Lockton's Total Cost of Care Gives Employers a Leg Up on Evaluating Network Provider Efficiency

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockton Benefit Group will soon introduce Total Cost of Care (TCC), a pioneering approach to evaluating network provider costs. Employers will discover real value through clarity, meaning access to more information and data on which to base important network decisions that affect bottom-line costs.

The Total Cost of Care approach is a new alternative to the traditional network analysis that Lockton currently shares with many employers to help make decisions. TCC, also known in the industry as Risk Adjusted Per Member, Per Month, will include the traditional provider discount measure, but also encompasses provider efficiency, medical management, claims processing and more to get to the bottom-line cost per service. Together, these elements combine to form what Lockton is calling Total Cost of Care, enabling employers to evaluate all networks on a level playing field.

This innovation has been a long time coming. Though the carrier market has evolved rapidly, the process of comparing provider networks has remained the same for nearly a decade throughout the industry. Traditional analysis, which focuses primarily on network discounts, begins to fall short because it:

• Does not measure cost per service.
• Does not reflect provider efficiency.
• Does not reflect carrier programs that can influence costs.

Total Cost of Care does all that. Lockton's account service teams, working in concert with Lockton Benefit Group actuarial experts, will bring Total Cost of Care analysis to employers, along with the traditional discount analysis for comparison.

To develop Total Cost of Care, Lockton worked closely with a group of insurance carriers and consultants, known as the Uniform Data Standards (UDS) group, to procure credible and consistent data. "Traditionally, provider selections were based solely on network discounts, but those costs only tell part of the story," said Bob Reiff, President of Lockton Benefit Group. "By examining cost per service, provider efficiency and other programs that can affect costs, we are bringing employers a new measure of network costs and advising them on the solution that best meets their needs. Total Cost of Care standardizes evaluation criteria and makes comparing networks easy for employers to understand. That's why we're excited to share this with our employer-clients."

About Lockton

More than 6,000 professionals at Lockton provide 48,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, and employee benefits consulting services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world and 10^th largest overall. For seven consecutive years, Business Insurance has recognized Lockton as a "Best Place to Work in Insurance." To see the latest insights from Lockton's employee benefits experts, check the Lockton Health Reform Blog, the Lockton Health Risk Solutions Blog, the Lockton Benefits Communications Blog or the Lockton HR Technology Blog.

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SOURCE Lockton Benefit Group

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