New Change Healthcare Solution Supports Population Health and Cost Savings with Targeted, Proactive Messaging

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Change Healthcare has launched its newest solution for health plans and self-insured employers looking to improve population health and reduce healthcare spending via consumer engagement. Targeted Engagement Alerts enable highly customized, targeted messaging to support specific initiatives centered on wellness, chronic care management, medication adherence and point-of-care optimization.

Studies show that 61 percent of employers consider employees' health habits the number one challenge in controlling healthcare costs¹. Fortunately, 56 percent of consumers want help in managing their health status and related risks².

"With Targeted Engagement Alerts, both plan sponsors and consumers get what they need. Plan sponsors are provided with a means for better managing their chronically ill, inspiring their at-risk to make better choices, and keeping their healthy, well, healthy," said Doug Ghertner, president and CEO of Change Healthcare. "For consumers, Targeted Engagement Alerts serve to proactively remind, educate and encourage in a way that drives long-term behavior change and cost savings."

Architected to complement, not compete with client's existing wellness and preventive care initiatives, Targeted Engagement Alerts are fueled by demographic data, claims history or data from existing care management programs. Piloted by Cerner Corporation in 2013, it is slated for implementation with several large health plan and employer clients this summer.

"Cerner used Targeted Engagement Alerts to drive increased awareness and utilization of its onsite clinics and pharmacies. Of its employees who were presented with an on-site pharmacy option in a Targeted Engagement Alert that included multiple pharmacy options – and who purchased the service – 93 percent utilized the on-site pharmacy. Of those, 31 percent were first-time visitors to the on-site pharmacy and more than 50 percent returned to that pharmacy to fill an average of two additional prescriptions," Ghertner said. "One particular purchaser, who acted on a Targeted Engagement Alert highlighting an opportunity to save by switching from a community pharmacy to Cerner's on-site pharmacy, experienced claims-verified savings of $257 per refill, or $3,084 savings per year, for a single prescription."

For health plans, Targeted Engagement Alerts also provide an effective, non-plan design-driven way to improve Medicare Advantage Star ratings, and may qualify as a quality improvement activity under the medical loss ratio (MLR) calculation. In addition, the solution supports accreditation or reaccreditation for URAC and NCQA initiatives for disease management, case management, wellness and health promotion.

To learn more about Targeted Engagement Alerts and Change Healthcare's entire suite of healthcare consumer engagement and cost transparency solutions, visit www.changehealthcare.com.

About Change Healthcare
Established in 2007, Change Healthcare is on a mission to transform the way Americans purchase and utilize healthcare services by driving sustainable engagement at the individual level. With a national client base of health plans and employers covering lives in all 50 states, and nearly 7 million users on its platform, Change Healthcare is the premier national provider of healthcare cost transparency and consumer engagement solutions that enable consumers to: better understand and utilize their healthcare benefits; make informed healthcare purchasing decisions based on quality, cost and convenience; and manage higher out-of-pocket responsibility and realize savings. This, in turn, helps plan sponsors: control their healthcare cost growth trend; successfully migrate to more cost-effective plan types; optimize existing wellness programs and on-site clinics; and improve member/employee satisfaction and retention. To learn more, visit www.changehealthcare.com.

¹ Willis Health and Productivity Survey, April 2014

² "Consumer Health Mindset Study," Aon Hewitt/National Business Group on Health/Futures Company, February 2014

SOURCE Change Healthcare