevalent recommendations for the participating companies, who represent over 750,000 covered lives in companies (ranging in size from 25 employees to over 100,000), include greater emphasis on screenings and participation coupled with the use of outcomes-based contracts for exceptional results: 

• Using biometric screens more effectively.  Only 19 percent of companies offer a yearly screen, and less than half of these companies know the aggregate health risks of their population.  Yet this tool can define the true health risks to the organization and prioritize the investments that would keep people healthy or encourage appropriate care. 
• Identifying how many employees have a primary care clinician  (and helping to guide those who need one):  only 2 out of the companies had this information.
• Screening for depression and financial stress when there is low participation in programs and services offered:  only one company offered financial education for their employees, and most did not know participation rates in depression management or chronic care management programs.
• Using incentives for patients and care providers if they improve participation levels in care coordination, adherence to treatment protocols, and use of urgent care, primary care, or telehealth instead of ER visits.

"The impact at the community level is readily recognizable," says Nayer.  Reduction in inappropriate emergency room use can result in immediate improvement to job security." 

Ray Zastrow, MD, who is chief medical officer of QuadMed (a division of Quad/Graphics) as well as vice president of health evidence for the Center, reinforces this message.  "The Accelerator is documenting the risk to families and communities when inappropriate care and lack of engagement is found. Priorities for engagement and appropriate use of primary care are the backbone of the tool.  The beauty is in the report that provides an action-focused recipe that plan sponsors can use immediately." 

"At a time when U.S. businesses are trying to participate in a recovery and many Americans are in need of jobs, these figures aren't just pie in the sky – they represent a real difference for real families and real businesses," Nayer said.

To learn more about the Health Value Accelerator and how your organization can benefit, visit www.vbhealth.org.

About the Center for Health Value Innovation (CHVI)
CHVI (501c3) is focused on the relentless pursuit of innovation in benefit designs that improve engagement, accelerate accountability and create a predictable health cost trend. CHVI members represent over 60 million lives from all market segments in the health value supply chain, sharing the evidence of improved health and economic outcomes through value-based designs, including the Outcomes-Based Contracting™ platform for accelerating meaningful change. The Center for Health Value Innovation's goal is to improve the health of people, organizations and communities throughout the U.S.  www.vbhealth.org

SOURCE Center for Health Value Innovation