Premise Health and Healthcare Bluebook Partner to Help Employers Ensure High-Value Specialty Care for Employees in a Turbulent Health Care Market

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As hospitals across the country take steps to make up for the significant financial impact of lost volumes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Premise Health, the world's leading direct health care provider, is leveraging its partnership with Healthcare Bluebook, an industry-leading cost and quality transparency solution, to help its large employer clients connect their employees with high-quality, cost-effective care amid growing demand and cost.

The impact from COVID-19 has been felt by health care providers across the country, especially hospitals and health systems. Thirty-seven states canceled elective and non-emergent procedures and approximately 30 percent were postponed, leading 55 percent fewer Americans to seek hospital care in March and April. Although many of these procedures can be postponed temporarily, they cannot be postponed indefinitely, leaving sidelined consumers looking to reschedule their procedures as quickly as possible, regardless of cost, while hospitals are under pressure to make up for significant financial losses.

As a result of these losses, hospitals are likely to explore price increases for 2021 and may strive to capture additional volume and shift care to more profitable settings. According to an analysis from Strata Decision Technology, hospital revenues are down $60.1B per month since the start of the year, primarily because of decreased surgery volumes.

"We recognize many of our members and their families will need to see a specialist for care this summer or fall, and our work with clients and Healthcare Bluebook puts us in the perfect position to empower them to make the best, most affordable decision," said Premise president Jami Doucette. "By being proactive and helping our clients stay ahead of these market changes, we can help them make the most of their health care spend and ensure their employees receive high quality specialty care at appropriate prices."

According to Healthcare Bluebook data, cost and quality vary dramatically in the community, even for in-network care, and the choice of facility drives the greatest cost variability. The average in-network price variance for a given market is often upwards of 700 percent, and the lack of transparency across the industry makes it difficult for people to get access to high-value care on their own.

Premise's Care Navigation solution leverages Healthcare Bluebook data to create a seamless solution for referring members to specialty care in their communities. To guide members to the in-network care with the greatest value, Premise utilizes its care navigators to match and refer them to high-quality providers with cost-effective facilities. The hands-on approach makes it easy to get the right care at the right price while delivering significant savings and high-value outcomes for employers.

"As COVID cases continue to rise in many parts of the country, we expect the backlog for specialty care to grow – putting additional pressure on hospitals to recapture lost volumes," said Scott Paddock, CEO of Healthcare Bluebook. "When combined with the fact that many patients have delayed needed care and are now facing health conditions that will require more costly treatment, it's clear that employers need a strategy to proactively manage health care costs. We're proud to work with forward-thinking partners like Premise Health and their clients to empower employees with the information and tools needed to identify high-quality, high-value providers."

Premise first collaborated with Healthcare Bluebook last year as part of its member health management strategy, a data-driven approach to enhancing the overall quality, experience, and value of healthcare that its members and families receive – both inside and outside of the organization. The collaboration focuses specifically on optimizing specialty healthcare received in the broader community. 

ABOUT PREMISE HEALTH

Premise Health is the leading direct healthcare company, operating more than 600 wellness centers in 44 states and Guam for more than 275 of the largest commercial and municipal employers in the U.S.

Premise partners with its clients to connect their populations to high-quality, cost-effective healthcare. It delivers value by removing barriers to care and creating seamless experiences, which helps people live healthier. With millions of eligible members and dependents, Premise delivers care onsite (on campus at an employer), nearsite (in the community), and virtually (24/7) through its primary care, occupational health, pharmacy, fitness, and wellness products.

As the premier provider of employer-based healthcare, Premise offers unmatched access, enhanced clinical quality, and an exceptional member experience. The result is healthcare that raises the bar and delivers true financial return for the ultimate payor, the employer. For more information on Premise Health, visit www.premisehealth.com.

ABOUT HEALTHCARE BLUEBOOK

Healthcare Bluebook's goal is to protect consumers and companies nationwide from overpriced, low-quality healthcare. Using industry-leading objective price and quality data and claims-driven ROI reporting, Bluebook's intuitive online healthcare shopping solution provides 7,000+ employers and members with an easy-to-use benefits solution that increases movement from low-value to high-value care, driving savings and rapid ROI, and provides greater price predictability. Combined with a proven engagement methodology, Bluebook's innovative suite of services empowers employees to become smarter healthcare shoppers, while decreasing costs and improving healthcare outcomes. For more information, visit healthcarebluebook.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

CONTACT: Bethany Parker, [email protected]

SOURCE Premise Health